Social Gaming: Chaos
I just spent some time last night playing Chaos with my local game group. It took a lot of arm-twisting to get them to sit down for a session, but I think they all left the table feeling well-rewarded for doing so.
This game is easy to describe once you've played it before. When I first opened up the rules though, I had no idea what was going on. Here's a little summary that would get you started. My friends have described it as "Go Fish on crack," which is a pretty good description. The whole deck is dealt out to all the players, plus an additional pile used to draw cards. The deck is pretty close to a standard deck of cards with 13 values, 4 Order cards, and 2 Chaos. You're trying to make sets of 3 without later getting the 4th. Order cards have the most power overall, but they go away if you ever get a Chaos card.
You get 3 actions in a turn (pass not being one of them), and 3 possible things to choose from. You can seek a card from another player by revealing one in your hand, and then they have to give it to you if they have one. If not, you have to discard something. You can trade a single card, sight unseen, with another player. You can also initiate battle. Everyone ventures in a card face-down, any matching cards get discarded, and whoever has the highest value among that gets all the cards ventured.
Although the 13 value cards (known as Spectrums) make up the primary gameplay, the interaction between Order and Chaos is what really makes things interesting. There's many ways to end the round, and if you have Chaos in your hand at that time, you score absolutely nothing regardless of what you've got. You have to ditch all Orders if you get Chaos, but Chaos is just as easily passed on. Having a set of Order is worth plenty of points. If 3 Order cards make up your entire hand, you can end the game right there and even nab some bonus points. Order also trumps all other cards in battle. If you ain't doing well with the Spectrums, going for an Order victory just might make up for it.
The game evolves very naturally and nothing ever goes to waste. You draw at the turn's start, discard at its end, and start picking cards out of the discard pile when someone's turn starts with 5+ cards in it. This has made my discard decisions much easier knowing that even if I give something up, I can possibly get it back and maybe even force my opponents to get it (remember, the 4th card makes a set worthless).
Chaos goes for $10 retail. It takes some time to really get the hang of the rules, but once you're there, the game typically lasts 5-10 minutes per round. You just keep on going for as long as you feel. It's about the size of a standard deck of cards, so you can take it anywhere. No matter what your budget, if you've got a small group of friends, this would be a great addition to your collection. Just make sure someone among you is good at rules, because there's a lot to be found inside its small rule sheet.
http://www.zmangames.com/cardgames/chaos.htm
EDIT: Seriously, you'll want someone good at rules. I'm still discovering things that I didn't notice even after writing this post. Fortunately, I don't think it's going to impact our gameplay much.
You get 3 actions in a turn (pass not being one of them), and 3 possible things to choose from. You can seek a card from another player by revealing one in your hand, and then they have to give it to you if they have one. If not, you have to discard something. You can trade a single card, sight unseen, with another player. You can also initiate battle. Everyone ventures in a card face-down, any matching cards get discarded, and whoever has the highest value among that gets all the cards ventured.
Although the 13 value cards (known as Spectrums) make up the primary gameplay, the interaction between Order and Chaos is what really makes things interesting. There's many ways to end the round, and if you have Chaos in your hand at that time, you score absolutely nothing regardless of what you've got. You have to ditch all Orders if you get Chaos, but Chaos is just as easily passed on. Having a set of Order is worth plenty of points. If 3 Order cards make up your entire hand, you can end the game right there and even nab some bonus points. Order also trumps all other cards in battle. If you ain't doing well with the Spectrums, going for an Order victory just might make up for it.
The game evolves very naturally and nothing ever goes to waste. You draw at the turn's start, discard at its end, and start picking cards out of the discard pile when someone's turn starts with 5+ cards in it. This has made my discard decisions much easier knowing that even if I give something up, I can possibly get it back and maybe even force my opponents to get it (remember, the 4th card makes a set worthless).
Chaos goes for $10 retail. It takes some time to really get the hang of the rules, but once you're there, the game typically lasts 5-10 minutes per round. You just keep on going for as long as you feel. It's about the size of a standard deck of cards, so you can take it anywhere. No matter what your budget, if you've got a small group of friends, this would be a great addition to your collection. Just make sure someone among you is good at rules, because there's a lot to be found inside its small rule sheet.
http://www.zmangames.com/cardgames/chaos.htm
EDIT: Seriously, you'll want someone good at rules. I'm still discovering things that I didn't notice even after writing this post. Fortunately, I don't think it's going to impact our gameplay much.
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