Arctic Card Game Review

Arctic

WBG Score: 7.5

Player Count: 2-4

You’ll like this if you like: Clever scoring card games with cute art!

Published by: Ludonaute

Designed by: Cédric Lefebvre

This is a review copy. See our review policy here

When I first saw this game, I knew I wanted to play it. It was not the art. I like it, but it is somewhat repetitive - sadly. It was more the scoring. It seemed so simple but satisfying to me. I wanted to find out if that was the case when you played it. It also has one of those covers that says Play Me! So, when this game arrived, along with a few others on the same day I was instantly keen to try this game. This was the first out of the shrink and onto the table. Five minutes later we we playing, the rules are that simple. But is it any good? Lets find out.

How To Set Up Arctic

Place the six landscape cards into a sequential horizontal row on the table, running from zero up to 15. Then place the animal tokens onto the card in the middle marked with a three. The main deck of cards all have a number on the back: one, two, three, or four. Separate them into their respective decks and then take one deck per player. Shuffle these cards together to form a deck. Remove five for a two-player game, ten for a three-player game, and 15 for a four-player game. Place the removed cards underneath the player aid token on the table. These will be used later. Now, take the six animal power cards and place them on the table, shuffling the side of them that you place as you go. They are double-sided, and you want a different setup for each game. Then deal one animal totem to each player at random. Look at your own totem, but keep this information secret from the other players.

Then deal the cards to each player from the draw pile and then place six cards next to the deck as your starting River. Randomly determine the start player and give them the start player token. You are now ready to play. Below is an example set up for two players.

Players will now take it in turns to play card(s) from their hand. To start with, you will play one card in front of you as you have nothing else to go on. But in subsequent turns, you must play the number of cards from your hand as shown by the card on top of the pile in front of you - as dictated by that card's number on the middle left. If it shows four on your next turn you must play four cards from your hand. This number will vary from one to five.

The final card you play each turn not only dictates the number of cards you will play the next turn, but it also dictates the number of cards you will draw this turn. The total of this always equals six. So if you are drawing four cards this turn, you will play two next turn. A nice amount of options in your hand to pick from. Whereas if you draw just one this turn, that means you need to play five cards next turn. Will you have enough in your hand to fulfil this?

If not, you must draw cards from the draw pile and place them into your own personal penalty pile. Each card here at the end of the game will score you minus one point. You must do the same if ever you end your turn with more than seven cards in your hand.

When you play cards, you are looking at a few things. First and foremost, what card you are playing and what card you are playing on. At the end of the game, when the deck runs out, you will score points for your longest run for each of the six animals. A run is two cards or more of the same card placed sequentially next to each other. For example, if you have two Puffins in a row in your pile, you will score one point. But, if you managed to get six or more Puffins in a row, you will score 15 for these.

If you did get six in a row, and later in your pile also have another group of, say, three Puffins, you will not score the second amount. You simply score your largest group for each animal type. So, as you play animals, you will want to try and group them into sixes where possible. But if you have to play four cards, and you only have one Puffin in your hand, and you have only so far played two Puffins, there is not much else you can do. You will have to start another group.

However, the final card you play each turn also offers you the chance to use a power card. Whichever is the visible card on top of your personal pile after you finish playing cards, take the matching Power card of this animal. Either from the general display, or from another player if they previously taken this Power card. It will stay with you until someone else takes it back on a later turn. You may end up with multiple power cards. The Power card activates at different stages of the game. Either during the Playing card phase, the move animal phase (which we will come to shortly) or finally, the draw card phase. They allow you to do various things to manipulate the game in your favour. Such as draw cards from your Penalty pile (if you have any) instead of the River, a great way to reduce your negative points, and get cards you know you want. Or perhaps, to play cards on the bottom of your pile, instead of the top. Helpful, if you know your bottom group is less than six, and you have a matching card in your hand to play.

