My Card Sleeves Bit Me!

Get Bit! (Deluxe Version)

Designed by Dave Chalker

Published by Mayday Games

2 to 6 Players (Although the game is really designed for 4 to 6)

20 Minutes

Push Your Luck, Hand Management, Player Elimination

Sometimes you just need a good quick game where you can laugh and not take it too seriously. "Get Bit!" is such a game. Each turn you choose a card and then simultaneously reveal that card with the other players. Players have 7 cards numbered 1 through 7. Playing a low number means that you move first, but that isn't a good thing in this game as you are all in a line swimming away from a hungry shark! If you pick the same number as someone else, neither one of you will move and all the other players will swim right past you and you may lose a limb.

This is the deluxe tin edition - which may lead you to ask what is the difference between this and an original version. Each game includes 6 guys ready to be torn limb from limb and a set of cards for each. Oh, and the shark - a very hungry one. With the deluxe tin version you get - well, a tin for starters. I like tins. They are sturdy although they don't really stack well. This tin and the artwork is great. The deluxe version includes stickers that can be applied to your little swimmers too with a few different ones so you can customize them. I really like the fact that the guys have faces and personalities.

The game play is simple to learn and play and it really is a fun filler game or family game. The game is quick to play and it sure is fun to tear off limbs of the little guys. The game is an elimination game, so you may have someone get eliminated early on and sit out doing nothing - on the other hand, the game is pretty quick. I enjoy the game, but I did feel that it may be a little too random. Your played cards stay in a pile in front of you until you are either bit or you have played them all - then you get those cards back into your hand. So, there seems to be some strategy or memory involved of what has been played. If you like a good strategy game with little luck, I wouldn't recommend this, but if you want a fun quick game where you push your luck and tear off limbs of little guys swimming away from a shark - well, then this is a perfect game for you and that is How Lou Sees It!

Also, I wanted to note that Mayday Games provided this complimentary for a review along with some card sleeves for my Dominion game. They are very nice quality sleeves designed to fit the cards perfectly - and they do. I don't really play with sleeves, but I tried them and they are nice. They were very slippery on one another though and I kept dropping them as I tried to shuffle them. The other thing is that they don't fit back in the original card divider that comes with the game. I see the benefit of sleeves with games such as Dominion though where you will shuffle the cards frequently - and well, Mayday sleeves are nice quality and are available to fit many different games nice and snug. Great fit and great quality sleeves indeed! Thanks Mayday!

Stacking SUTAKKU Style

SUTAKKU
Designed by Curt Covert
Published by Smirk and Dagger Games
For 1 or more players
Push-Your-Luck Dice Game

Background / Introduction

With all of the Japanese characters on the box, the game might seem foreign and be pretty mysterious. The fact is, the game is a very easy to learn, quick to play, push-your-luck style dice game. Fans of Yahtzee, Farkle, Fill or Bust, or Incan Gold are those most likely to enjoy SUTAKKU. The symbols on the dice may be a little intimidating at first, but they just represent numbers with the Japanese characters. The game is really simple, elegant, and fun.

Components

The star of the game (as it should be) is the set of 12 beautifully engraved large (3/4") dice. These dice are awesome! Top notch quality. The bigger dice are perfect for stacking (and yet not too large to make rolling them awkward) and for good visibility around a big table. I repeat, these dice are awesome.

The game also comes with a little black cloth dice bag, a stacking/reference board, a score pad, 11 'Smirky's Challenge' bonus cards, and rule book. 

The stacking board isn't necessary, but it is kind of cool. The board really serves three purposes: 1) Look

cool. 2) Center a spot where the dice will be stacked. 3) Provide a reminder to what the Japanese characters represent. You could create a house rule that involves the board (as suggested in my video) when dice fall from an in-progress stack, but in general the board is their to look cool - and it does a great job.

The cloth bag fits all 12 dice for convenient pocket travel. The score pad is nice and there is a blank copy in the rule book so you can make additional copies (smart idea). The rule book is nice and even includes a little Japanese folklore story that gives some background for the origin of the game.

The bonus 'Smirk's Challenge' cards are a great idea and I like playing with them. I am disappointed however in the quality of these little 'bonus cards.' I would have loved for these cards to be more 'poker card' type quality, but they are basically printed on card stock paper. They are considered to be just a little bonus to the game, but I really would have liked to see them included more as a part of the game and the quality increased.

Gameplay Overview

Without getting too detailed with rules, the game really consists of rolling 3 dice and stacking 2 of those dice onto your scoring stack. These 2 dice must be equal to or greater than the top die of the stack and if you can't stack 2 of your 3, you bust - losing all your points for this turn. While you have one free mulligan per turn to re-roll 2 of your 3 dice, you must be careful not to get too greedy. You get bonus points for stacking on 5s, 6s, or if you are able to stack all 12 (which would be amazing!). 

That is the game! Simple and yet extremely fun. You can add in the challenge cards which really makes the game interesting. It will basically set a challenge to a player that that player must complete to score any points - and yet the player may get rewarded nicely by doing so. A nice element to the game (again, I wish there was a bit more of).

Conclusion / Thoughts

I really enjoy SUTAKKU and it has been well received by friends and family. The game is a very light dice game and with that comes very little strategy. The real decision you have to make throughout the game is if you will be pressing your luck to try and obtain some major points, or if you will keep the small points and stay safe. Then, there is always the last round or so for those who are so far behind that they will always push their luck trying to score big - and they just might. I like the gameplay and I really enjoy the larger dice in this game. Great quality and they look cool. I also enjoy playing with the challenge cards although I wish they were a little bit better quality. The actual game could really be played with any regular dice, so you will be purchasing this game mainly for the artistic large dice, stacking board, written rules, travel bag, and the challenge cards. That said, I'm giving the game 4 Fingers Up or 9/10 stars because I enjoy the simplistic game and the dice are fantastic and that is How Lou Sees It!

A big SHOUT OUT to Smirk and Dagger Games for making this review possible. Stay tuned for future Smirk and Dagger game reviews (Dread Curse, HEX HEX XL, and Cutthroat Caverns).