Magic: The Gathering has been a huge part of my life since I first got involved late in the Revised era. One Starter deck for Christmas has lead to a lifetime of fun and enjoyment on several levels. I've experienced the joy of winning tournaments and the agony of losing when I should have won. I've opened incredible packs of cards and had boxes of pure junk. I've bought and sold more cards than I care to think about and I've quit the game and restarted even more than that. It’s a wonderful game that is almost a lifestyle. When I heard that Richard Garfield had created other games, I was immediately interested. I had played Netrunner quite a bit when it was first out and I thought it was equally if not more brilliant than Magic. When I finally found BGG, I heard of a few non-collectible game made by Garfield. My fiancée found Pecking Order while looking for games similar to Battle Line. It took a while, but eventually I found a copy. After several plays, we've come to some strong conclusions about Pecking Order. Is it comparable to Battle Line, or is Pecking order just a lame duck?


Rules

Pecking Order is a very simple game to teach and play. There are only a few rules which are nicely outlined on this player aid on BGG. It should only take a few minutes to read the rules, explain them, and be ready to play.


Components

Pecking Order is very light in the component department. Besides the box and the brief rulebook, you get a board and some cards. The board is a tri-fold board which is just a bit bigger than the board for Blue Moon or Babel. There's not much to the graphics on the board, but it is functional. The board is thick and is bound well so it should hold up nicely. The board doesn't do much and doesn't take much abuse either.

The cards to this game are unlike any cards I've seen in a game. They're the same size as small game cards like those found in TTR, Thurn und Taxis, and Oregon. These cards have a glossy finish as opposed to the matte usually found in most games. The back has the game logo while the front features a bird numbered 1-12 or a jaguar. There are 2 identical decks with one for each player. Where these cards really differ from just about every other game I've seen is in their thickness. These cards are the equivalent thickness of stacking 4 or 5 of those normal cards together. The overwhelming thickness is akin to very hard cardboard. As such, it’s impossible to do a normal shuffle. It just doesn't work as the cards completely lack the ability to flex.

The positive side to the cards is that they are nigh indestructible meaning that they'll last much longer than normal cards. You may not be able to shuffle them in the traditional way, but they will certainly hold up and should resist wear extraordinarily well.


Game play

Easy rules, intriguing game play
Pecking Order is one of those games with easy rules that offers a lot of choice. You can explain the game to anyone in about 5 minutes yet every play you make requires a choice and some real analysis. Since you are limited in the number of cards you will play, every card is important. This creates a lot of tension and requires a lot of thought to play well despite the overwhelmingly simple rule set.

The luck factor
It’s unusual for a card game to have a low luck factor. In my opinion, any game with a random deck of cards is subject to large amounts of luck. In Pecking Order, each player has their own deck of bird cards numbered 1-12 and a Jaguar card. Each deck is shuffled separately, but each player will get to draw and play every card in their deck. This mitigates the luck factor by ensuring that you will get to play every card in the deck. The only luck is when you will draw certain cards, but I find that to be way less of a deciding factor than drawing completely randomly from a common deck.

A bit of deduction
One of the intriguing rules that really sets this game apart is that players play cards to the board face down. Its only when a card attacks another that cards are revealed. When this happens, the defender (the card already on the table) is revealed and the attacker announces, without revealing his card, if the attacker or defender wins. The highest card wins with the loser being discarded. If the attacker is the loser, it is discarded without the defender getting to see what it was. This creates a deduction element which allows players to make informed guesses about what the other player has on the table. You may not know exactly, but the combination of visible cards and lost battles should help clue you in on what your opponent has on the table.

Game length and downtime
There is massive potential for AP in this game because of the short number of turns and the need to deduce the situation. Fortunately, this hasn't happened to me yet because while the game requires analysis, it’s not so deep that your average gamer should get bogged down by it. A full game, according to the rules, is 4 rounds. Each round takes about 5 minutes or less so you should be able to complete a full game in 15-20 minutes. That time frame makes this an ideal filler game for 2 players.


Compare it to...

I'm going to spend more time on this section than I usually do because I feel that the strength of Pecking Order is best illustrated by comparing it to some very popular games from Dr. Reiner Knizia.

Lost Cities
To compare Pecking Order to Lost Cities is largely like comparing apples to oranges. While both games are card games and require players to play on a particular space, PO is definitely a more skill determined game. LC really depends widely on luck, especially amongst players of equal experience. Many times, the cards you draw (or don't draw) determine your success. In PO, you will always see all your cards so the way you play them will depend largely on the players instead of the luck of the draw. Pecking Order is definitely more confrontational than Lost Cities as well. The attacking aspect of the game and the way scoring works requires you to try to best your opponent whenever possible. Lost Cities is more of a friendly game with no direct interaction. Both games take about 15-20 minutes to play and when I have the opportunity, I will choose PO every time. I feel the game offers more real choices with less of a luck factor. LC seems to be one of the most spouse-friendly games on BGG but I think PO deserves that place. It’s easier to teach and requires more decision making. It packs more game in a simple package than Lost Cities. If I could only have one of them in my collection, it would certainly be Pecking Order.

Battle Line
Battle Line is more similar to Pecking Order than Lost Cities. Both games require direct confrontation although in slightly different ways. The playtime is also similar. Much like Lost Cities, I feel that Battle Line is luck dependent although to a much lesser degree. There is quite a lot of decision making in Battle Line although your choices ultimately come down to the luck of the draw. You can make great tactical decisions but if you never draw the 3rd card you need for a good formation, you probably won't win that flag. I find that the low-luck of Pecking Order makes it superior to Battle Line. While I think Pecking Order is a better pure game, I will advise players to have both in their collection because they are different enough to warrant a spot in your collection.


Overall

I've found Pecking Order to be a wonderful game that is drastically overlooked. The game is rated in the high 900's but that’s woeful compared to Battle Line or Lost Cities. This game is definitely the equal of either of those 2 but for some reason it really doesn't get the attention it deserves. With solid choices in a very short play time, Pecking Order is a great choice for your 2-player game collection.

I rate Pecking Order 7.5 out of 10. It’s a game I really enjoy and I sometimes suggest it. The compact size makes it a wonderful game to take out to a coffee shop to play while having some dessert. While I appreciate the short playtime of each round, I wish it was a bit longer to allow a bit more strategy to take over some of the tactical decisions. Also, the thickness of the cards is just overwhelming so the game loses a bit for that.

If you want a solid 2-player game that offers a lot of decisions in a short play time then you should definitely take a look at Pecking Order. This is a game with simple rules that allows the players to make the game instead of having a lot of luck decide the winner. It’s a game that is very friendly to non-gamers as well, making it a great spouse game or gateway game. The game play is intuitive and full of meaningful decisions. It’s not complete enough to make it a heavy hitter, but it’s a solid game that I think deserves much more attention than it gets.