Let me start this review off with a quick background. I bought Jericho for what averaged out to be $6 off of Tanga this summer, including shipping. It is a purchase that I have not regretted.

Quick Rules Overview

In Jericho each player is looking to build walls of their own and knock down opponents walls. There are 5 different color wall cards that are numbered 1, 3, 4, 5, & 7. Then there are the trumpet cards, which are essentially wild cards, which are numbered with a 2. On your turn you play one card and then draw one card. When you play a card, you can play it to your play area in front of you to add a wall, or you can put it in what I call “the pot”, which I will explain later.

When Trumpet cards are played to your walls, whatever color you play the trumpet card as, the longest section(s) in that color is destroyed. The section that is destroyed can be from your own walls or your opponent’s walls. So if you play a trumpet on say Blue, and the biggest Blue section is a 5, which is in both player A and Player B’s walls, then those 5 sections are destroyed and placed in “the pot.” A key thing to remember here is that by biggest section, I mean single card, not the longest wall in that color.

Scoring happens when a scoring card is drawn. These 3 cards are placed in the deck about 1/3 through, so you have an idea when scoring will come, but you are never quite sure. When scoring happens all the cards in “the pot” are flipped over and grouped in their colors. The person who has the longest wall, the highest summed numbers, in each color wins the cards in that color. Each card is worth one point. At the end of the game there are bonus points given out for each 1 card in your wall as well.

My Thoughts

If you are looking for a deep trick-taking game, you should look somewhere else. However, if you are looking for a great little card game that can be played over lunch, with kids, or with non-gamers, this is something you should pick up. It is great filler while waiting on pizza delivery or in-between deep games. There is enough strategy in it that often the better player wins, but there is still quite a bit of luck in it, so just as often the luckier player wins. I really enjoy “the pot” aspect of the game and the temptation, since you are dominating in a color, to start throwing cards in to win later when scoring occurs is good fun. I also like the small conflict factor in the game, because when you play a trumpet, you know exactly who has the wall that will be blown down. For the price of this game and the flexibility that it has to where you play it and with who, this is a game to pick up!