Hi, George here. We received 45 entries for the first round of the 18 Card Challenge - Numbers On Cards and we got even more for the next round! Going through the entries was a lot of fun and it was awesome to see how everyone utilized the numbered cards. It was also really exciting to see everyone's illustrated cards and wallets. (of course we don't judge based on art skill, it's just fun) This has been my favorite 18 Card Challenge simply because it's been a blank canvas for creativity. Let's go over out top 10 favorites (in no particular order) and what made them special.
If your submission was received after May 31st, you'll be in round 2.
Cuba Mia
Build the perfect schedule for your upcoming return to your beloved island of Cuba. In Cuba Mia players draft itinerary cards that display various cultural experiences that they can add to their schedule tableau, scoring points by meeting the requirements stipulated on one of the game's 4 scoring cards.
What We Liked:
We try to avoid anything that does the Sprawlopolis/Circle The Wagons placement and scoring thing this has a neat twist on it with the value of the card dictating the placement. The draft is nice too.
Dastardly
Play as a devious mastermind manipulating squads of heroes and villains to hunt down the loot you need to complete your master plan. Use the most powerful characters to KO your opponents or sneak the least powerful characters in to nab the loot first!
What We Liked:
Battle games are tough but this has a real interesting competitive / cooperative element with how it behaves with heroes and villains all being options.
Elevator Pitch
In Elevator Pitch you are following investors around to various hotel amenities in the elevator to pitch your million dollar idea. Each round you play numbered arrow cards as either actions or elevator routes while matching your designated amenity symbol to score points. First to score 3 rounds wins!
What We Liked:
The up and down floor element is really cool in how it determines so much about the play space. A nice and fresh way to get to icon matching.
Hello World
Hello World is a competitive creative myth for two players, drawing inspiration from area-majority games like Battle Line and Air, Land & Sea.
What We Liked:
This was rich in theme and had a real interesting way to handle the tactile placement of cards. It definitely stands out in the air land and sea full of lane / grid style small card games.
Journey
A solo adventure game that has you exploring various locations, learning skills, facing dangerous obstacles, and finding treasure. Survive long enough to find all three treasures and their keys to win.
What We Liked:
Another rich in theme / narrative. This looks like a meaty solo without dipping into the area of too much. Neat use of the top and bottom of the cards too.
Neurotic Neurologist
Neurotic Neurologist is a 1-2 player game in which you play a Neurologist trying to treat patients with neurological conditions and arranging patients optimally in your hospital, in order to score the most dopamine points. It's a tableau-building puzzle, with some push-your-luck elements, and plays in around 10 minutes.
What We Liked:
As stated above, this game has a bit of everything. The theme is also very unique, very specific, and implemented in an interesting way.
One Eight Two Much
A solo game about Numbsters eating Numbsters, played in around 10 minutes.
What We Liked: First off, Numbsters are adorable. We really liked that the top card gives a special rule that must be followed. That combined with the ever moving mouth card makes for a fun puzzle!
Super Slopes
It’s a fresh powder day on the ski slopes! Pick the best routes down the mountain throughout the day to put together one final epic ski run at the end.
On your turn, choose a route on the ski hill and claim the card at the end of that route. Add this card to your personal tableau, creating a maze of intertwining ski runs. At the end of the game, choose one of the runs in your tableau and get awarded points based on its features. The player with the most points wins!
What We Liked: Super slopes has the coolest drafting mechanic. Using the end of the path to determine what card you get is a fun, fresh approach to drafting.
The King's Feast
The goal in The King’s Feast is get each guest back to their assigned place in the seating arrangement without giving the assassin a chance to kill the King. You do this by activating cards’ special effects to flip and swap them, trying to get them closer to their assigned place over time. If you ever use a card’s effect to flip the assassin card face up or peek at it, the assassin uses the confusion of the feast as cover to kill the king, ending the game immediately.
What We Liked:
This is a neat simple deduction game that seems to work well with just iconography, but what really pushed it over the edge was the variety of puzzle play in the different shapes.
Spectracular
Spectracular is a cooperative party game for 5-12 players. Success is determined by your party’s willingness to take risks, apply reasoning, and most importantly, get creative!
What We Liked: Trying to determine where your guess lies on a spectrum is a fun approach to a party game. We've seen it with Wavelength before, but this adds just enough to feel new and different.
Stay tuned for the winner after we get these to the table!