SutakkuSutakku
Smirk & Dagger, 2011

Sutakku is a Japanese themed press your luck dice game. The gameplay is simple. Roll 3 dice, stack them as you can low to high, and decide if you would like to press your luck and continue on, or take your points as they stand. Push to far, and you might go bust. Roll well and stack higher and higher, gaining more points and/or bonus points.

The game comes with a nice Japanese theme. A short story starts off the rules and the dice use Japanese characters. The game is played over 5 rounds, so it can be played quickly. It is a simple to learn, easy, lightweight game. One drawback of the game is it can seem a little like competitive solitare, with no interaction between the players. Much like Farkle with a Japanese theme. However, there is a small card expansion to the game which makes it much more interactive and gives a nice dimension to the game. I highly recommend that if your copy does not come with the expansion that you find a copy and add it to the game. Once this expansion is in place, you will be left with a nice lightweight game that you will want to play again and again.

Recommended.

TrailerParkWarsTrailer Park Wars
Gut Bustin’ Games, 2007

Trailer Park Wars is a lighthearted, irreverent game about trailer park ownership. You are the owner of a trailer park. You start the game with a circle of trailers. You spend the game attracting people to live in the trailers, and adding sweet amenities to your park while causing destruction and misfortune on the parks belonging to your opponents. As you add to your park, you will augment your park with lovely pink flamingos. Once all 100 included flamingos have been played, the player with the most flamingos wins.

This is an easy to learn, hilarious game. The thing I find most amusing is the trailers in the game are pictures of actual trailers that exist somewhere. You just can’t make up this stuff. Reality is so much funnier. The people in the games are pastiches of common stereotypes and may offend some players. Be warned, a good sense of humor and a will to make fun of everyone and everything is essential to enjoyment.

Toy value: Who doesn’t want a bag of plastic pink flamingos? This game has more strategy than it’s compatriot “Redneck Life”. Overall, it’s a lot of fun, and a good game for a nice light relaxing evening full of laughs. Give it a try.

GeekOutGeek Out!
Playroom, 2013

Want to find out how geeky you are? Think you are the geekiest of them all. Find out with Geek Out! This is a trivia party game for individuals or teams. Simply put, you roll the die to determine the category to be played. Categories are: Games, Comics, Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Miscellaneous. There is a blank side on the die, if that is rolled, then the player/team chooses the category they wish to play. There no “correct” answers on the card. Each player/team must bid on how many correct answers they think they can come up with. The highest bidder must then give that many answers to get the card, which is worth one point. If they do not answer the question to the satisfaction of the group, then they receive a -2 penalty chip. The first player or team to 5 points wins.

That is the way the game is officially played. To be honest, every time we play it we start playing the game, but end up reading the question and then everyone answers and discusses until we decide to move on to the next question. We rarely, if ever play for points and don’t usually declare a winner. Does that make our game play a cooperative variant?

The questions are great. This is a great game when you are sitting around and want to start conversations or get a group of people talking about things. It would be great for a convention panel. I’m thinking of reading the question, having attendees bid, and if they complete their quest giving out candy. Fun.

Example question: (This is on the back of the box, so I shouldn’t get in trouble for this…) Four Video Game Companies. How many can you list?

This is a lot of fun, and a great “get-to-know-you” or “party” game. Recommended.