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Your first step into the world of "German games"

Coloretto by Michael Schacht Rating: 8/10 with 20+ plays

COLORETTO by Michael Schacht art Michael Schacht publish Abacus/Rio Grande Players: 3-5 Duration: 20 mins. PACE: Quick. Flip a card and add it or take a row. Very quick game. COMPLEXITY: Light. But the decisions can be very important. Trying to decide how to add a card in order to help you and not have your opponent go after a good set is interesting. Kids like this game, but so do gamers. LUCK: Medium. If a player flips over a wild card, 9 times out of 10 the next player will take whatever row that wild card is in. And when you are the last person in a round and are finishing your row, if you get good cards you could win, if you get lousy cards you're sunk. TENSION: Medium. For what it it, the decisions are actually pretty tough. And playing chicken at the end of a round is always interesting. VICIOUS: High. For a light game, this is pretty vicious. Players can make it so every set is a bad set for everyone! SOCIAL: Medium. Interactive. Oft-heard phrase: "Why do you always get the wild card!" THEME: Low. The only relation between the 'chameloen' theme and the game is that players are constantly changing colors...of their cards. (Get it?) GAMER APPEAL: Maybe. It feels like part of a bigger game, but the good part of a bigger game. Luck could kill it for a gamer though. NON-GAMER APPEAL: Yes. Simple to learn and it feels like their is a lot of strategy. 2 PLAYERS: No. REPLAY: Very good. Interesting system that feels quite addictive. I've played 30+ times. Good with 3-5 players. Best with 3-5 players.

Quick summary | Every once in a while a small, unpretentious game will get published that seems underwhelming at first glance but ends up being a true favorite with wide appeal. The gameplay in Coloretto is very simple. Goal: Get as many cards as you can in 3 colors only. If you get more than 3 colors, all additional colors count against you. There are also '+2 pts' cards that are do not count for or against any color, and (rare) wildcards that can be added to any colors the player wishes at the end of the game. Your first card in a color is worth 1 point (for or against), the second card is worth 2 points., etc., up to 21 points (the value of 6 cards) maximum. (The publishers sensibly included a reference card so that you won't have to keep calculating all your cards individually.)  The kicker? Everyone will be collarboarting on building the rows, one card at a time. Coloretto is one of the best 'filler' game I have ever played. It plays well 3-5 players for nearly all ages and I know will end up being one of my most requested games. And since it was realeased in 2003, it will be easily available for some time yet. Enjoy!

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