The Game: Quick & Easy

Designed by Steffen Benndorf
2-5 Players | 10 Minutes

In The Game: Quick and Easy, players cooperatively take turns playing 1 or 2 cards on 2 stacks (1 for ascending numbered cards and the other for descending). The game has a total of 50 cards, 5 different colors each numbered 1-10. The conditions are simple, play all the cards in the deck and win the game… fail to play and you’re out.

The Game does provide a nice wrinkle: You must follow the ascending or descending rule of each specific deck UNLESS you can match the color of the previous card played in that stack. For example, in the case of one of the ascending decks, if the last card played was a green 9 you could follow it up with a green 2. This provides new life for the stack. But be careful how you use your cards because with each one played your future options decrease.

The Game: Quick and Easy is a follow up to the hugely popular original, The Game. While the Quick and Easy version does play quicker (vs the 100 card deck of the original) – I didn’t find it to be too much easier. I did find myself missing the solo variant of the original though. The card designs have received a huge upgrade and that definitely adds to the fun. The Game: Quick and Easy is a good time, but I prefer the original. The loss of a solo play is big and I feel the 50 card deck lacked the deeper strategy and decisions that came with the original.

Ohanami

Designed by Steffen Benndorf
2-4 Players | 20 Minutes

Ohanami is a light, strategic card game that’s easy to pick up and tons of fun to play.

During the game players will draft cards and attempt to play them – building their own gardens. Players can play up to 3 gardens with each garden arranged in numerical order. As players play they can only add cards with a higher or lower value – adding them to the ends of the columns.

The game takes place over 3 rounds. To begin each round players are dealt 10 cards. Players then simultaneously draft 2 cards from their hand and pass the remainder to the next player. Players will immediately attempt to play those 2 drafted cards in their garden columns. This continues until all cards have been drafted. Players then move to the end of round scoring.

Players score by collecting specific cards meeting end-round scoring goals. The 120 card deck features 4 unique suits: blue (water), green (vegetation), gray (stone) and pink (flowering trees). Players may draft any card suit into their garden at any time, but will only score based on that rounds scoring goals. At the end of round 1 player receive 3 points per blue cards total in their gardens. Round 2 gives you 3 points per blue card (even if they were counted in round 1) and 4 points per green card. In the final round, players receive 3 points per blue card, 4 per green, 7 per gray and a set score for how many total pinks gathered (1 for 1, 3 for 2, 6 for 3, etc.).

The winner is the player with the most total points after round 3.

Ohanami is an unassuming game that plays fast and is truly a blast. The simple mechanics allow anyone to jump in almost immediately, but there is a ton of strategy to go around. The end round scoring really challenges your choices. The gray and pink provide big end-round scoring late in the game, grabbing too many too soon can leave lots of points on the board early.

While drafting cards you’ll find yourself playing your opponents as much as yourself sometimes passing on the best cards in effort to keep your opponent from bigger paydays. Even choosing when to start a new garden can be a pressing decision (players are able to start a new garden when they choose). Starting a new garden too early can potentially leave you with huge number gaps in your column – even keeping you from playing drafted cards later in the game, forcing you to forfeit this points.

While each of these games featured in this article have their own merits – Ohanami rises above. A great mix of accessibility, strategy and fun. It’s definitely a game I’ll be playing again and again.

Qwinto

Design by Bernhard Lach & Uwe Rapp |  Published by Pandasaurus Games
2-6 Players  |  15 min

Qwinto is coming on the heels of the roll & write classic, Qwixx. In Qwinto players take turns rolling dice and attempt to fill multiple colored rows with ascending numbers. Players score by writing in the combined value of their roll along with various bonuses throughout. Players that end up not being able to play a dice they roll will receive a deduction. The player with the most points at the end of the game wins.

Players choose to roll 1-3 dice (orange, yellow & purple). The total pips on the die then is entered on one of the empty spaces on one of the die colors rows. Once the dice is rolled all players have the opportunity to score the dice. Players have the opportunity to re-roll all their dice once per turn. Each row must be in ascending order and duplicates are not allowed. Same numbers are also not allowed vertically between the different rows so planning and strategy are necessary for success.

At the end of the game you receive points per filled in blank. If you have completed a row you receive the score from the final blank in that row. Bonus points are earned for totals entered in pentagon shapes scattered throughout each colored row. Finally, players lose 5 points for every one of their rolls they weren’t able to enter on their scorecard.

The game ends when one player has completed two rows on their scoresheet or a player has totaled 4 personal rolls without recording a score.

Final Thoughts

This is a swift and easy roll & write with plenty of decision making and opportunity to push your luck to it’s limits in a short amount of time. From strategizing where to score certain rolls to achieving bonuses, the dice guarantee a new game each time. There is virtually no downtime as players have the opportunity to score on every roll.

Qwinto provides everything you could ask for in a filler game: short play time, family, tons of interaction and simple yet challenging decisions.

Machi Koro

Design by Masao Suganuma |  Published by Pandasaurus Games
2-4 Players  |  30 min

In Machi Koro, you’re been elected mayor and it’s your job to develop business and industry in your town. Players take turns buying and building properties as well as earning income.

Each player starts with a minimal cityscape comprised of a wheat field and bakery card. Players take turns rolling dice, earning money and buying additional property cards. Each type of card features a different value allowing you to benefit from your own rolls as well as others. As your city engine grows you’ll be able to build landmarks allowing you access to additional and dice and various other turn benefits.

Certain cards allow you to score off other players rolls earning money from the bank or other players. You may even be able to steal property cards right out from under your opponent.

The mayor who can succesfully build 4 landmarks before anyone else is the winner.

Final Thoughts

Another incredibly simple, yet fun game from Pandasaurus! I’m a huge fan of engine building and Machi Koro does it in a simple and accessible way.

At the end of the day it comes down to the roll of the dice, but by diversifying your property portfolio you have the opportunity to benefit on nearly every roll limited bad luck.

The diverse number of cards allow players a choice in determining their path to success. You can even purchase landmarks out of financial order if that fits your strategy.

For me there is just enough push your luck and take that between players to keep it interesting without turning off casual players. It is disappointing losing a property to an opponent, but it doesn’t happen often and you’re likely to have some type of success before your next turn comes around.

The concept, components, box and artwork are all great and the setup is very minimal. My only negative is that our 4-player games came in closer to 45 minutes and had a tendency to get bogged down on certain players turns.

Overall this is blast and one that I image my family will be playing for years to come.