Years ago, my in-laws were looking for a new 'Michigan Rummy' board. We were told that they were no longer available, but that 'Sequence' was about the same thing. We bought it for them, but they never did really like it. Years later, my father-in-law gave it to my son, and he introduced it to a bunch of us last Thanksgiving. What a simple and fun game to play!!!!!

Components: Very simple. There's a board which pictures every card from two decks (except Jokers and Jacks). There's two decks of standard playing cards, and three colors of plastic chips. Nothing fancy, nothing lacking.

Rules/Gameplay: The game can be played by two or three players or teams (up to 12 people). Each player is dealt a hand of cards. On his turn, he plays one of the cards in his hand and puts one of his chips on one of the two matching cards pictured on the board. Exceptions: a two-eyed Jack can be used as a wild-card, letting you place a chip on any open space. A one-eyed Jack allows you to remove one of your opponents chips from the board. He then picks a card to place in his hand. This continues in clockwise fashion until a team has a five-card sequence (a row, column, or diagonal of five consecutive chips of their color). For a three player or team) game, one sequence is needed. For a two-player game, two sequences are needed to win.
There is very little downtime because the play is so easy. A little bit of AP might set in as people peruse the board to find the best move. But the game usually lasts less than a half-hour, so there's usually no major delays.
The play is especially fun with teams, as it becomes a bit more difficult to co-ordinate your strategy with each other (because you can't discuss it).

Good Points: Because the game is so quick it makes a great filler at either end of the evening. Because it can be played by such a wide number of players (2-12), it makes a great party game, too. It can be found at department stores and toy stores, as well as some game stores.

Bad points: The game is heavy on the luck scale, which is a bit of a turn-off.

Recommendations: 'Sequence' is a nice little game that most collections should not be without. Lets face it, everyone knows some card players who won't touch a board game! This is a game that you'll want to keep handy for when those people stop by. And once they see that you've got good taste in games, you just MIGHT be able to get them to try Ticket to Ride or Bohnanza...