reviews – The Mitcheners

Guys. Guess what? I won a giveaway!

Grandpa Beck’s is a pretty fantastic card game company. I love the “family feel” they exude, and I really love that their games come at such a great price point. (Our first introduction to Grandpa Beck’s was through a friend who gifted us a copy of Skull King, a pirate-themed, trick-taking game at its finest. I’m digressing, though. Let me leave that review for another post.)

Earlier this month, Grandpa Beck’s launched a brand new card game called 3-2-1 Countdown! I follow several board game accounts on social media, and three of them were offering giveaways prior to the launch date. I entered the giveaways with zero expectation of winning anything. (The last time I ever won a raffle was at a “Take Your Kids to Work Day” event with my grandma. I was 10.)

Well, the stars and the planets aligned for me or something because one of the Instagram accounts I follow messaged me: “Hello there! Guess what?! You won my giveaway for 3-2-1 Countdown! Congratulations!”

Eek! My 30-year “losing streak” is over, and I’ve won something so.majorly.cool. I’m all about games that are easy to teach, quick to learn, and fun to play. This checks all the boxes.

Speaking of boxes… Grandpa Beck’s games bring an added bonus: they come in small boxes! As a blossoming board gamer, I’m already finding that we’re running out of space for our growing collection. Compact games like this one score extra points in my book.

Keep reading if you’d like to check out some more details about 3-2-1 Countdown!

Number of Players: 2-8 / Recommended Age: 7+

Playing Time: 15-30 minutes

Object: Reduce the total value of the cards in your hand to 5 points or less.

Rules: Get a general idea of gameplay below, or you can check out this link to Grandpa Beck’s “How to Play” video.

For 2-6 players, deal out 12 cards to each person. The rest of the cards go to the middle of the table. Form a discard pile on either side of the draw pile.

On your turn, you’ll do two things. Discard first! Place one of your cards on either discard pile. (If you’ve got multiple cards of the same number, you’re allowed to get rid of the entire set.) Secondly, draw a card from the other discard pile – or from the draw pile.

The player on the right decided to shed her highest cards: two 10’s.

Take turns discarding card(s) and drawing a new card until a player has 5 points or less in hand. That player can yell, “Countdown!” and end the round. (Alternatively, you could win another way. If every card in your hand is the same number, you can discard all of your cards and call out “Blastoff!”)

All players will then add up the face values of the cards in their hands. The person with the lowest total receives 3 points, the second-lowest gets 2 points, and the third-lowest gains 1 point. However, you’ve got to be careful. If you call “Countdown!” but don’t have the lowest score, you get nothing. Zilch-o. Nada.

You’ll have to take some risks if you want to win big!

Ang’s Rating: 8.5/10

Buy 3-2-1 Countdown!

ANGELA15

Using the above coupon code when you check out will get you 15% off your order!

Cal walked in while I was uploading some pictures for this blog post and said, “Whatcha doing, Mom?” I told her I was getting ready to share yet another game. As she looked over my shoulder, she incredulously asked, “You mean, you haven’t posted about Skyjo yet?!” We all really, really like this one!

Whenever I’ve got a game night to attend, I often lead with this game. It’s easy to walk a person through a practice round without having to explain a ton of rules. I also love that up to 8 people can play, and the rounds are fairly short.

I can think of two other games that are comparable to Skyjo: Grandpa Beck’s Gnoming Around and Play Nine. If you already own either of those, I don’t think you need to buy this too. The mechanics of all 3 games are similar. I just happened to get introduced to Skyjo first; I fully own my bias.

I’m trying my hardest to come up with some kind of “negative” about the game so that I’m being transparent about the pros and the cons… but I’m kind of at a loss! It’s solid!

Number of Players: 2-8

Age: 8+

Playing Time: 30ish minutes

Object: Get the lowest score as quickly as possible by flipping, exchanging, and revealing cards.

Rules Rundown: Here’s a link to an unofficial copy of the rules – or follow along below for a quick run-through of how to play.

First, deal out 12 cards to each person. Every player will make a facedown 4×3 grid. Before play begins, flip up any 2 cards. Place the draw pile in the middle of the table. The person who has the highest point total showing will go first.

On each turn, draw a card from the draw pile or from the discard pile. After looking at that card, decide if you would like to keep it or not. If you want to add it to your grid, you must exchange it with one of your current cards. It doesn’t matter if the card is hidden or not. (Obviously, you are taking a risk if you decide to replace one of your hidden cards, but sometimes the risk pays off!) You can also decide to discard the card you chose, but if you do so, you’ll automatically flip up one of your hidden cards.

So far, looking good! (It’d be nice to get rid of that 6 up there…)

There is one special feature. If you happen to place 3 identical cards in the same column, they cancel out! Discard those 3 cards, eliminating the column and bringing your total score down.

I’m down to the wire! Just one more card to flip over.

The round is basically over when someone has flipped over all of his cards. (Any players who did not get to finish the current round are allowed to take one final turn.) Turn over any remaining hidden cards, tally up your points, and write them on the score card. *Important! If the player who went out does not have the lowest score, he must double his score. Yikes!

I hope you enjoy Skyjo as much as I do!

Ang’s Rating: 8/10

Buy Skyjo on Amazon!

The Mitcheners

Tag: reviews

3-2-1 Countdown: A Tabletop Tales Review

Skyjo: A Tabletop Tales Review