Triple Four - Review

Okay, I admit it. I'm a game snob. Just as my wine snob brothers, I tend to
turn my nose up at games based solely on the premise. Therefore, when I had
the opportunity to play the newest game, Triple Four, I hesitated. Sure, I
really liked Sequence, also made by Jax, but some of their other offerings I
didn't enjoy nearly as much. However, I was there and nothing else was going
on, so I bellied up to the bar and said, "Deal me in."

Much to my snobby surprise, Triple Four is a fantastic rummy style game in
the same spirit as Phase 10 or Five Crowns. The premise is quite simple: be
the first to complete four "Triplet" Cards and you win. Completing Triplet
cards is relatively easy, as you just need to collect the cards that match
the instructions on the card. For example, you might need to have a run of
three hearts or three red queens. Simple and easy but deceptively
challenging.

Game play is equally simple, yet easy to play. Start out by dealing seven
cards to each player and three of the Triplet Cards. On his or her turn,
each player will draw the top card either from the draw pile or from the
discard pile. If a player is able to complete a Triplet card, they do so.
They then draw bonus cards from the draw pile and a new Triplet card. If
not, the player discards a card and play continues around the table. Since
there is no penalty for having extra cards in your hand at the end of a
game, a strong bonus exists for those who can complete a Triplet card as
more playing cards give you more options.

The other twist is that once I've played a Triplet card, it is not safe. Oh
no, that would make life easy. You can steal your opponents Triplet cards as
long as you have appropriate cards. Again, let's say that the Triplet card
says, "3 of a Kind: Any Suit" and you play completed the card in front of
you. On my next turn, I can play three Kings, steal the card, and
potentially win the game. This twist makes this a wonderfully wicked game.

The components are simple but functional for game play. The cards are basic
cards that you would find in most any game, not unlike what you would find
in Sequence. The card trays are basic plastic, but are very functional.
Overall, for the price, the components are exactly what you would expect.
Another nice feature is that since the game uses normal playing cards for
the basic decks, replacements are very easy to come by should the inevitable
happen and you lose a card.

Overall, this is a very enjoyable game and probably the best game from Jax
since Sequence. Game play is simple and straightforward but has some
excellent opportunities for sticking it to your neighbor. Although the
simple description or the basic box might put you off, don't let it fool
you. This game is perfect for the Phase 10, Five Crowns, or Rummy lover.

And yes, I learned my lesson. Again. Never judge a game by its cover. You
might be amazed at what you'll enjoy.

Snorta - Review

One look at the new game "Snorta" from Out of the Box (the fine folks who
brought us Apples to Apples) and you might think, "Oh, that's a kid's game."
However, as I watched a recent game between the "well beyond kid aged" (yes,
that's another way to say "old") managers of our Games by James stores, I
can safely tell you that it is not just a kid's game. While being a kid at
heart will certainly enhance your enjoyment of this zany card-flipping game,
everyone will find much to laugh about in this game of the year candidate.

The recipe for this game is as follows: funny plastic animals in a cloth
bag, a plastic barn for each animal, and a stack of high quality cards with
drawings of each of those animals. At the beginning of the game, you draw a
plastic animal at random from the bag and make the sound that animal makes.
Then, players receive a stack of cards that they try to get rid of during
the course of the game.

Game play is pretty simple: each player in turn flips over their top card
and if it matches another player's top card, the race is on to see who can
make their opponent's animal sound first. Oh, did I mention that the animals
now live in their barns so you can't see them? This adds a level of memory
to the game that makes it even more frustrating and even more enjoyable. The
player who makes the correct sound first hands the stack of played cards to
their opponent who places them on the bottom of their draw pile. Play
continues until one player gets rid of all their cards who is then crowned
King of the Farmyard.

Since the game also contains rules for playing with mixed age groups, kids
of all ages can play together making this an outstanding choice for that new
holiday family game. Although the game says it is for ages 8 and up, these
rules make it so kids as young as 5 can play and get in on this barnyard
mayhem.

While the game won't "mooove" you like a great movie, you won't have a
"baaad" time clucking around with Snorta! Easy to learn, fast to play and a
whole lot of fun, you will need a tractor to haul the bales of fun you will
have with this fantastic new game!

Gloom - Review

Innovative designs are hard to come by in the game world. Sure, every once
in awhile a game comes along that even without the theme, the game itself is
a marvel to behold either through the use of the components or the actual
game mechanics itself. In fact, one might say that many game enthusiasts
are "dying" for a unique game to enter the scene. Clever choice of words?
Perhaps, but certainly with the theme of Gloom so, well, gloomy, dying isn't
just a clever use of a word, it rather appropriate.

Gloom is a card game with several twists and a delightful and dreadfully
dark theme. The goal of Gloom is simple: depress your family fully and then
send them to the afterlife. Does that sound dreary to you? Perhaps, but as
dark as the game is, the game is firmly tongue in cheek and the humor is
similar to that of the Haunted Mansion at the Disney theme parks and
certainly no scarier than Harry Potter.

Along with the simple goal, the game boasts simple game play. Players
choose a family of five victims, I mean, members who will have their
emotions tugged back and forth during the game. On your turn, you may play
or discard two cards. The first play, any card is fair game. On the second
play, you may play any card except death cards so you may not kill two
characters on the same turn.

