Following up from the first week of Related Work studies, I moved on to examine the rules of different card games. The three games below are pretty familiar with most people due to the simpler nature and easy play styles.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of this product
1. Taboo
Taboo is probably a game that most people are familiar with. It has several different versions and a lot of them are actually in a different medium. The most common version of it is a verbal game that can be played among more than 3 people. The game box comes with a set of 502 cards, each has a big word on the top and a list of taboo words that you CAN’T use, a timer and a buzzer. In the most common scenarios of when there are 4 players, everybody will be divided into 2 teams. Each team has a caller and a responder. The responsibility of the caller is to look at the cards and describe the main words to the responder while abiding by some rules (cannot use the taboo words, cannot use action, etc.). The responder will then need to guess as many words as possible before the time runs out. If the other team catches the caller use a taboo word, the card will be discarded and the point will belong to them. And here is an introduction to the game in more detail. As I point out before, the core of the game is to use the verbal technique. Unlike the other card game I have introduced, Taboo doesn't exactly put you in a fictional role, it solely based itself on the gameplay. This has both pros and cons. The pros are you can import the game easily to other mediums, but the cons are it ends up with a lack of thrilling nature.
2. Codename
Codename has one similar quality with Taboo: the need to communicate with your teammate verbally despised restricted rule. In this game, players will have a chance to play as secret agents. The deck consists of 200 double-side codename cards, several 5x5 rectangle grid maps, red agents cards, blue agent cards, innocent bystander cards, and 1 single assassin card. There need to be at least 2 teams: each team has a spymaster and his or her responder. And to set up the game, players must choose 25 codename cards among the pile of 200, arrange it 5x5 on the table. After that, everybody needs to pick out one of the grid maps that indicate the position of each character. The 2 spymasters sit on one side of the table, they will receive 9 red agents cards, 9 blue agents cards, 7 bystanders cards, and the sole assassin card. The spymasters must use one word and one number to point at the codename that reflects the position of their team’s agents on the map. If the responder managed to rightfully select their team agents, they will earn one point. But if he or she picks up an agent from the opposing team, the turn will be switched and the other team gets one point. The game will end when a team collects all of their 9 agents or if they encounter the assassin. Please take a look at this video to get a better understanding of the game. Comparing to Taboo, Codename has a much more extended play style. And more importantly, the game has a theme that adds up and makes it more engaging despite using the same technique.
3. Point Salad
It is quite a funny name indeed. With Point Salad, you will get to play as a farmer to collect vegetables and earn points from them. There are 108 double-sided cards in this deck. On one side there are vegetables, and the other side are the scoring rules that differ depend on the cards. You point will fluctuate base on the types of vegetables you possess. At the start of the game, the big pile of cards will be divided into 3 different piles with roughly equal amounts. With each pile, you will take 2 cards and place it to 2 different rows beneath the respective pile. And now, when you finish setting up the game, there is going to be 2 choices: choose 1 card from the 3 piles or choose 2 cards from the 2 roles. Players will take turns to pick up cards until the piles run out. It is important for players to come up with a logical strategy to win against other people. Bear in mind that there is going to be a lot of math involved. If anybody feels that my explanation is too confusing, please take a look at this gameplay video and play through video. What makes Point Salad stand out to me is how it doesn’t require players to hide the information that they are holding to win. The game is transparent from the get-go so you need to rely on other aspects, in this case, math