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sean johnson
United States
avon
Indiana
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We first played Haggis early in 2011. At the time my wife really liked it. She liked it so much, that the next day we played the game again, using a regular deck of cards. We looked into buying the game online, but found that it was sold out everywhere. By happenstance, a few weeks later we found a copy in a retail game store and bought it immediately. One of the reasons for doing this project of playing through all of our games is because my wife believes we have too many games, and this means some of the games we like do not get played very often because they get lost in the crowd. So the point of this project is to weed out the less played games and highlight our favorites. The question is will Haggis be a game that is cast aside or rises to the top?
Game Overview
While it uses a five suit deck (the two player game uses four suits and can be played with a standard deck of cards), Haggis is more or less a traditional card game. Haggis is a ladder game, which means it combines the sets and runs of rummy with a trick taking game. A player plays either a set (two of a kind, three of a kind, etc) or a run (sequential cards of the same suit). The next player must then play the same type of set or run, but must do it in a higher numeric value. For example if I play three fours, then my opponent must play three of a kind that is higher than four. To help do this every player begins the game with three face cards that can be used as wilds. This goes back and forth until one player passes, and the other player gets all of the cards played. The goal is to be the first player to be out of cards. This player gets points for the cards left in an opponent's hand and also gets the "haggis" which is a pile of cards not in play. Players get points for the odd numbered cards that they have collected, as well as the wild cards. Throughout the game players can also make bids if they think they will be the first one out. Games often play to 250 points.
The Game We Played
Instead of playing to a set score, we opted to play for a time limit. So we played for half an hour with the winner being whoever had more points at the end. I think I only went out first once, so I got crushed. The final score was 137-79.
Our Thoughts
My Rating: 3 (it's OK)
My Thoughts: I feel like there is a depth to this game that I just can not grasp. Beyond that, I am kind of neutral on the game. I do not particularly like it, but I also do not really dislike it.
Her Rating: 4 (like it)
Her Thoughts: I like it. It is so much fun to pull off really crazy sets or runs.
Verdict
Combined Rating: 7
My wife grew up playing a Rummy variant called 313. I think the sets, runs, and wilds of this game are close enough that it scratches that itch for her. While, I prefer to play other games I will play Haggis so that makes it a keeper.
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