Cards come in several flavors. Aside from the aforementioned family and
untimely death cards, the game contains attitude (or Pathos) modifier and
special event cards. Special Event cards allow you to counter something
your opponent tries to do or gives you extra abilities on a given turn.

The Modifier cards ultimately control the overall self worth of a character.
Negative events like "Terrified by Topiaries" or "Greeted by Ghosts" will
cause a character's self worth to go negative while having a "Picnic in the
Park" or a character who "Slept without Sorrows" adds to their self worth.
The lower a character's self worth is when they meet an untimely death means
more points for the player at the end of the game.

Also, the game balances the more powerful cards with limitations or
penalties (such as discarding your entire hand after playing one card
worth -45 points). This ensures that the game is not entirely based on luck
and does require some, although not a lot, of planning. It is this balance
that makes Gloom a more enjoyable game than several others in the "off the
wall" humor category and adds to the strategic nature of the game.

The real twist of this game is that Atlas Games printed the cards not on
standard card stock but on transparent plastic. This allows players to play
multiple cards on a single character and still see previous modifiers
through the clear plastic. Although this also means that sometimes you can
see the modifiers of your opponents' hand, the game plays fast enough that
this isn't a serious concern.

The cards themselves are a fine quality plastic card, not unlike a Kem card,
and should hold up quite well to the many playings this game will receive.
The rules are one sheet of paper, front and back and most folks should have
little trouble reading and understanding the game, although sometimes the
rules are hazy because of the themed flavor text of the rules. The artwork
on the cards is also fun in a dark sort of way. Overall, this is a well
made game with quality components.

Is this game a bit dark? Absolutely. I wouldn't recommend it for the faint
of heart. However, if you don't mind a bit of dark humor, this game has a
lot to offer. With some strategic game play, fun, albeit dark, cards, and a
clever mechanic, Gloom is a dreadfully delightful romp of a card game. If
nothing else, the unique card stacking mechanic is worth the price of
admission alone. Just don't be surprised if you find yourself "Terrified by
Topiaries" as you play and we could all be so lucky as to "Die without
Cares". Gloom: dreadfully dreary and yet fiendishly fun.

Around the World in 80 Days - Review

I like to travel. I like to get away from the routine of daily life and
escape to another place where my biggest concerns are what I'm going to
eat for dinner or what museum or theme park I'm going to visit today. I
have grown to enjoy the process of getting to the destination. So, it
probably doesn't come a huge surprise that I enjoy a good travel game.

And while I don't have plans to travel much past either coast in the
United States in the next few months, I can at least play like a world
traveler with the new Kosmos game brought to our shores by Rio Grande
Games: Around the World in 80 Days. Unlike actual travel, however, this
game is never dull and is much easier to play than trying to make that
connection at Chicago's O'Hare.

Based on the classic book by Jules Verne, each player is part of a large
bet with the other players to see who can race around the world in the
least amount of time. The layout of the board includes several stopping
points in various large cities. Between those cities, the route is
marked with some combination of train and ship cards. To travel between
those cities, players need to play the appropriate cards. For example,
to travel the first leg of the trip from London to Paris, you need to
play a ship card and a train card. Players place those cards on the
discard pile and move their token to the next stop.

The cards in addition to having a ship or a train on them also have a
number. That number indicates how long (in days) you spend using that
particular type of transportation. In our previous example, if my train
card had a three and my ship card had a six, it would take me nine days
to travel from London to Paris. I would move my day tracking token
forward nine spaces to indicate the number of days I have taken so far.

One nice mechanic in the game is that if a trip takes two of a
particular card, I can play a pair of matching cards and take only one
card's worth of days to travel. If I had a pair of ships with a six and
I'm traveling from Hong Kong to Yokohama, I would only move my day
tracking token forward six rather than twelve. This is a huge bonus to
planning for later in the game.

However, the game is not just picking cards and playing them. Also
thrown into the mix are event cards and the detective. Event cards are
pretty basic in that they give players a bonus, but lurking in the deck
are cards that not only add days to your trip but force players to
return their unused event cards to the deck for reshuffling. Since
there is never a good time to loose a potential bonus, it makes each
turn of the event deck, well, an event.

The detective is even more of a hindrance to moving on in the game. If
you end your turn in a city with the detective, you add two days to your
day tracker that you spend in 'questioning' with the good detective.
While I will not go into depth on how you move the detective, let's just
say that he is a valuable tool to keep your opponents from racing too
quickly to an insurmountable lead.

As with most Kosmos / Rio Grande games, the components are fantastic.
The board is big and fun to look at, the cards are slightly above
average, and the other bits are solid and well made. Definitely, they
designed the game for repeat playings, which is a good thing considering
how enjoyable the game is to play. If anything, it almost feels a
little over produced, but I am of a mind, it is better to over produce
rather than under produce a game.

Around the World in 80 Days is a great addition to anyone's gaming
library, especially families who are looking for another game that is no
more complex than Ticket to Ride. Elegant mechanics lead to an
enjoyable gaming experience where players don't need to concentrate so
hard conversation stops during the game. This makes it an excellent
bridge from more social to more strategic games. While this isn't going
to crack my top five games, it is a welcome addition to my game
collection and should see many plays as my friends and I see if we can
make it back to London in less than 80 Days.