The card you play also dictates which animal tokens you will move on the six central cards. Each card will show two animal symbols: one that matches the card you played, the other showing a second companion animal. Both these animal tokens must move one space in alternative directions on the six central cards. If they are on the edge already, they must move the other way. At the end of the game, you will score points, from zero to fifteen, based on the space the animal that matches your animal totem is on. Players are looking to move their animal as far to the right as possible, but not be too obvious about it. As all players are also looking to guess which animal their opponents have got, and move theirs back to the left. It's a great fun little back-and-forth mini-game of deduction and bluff.

When you draw cards, you can do so from the six face up River, or blind from the top of the deck with certain Power cards. When the deck runs out, take the cards you reserved during set up and place these as the final available deck. Finish the final round until you reach the starting player again, then carry out one final turn, ignoring the draw card phase. This way everyone ends with equal turns.

Then, all players will score based on the final position of their animal totem, which they will now reveal, and their largest continuous set of matching cards from the six different types, within their own personal deck. You will also score additional points based on the total number of sets you created. If you had just one matching set, unlikely but possible, you would score a bonus of one. If you had two, you would score three extra points. Three gets you six points. Four gets you ten. And five or more sets scores you a bonus of 15 points. Most points wins!

Is It Fun? Arctic Card Game Review

As mentioned in the introduction, I do like the look of this game. I love it, in fact. But I do find the repetitive nature of the art hugely disappointing. How hard would it have been to add just a small tweak to each card? There are ten cards of each animal per deck, and all the art on each cards is the same. As the symbols change, however, each card obviously has its own unique file and print process. So it is a shame there isn't more attention given here. Even with a little variations. However, as you play, the uniform look of the cards is actually quite helpful in terms of identifying each card quickly and processing the information in a timely fashion. Perhaps this is a mechanical decision?

But that is all by-the-by. When you play, the game becomes a little more abstract and you are purely focusing on set-collection, not the art. And it is an absorbing process indeed. The simple act of trying to place cards into groups of six is surprisingly addictive. Playing cards that will help you create your hand for later turns is a fun part of this process. The more cards you draw this turn, the more you play next turn, and vice versa. You need to be thinking ahead, and planning your subsequent turns at all points with Arctic.

I love the simple rule of six here. In that, if you draw two, you play four next turn. Or if you draw just one now, it's five on your next go. This is genius. The game works in waves because of this. Try and build your hand up for a big laydown on the next turn, then draw back up again for a later turn. The waves can be bigger or smaller, but they always come. You cannot play big too many turns in a row, you simply won't have the hand of cards. Likewise, you cannot draw up too many turns in a row as your hand limit is seven. This maximum hand limit is a very clever addition. You need to work in short bursts, not one long load up, for constant end game dumps. It's all very well thought out, balanced, and tight. It keeps you thinking.

The Power cards are also very interesting and offer a nice little bit of variation from game to game, but more importantly, the powers they bring certainly do add a lot of strategy to the game itself. You need to think more about your top card beyond just building sets in your pile, which animals you will move, but also which power you will take. Will that come from another player? Are they benefiting from that right now, and can you make use of it yourself?

I enjoy being able to remove cards from my penalty pile, and changing the amount of cards I can draw, but have made most use of the Puffin power that lets you swap a card from your hand with one in the River before you play a card. They all offer a nice extra layer of strategy though, that doesn't complicate the game at all, but does ratchet it up a notch - making the overall experience richer and more enjoyable.

I also enjoy the back-and-forth nature with the animal tokens on the main play area. It is fun to try and bluff your opponent as to which animal you are, so they don't target it too much, before trying to surge forward with your real animal in the end game. Likewise, it is fun to try and guess which animals the other players are favouring, seeing through their own deception, and trying to manipulate this scoring area to your advantage. It can be a big swing, 30 points either way between two players. It is well worth close attention.

All of this comes together in a very neat and tidy package that looks great (not as good as it might) but plays even better. It is a fast, simple, but addictive little card game that I thoroughly enjoy, and would recommend to anyone who is a fan of set collection, interesting scoring, or simple card play.