Game, Set, Match

Day 55 - Set
Designed by Marsha J. Falco

Because Wimbledon started yesterday, I thought that today's title was a perfect match. So, tonight I serve up a review on set and forgive me if I slip a few Tennis references in; it's not my fault. Set is an amazing card game in which players visually look at 12 face up cards and try and find "sets." The game has 3 different colors (purple, green (like grass), and red (like clay)), 3 different shapes (squiggle (squiggle, squiggle, squiggle....), oval, and diamond), and 3 different shading (clear (or open), solid, and shaded). Finding the sets are sometimes easy, and sometimes you can find yourself starting at the 12 cards for a long time trying to find the set right under your nose. A set consists of 3 different cards in which the 3 cards are either all of the same or all different in each of the 3 categories. A few examples are thrown out on the picture above. The game can be played with 1 to 20 players, but I think it really works best with 2 to 4. I love the simplicity of the game and how the game makes you think. You have to quickly internalize the 12 cards and find and call out "Set!" before your opponents do, or you will be left in the dust. Set is a fast paced card game for all ages that should be in every home, and that is How Lou Sees It.

Why Settle For Four Crowns When You Can Have Five

Day 49 - Five Crowns
Designed by Marsha J. Falco

Five Crowns is a fun card game worthy of each of its five crowns. This card game is basically the face card version of Quiddler. The game is played in 11 rounds where the first round players are dealt 3 cards, and the second round 4 cards etc. The current number of cards dealt each round also signifies the current round's wild card (on the round where 9 cards are dealt, all the 9 cards are wild). There are 6 Jokers which are always wild. Players draw a card and discard a card "going out" when all of their cards in their hand save one can be put into either a "run" or "book." Basically, you can either get the same valued cards in any suit as a book, or you can get a sequence of cards in one suit. The game is similar to Rummy with the additional little changes. A fabulous card game for 1 to 7 players and that is How Lou Sees It.

Quiddle Me This, Quiddle Me That

Day 12 - Quiddler
Designed by Marsha J. Falco


I enjoy word games such as Scrabble, Words With Friends, Boggle, and many others. The Wife loves them even more. Tonight's game is a great card game from the makers of Set called Quiddler. Quiddler is for 1-8 players and takes about 20 minutes to play. The game is especially nice because of the easy set up compared to other word games that need tiles. The game includes 118 different letter cards with some cards that have two letters (i.e. QU, CL, TH...). The game is comprised of 8 rounds. The first round each player is dealt 3 cards. The second round 4 cards, right on up to the eighth round with 10 cards. On a player's turn, he/she draws a card from the draw pile or the face up discard pile. The player then discards one card. A player can "go out" when they can use all of their cards in words and still have a card to discard. The other players then receive one more turn. You score positive points for the letters used in your words (words need to be 2 or more letters) and you receive negative points for the unused letters (you can't go negative). Bonus points are given to the player with the longest word and to the player with the most words (you choose only one bonus point to be awarded when playing with 2 players). The Wife pulled out another victory! The lead switched a few times during the game, but I was leading for the majority of it. Up by 15 before the final round I was feeling pretty confident, but The Wife pulled out a 257 to 253 victory. Congratulations Wife! A simple and fun word game and that is How Lou Sees It.