I tried a new game with my family this Thanksgiving. My sister-in-law brought over a card game called Blink.
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The game seemed an easy one to pick up, without a lot of complicated rules. It has some characteristics of Dutch Blitz and some of Uno, both games familiar to me. It worked really well with just three players, me and two of my sisters-in-law.
It is similar to Dutch Blitz in that it’s a fast-paced game where all players play at once. It’s a little like Uno in that you can match color or number (actually count rather than a numeral) or shape.
Cards are first dealt evenly to all players until the deck is all distributed. For three players, the players form a triangle with their draw piles, laying one card out from each, face down. Players put three cards into their hand to start and can replenish them as they play.
Once the round starts, the three face-down cards are flipped over. Players can then match cards and discard them on any of the three now face-up cards.
There are three ways to match, so it seems simple. You can put gray on gray or triangles on triangles or five lightning bolts on five tear drops. Even Kindergarteners know how to match colors, shapes and a count of objects. (This is a game for all ages.)
It’s a bit trickier than it seems. Your brain has to keep track of all three ways to match at a fast pace, constantly switching gears. You may forget that you can put a single green teardrop on five green thunder bolts, because they only match in color and no other way, or you can forget that you can play two yellow triangles on two red stars, because they only match in count.
Like with Dutch Blitz, your opponent can outdo you in speed and slap down a card where you wanted to discard yours. Your four green triangle card may have matched the four yellow star card in a discard pile, but the three gray stars your opponent puts down before you is no longer a card you can match with the one you had in mind.
I found my mind was constantly switching gears but that I got better and faster with each round that I played.
I’d recommend it for a fast and fun game with simple rules that is still challenging. You can play with friends, members of the family and others of all ages.