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Columns > Unplugged > #45: Itﾒs in the cards (Part 2 of 2)
When a simple deck of 52 isnﾒt enough, a few card games for a deeper challenge.  Sure, card games are portable, tend to have less complex rules, and can be played in a shorter amount of time than a typical boardgame, but what if simpler isn't necessarily what you crave? While the following games aren't terribly complex, they are card games that go beyond the simple to provide a strategic game experience in a nice, portable package. Of course, since they don't include game boards or other complex components, they are also easy on the pocketbook. Fairy Tale by Z-Man Games Genre: Strategy Card Game Score: 4.5 out of 5 For 2 to 5 players, about 45 minutes, ages 10+ Designed in Japan, Fairy Tale has been brought to North America by Z-Man Games. This unique game is NOT a collectible card game (CCG), but has been compared to a booster-draft style tournaments commonly held with CCGs. Starting with five cards, players shop for a card they prefer and pass the rejects on to their neighbor and then choose from their neighbor's rejects. This process is repeated until everyone has chosen five cards. Players then simultaneously reveal first one card, then a second, and finally a third card. The two unplayed cards are discarded and a new round of shopping (or drafting) is begun. After four rounds of drafting and playing, players add up the scores of all their played cards, the player with the highest score wins. Some cards have special abilities that cause other played cards to be flipped face down while other cards allow cards to be flipped back face up. These powers are important, as only face-up cards count in the final scoring. The actual card deck consists of three colored suits that are functionally identical, and a black suit (Shadow faction) that generally includes cards with more powerful effects but worth fewer points. The game is fairly straightforward to explain and play, but the scoring at the end of the game is somewhat complex. Many cards have a single point value, but other cards have values that depend on the number of other cards present. For example, the yellow suit (known as the Holy Empire Faction), has a card called Homesteaders. These are seven of these and they score points based on how many Homesteaders you have in play at the end of the game. If you play three of them in the game, they are each worth three points for a total of nine points. If anyone succeeds in getting all seven cards, each card is worth seven points for a whopping 49 point total at the end of the game. Other cards base their score off specific suits, and some of the most valuable cards award large numbers of points for collecting two unique cards in the deck. Due to the many interactions of cards in the deck, the scoring can be a bit fiddly to first time players, but the interactions aren't more complicated than scoring hands of cribbage. The game identifies some of the more complex features of the game as an advanced game and marks the cards appropriately. The game can easily be played with only the basic cards, and I would recommend this for many first-time players. This eliminates many of the unique cards that have slightly more complicated functions, but also requires the game to be shortened as the deck of cards is smaller.  The card designs are top-notch. They wear well and have a large amount of information on the cards, presented in a very understandable way. In addition to some nice central artwork, each card prominently displays that card's name, faction, and scoring abilities, as well as a small number indicating how many of that card is present in the deck. To help players intelligently plan their strategy, cards that either benefit from or give assistance to other cards in the deck have a small icon at the bottom displaying that card's name, artwork, and another small circle indicating how many of the partner cards are in the deck.
 Gloom by Atlas Games Genre: Strategy Card Game Score: 3.5 out of 5 For 2 to 4 players, about 60 minutes, ages 8+ The first thing one notices about this fun little depressing card game, are the excellent clear plastic cards. Players start the game with a family of woe begotten people and attempt to make their lives as miserable as possible - presumably, the more miserable their life, the better their afterlife. However, other players are also seeking to do the same and will often play happy events (such as an inheritance, or a nice wedding) on your cards. The clear cards come into play as cards are played one on top of another and even though a new card may be laid on an old one, some of the aspects of previous cards might still be in effect. As the positive events provide game advantages, some players will choose to play them on their own people, intending to play over them later. There are cards that cause the death of characters, and choosing when to "bump off" your own or your opponents' characters is part of the strategy. The game ends when one family is entirely eliminated and the points for all the dead characters are totaled. Whoever has the least number of points (usually in the negative digits) is declared the winner. While not an intensely deep game, there is plenty of room for strategy as players have to balance many options while planning for the future. Each character card has three attributes that are added together to give that character's Self-Worth score. These attributes can be modified either positively or negatively by laying a new card on top. Any attributes that are still showing are in effect, even if they are not on the top card. On their turn, players play up to two cards on their own or even other player's characters. Most cards modify a character's attributes, while a second set of cards are event cards that can modify cards already played on the table or even block other action cards when it isn't your turn. The final card type is the Untimely Death card. These cards, such as Was torn limb from limb describe some form of death and are used to kill of your own or another player's character. Only characters with negative Self-Worth totals may be bumped off using Untimely Death cards. When to use these cards is a very important decision. Killing your own characters when they have a very negative Self-Worth is a good move, but so is taking out an opponent's character when it is just barely negative in Self-Worth. Characters still alive at the end of the game don't count for or against your score, so sometimes it's nice to end the game early by killing off an opponent's last character if you are ahead. Even the modifier cards give options, while positive Self-Worth bonuses work against you, most cards that grant positive Self-Worth also give their owner a strategic advantage, such as the ability to draw and keep more cards. One viable strategy is to play positive cards on your characters early in the game with the intention to overlay more negative cards later in the game. The game isn't exactly politically correct; it is intended to be played rather tongue-in-cheek. Since bad things are good for your score, you just might want to play Mocked by Midgets on your own characters to get the negative 10 points, while playing Was Popular in Parliament is much better if played on an opponent to give them the positive 15 point score. The slightly morbid nature of the game should be readily apparent, so parents of younger kids should take that into account. Of course, if you are the parent of a fan of Goth culture, this could well be a home-run hit. For the rest of us, the game is quite enjoyable for anyone with a healthy sense of dark humor.
