WBG Score: 7.5/10
Player Count: 2-6
You’ll like this if you like: Simple little card games with fun scoring.
Published by: Helvetiq
Designed by: Yohan Goh, Hope S. Hwang, Gary Kim
This is a free review copy. See our review policy here.
It's funny how the brain works, isn't it? I was very keen to play this game, more so than some others recently, because of the art on the box and the cool theme. But this game is quite abstract. Very abstract, in fact. You will not think about Vikings or Odin as you play. There is even mention of this in the rules, where they explain why they chose this theme for such an abstract game. But either way, with or without a sense of a theme as you play, this game is very absorbing because of the clever hand management. Let's get it to the table and see how it plays.
How To Set Up Odin
OK, strap in. First, shuffle the deck and deal nine cards to each player. Place the remaining cards down in a pile by the side for later. You are done. Phew!
Don't you just love a game like that!?
How To Play Odin
Now, players will take turns playing cards from their hand. For the first card you play, it can be any single card. But any subsequent card played by any subsequent player must be higher in value than the current played card. You can play the same number of cards as currently in the middle or one more. No other variation of quantity. And when you play multiple cards the number they form together is the number you play. You do not add them up as I first thought! No, you form a number using each digit on each card, to form the highest possible number. For example, if you played a six and a nine, this would not be 15. It would also not be 69. Rather it would form 96. Make sense? Good. Be sure to explain this when you play with others, it can confuse some people I found.
When you play multiple cards, the card you play must either be the same colour or the same number. This obviously then restricts the numbers you can form from your hand, so you need to think carefully from the start of the round how your hand could work together in different ways, and therefore the best way to use it.
When you play your cards, you must then pick up one card from the previously played number. You cannot pick up a card you just played. If there was only one card there previously, simply pick this up. If there was more than one card then choose the one you want to add to your hand, and discard the others, leaving now just the cards you just played. This now is the new number the next player needs to try and beat.
If a player cannot beat the current number, they must pass. If all but one player passes, then the round ends. However, if you pass and another player can play, and by the time it comes back to you, and you can now play, then you are back in the game. Passing does not end your involvement in a round unless everyone else but one player also passes.
The round can also end if any player plays their final card from their hand. Or, if at the start of a round, one player is dealt cards that are either all the same colour or number, they can then choose to play all these cards at once, which ends the round immediately. A fairly uncommon experience I would imagine!
At the end of the round, all players with any cards in their hand will now score one point for each card. Not the value of the card. Just one point per card. Points are bad in this game, you don't want them. Now, collect all the cards, shuffle them up and deal nine cards to each player again and go again.
The game ends when you reach a pre-agreed points total. Lowest points then wins. 15 points is suggested for your first game. Then after that, choose ten points for a short game. 20 for a long game, or even just one hand for a super short experience.
Is It Fun? Odin Card Game Review
The nuance and build in this game are intriguing. As you can only start with one card and then build up by one more card each time, it is so interesting to see how the rounds develop. Often, players start by playing a card with a value of one in a colour they do not have any other card in. You may then see two ones to form an eleven in different colours, or perhaps a two. It all builds up simply and slowly. But then, after an eleven, next we could see 976! Whoa. That's a big jump. Can the next player beat that?
But this is a card-shedding game. You don't want to up the ante too quickly, as maybe you won't be able to play any more cards either. This game is about working cooperatively in a funny way, to build up the numbers slowly, one by one. And then, boom - if you can, hit everyone with one big final play to empty your hand. Not always possible, but when it works, it feels great. More often, I have found round's end with all players passing with cards still in their hands. That's fine, it's only one point per card. I found the average I was scoring each round was four. So, games typically lasted three to four rounds, which I think is just about right. But only if you play the game twice each time. Perhaps in the future, I will play to forty points. I just want a little more time to get into the process of the game.
There are some delicate little rules that you need to be careful to get right if you learn from the rule book. Such as the removal of all remaining cards from the previous number once you have taken one card from it. I missed that. Also, the one point per card rule, and the fact that the cards work together to form one large number, rather than being added together as mentioned above. I have re-read the rule book a few times to see if this was me simply missing something obvious. But I think it is because the rules come with a lot of little examples, which is fine. But often causes me to miss parts or misunderstand as I skip through them! Hopefully this is just me. I don't think the rule book is bad, I just had issues with it personally for my first few games. I then felt something was very off and had another - closer read!
I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys card-shedding games that work in a quick and simple way. This game offers an interesting balance between very clever hand management and lightning-fast rounds and plays. The box suggests 15 minutes for a game; I would say that is bang on, if a little long for a two-player game. This will be over before you know it, and with the wrong hand, you may not be able to do much, s perhaps even quicker! The strategy comes from which cards you play together, which cards you pick back up, and how you pace the round out. This won't always be in your control, but when it works out, it feels wonderful.
Comments