 Ark by Rio Grande Games Genre: Strategy Card Game Score: 3.5 out of 5 For 3 to 5 players, about 45 minutes, ages 8+ Ark is a cute little card game based around filling up the proverbial Noah's Ark with animals and provisions. Players take turns either drawing cards (representing animals or provisions), or placing cards previously drawn onto the Ark. However, placing animals on the Ark is a very delicate operation as herbivores are going to want to eat any nearby provisions, and carnivores are more than likely to consume any handy smaller animal "morsels". Of course, omnivores give you both problems at the same time. Animals and provisions can be placed on one of two sides of the Ark, so care must be taken so that one side doesn't become too heavy and tip the Ark over. Players take turns placing cards onto the Ark until the deck is exhausted. Players then score points for having placed the most, the second most, or even a single animal of each type. The game revolves around careful placement of animals and hand management strategy. Each card is designated as one of several types (provisions, useful, heavy, slow, etc...). Whenever you place a card of that type, you may put a scoring marker on that card category. The player with the most scoring markers in that category at the end of the game earns points, with second place gaining fewer points, and all players with a scoring marker in a category getting just a few points. Placing cards onto the Ark is quite tricky. There are several rules to follow. Herbivores can't be placed with provisions, carnivores can't be placed with herbivores that are the same size or smaller, and to make matters worse, each card is designated as either a warm or cold climate and climates can't be mixed. Some animals are designated "shy" and can't even be placed adjacent to a room containing a carnivore. If there is no room on the Ark for the animal you wish to place, you can start a new row of animals at the bottom of the current one. Doing so costs a player a small opportunity cost, so it is best done infrequently. There are plenty of opportunities for strategy. Players may draw from known, face-up animal cards, or from the top of the card deck. Deciding whether to take advantage of an opening on the Ark or drawing a particularly useful face-up animal can be difficult at times. One thing that should be mentioned, the artwork on the box and all the cards is by Doris Matthaus, a very gifted artist who is popular for his cute looking animal artwork in a number of games coming out of Germany. In addition, the player scoring tokens are brightly colored little wooden lizards, adding to the pleasurable visual display of the game. Due to the complex animal card interactions, the game has a steep initial learning curve. However, once all the basic interactions are learned, the game is quite manageable. Expect to make a few mistakes in placing cards the first time through the game, but one time through should be enough to give everyone the feel of the game. Ark is probably not the best choice for a game to introduce if you only expect to play it one time, but it can be quite enjoyable once all the players have a handle on the rules of card placement. Kid Factors: All three games require a bit more thinking than would be normal for a grade school child, so they all fall into a category best for middle school students or older. Despite its lush, cute graphics, Ark may be a bit difficult to learn at first, but once a child knows the complete set of placement rules it should be fairly accessible. Fairy Tale has little or nothing to concern a parent, but the intricate scoring could be challenging for some younger kids. On the other hand, it is also probably the easiest of the three card games for a younger child to play along with adults. A child might not have a large chance of winning, but a less experienced player will still be able to easily play by the rules and will usually not cause imbalance problems for the other players. While Gloom is not any more complex than the other two games, it slightly morbid, tongue-in-cheek theme might be better suited for a more mature high-school aged audience.
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