Game: Space Shuffle

Thread: Re: Playing a card of your own color . . .

markta — 2008-06-17T04:47:40+00:00

We play it just as you describe: you only score it once if you play a card of your own color.

Thread: Playing a card of your own color . . .

nycavri — 2008-04-29T15:50:08+00:00

Just looking for confirmation that, if you play a card of your own color, you score it once for placing it, but not a second time for it being your own color.

The scoring example would seem to suggest this, but this instance does not seem to be addressed in the rules.

Anyone else see this differently?
Anything official from Playroom?

Thread: Re: We haven't opened this yet?

The Warp — 2008-03-06T21:46:26+00:00

The first few times we played, we kept the scoring much simpler.

You score a point if you play your own color.
You score a point if you play a card that matches colors already in the solar system.

That was it. There were no points collected when other people played your color. With my 6 year olds, this was much easier for them to calculate.

Thread: Re: We haven't opened this yet?

metalchorus — 2007-12-24T16:53:39+00:00

My eight year old son LOVES this game, requests it all the time...great game for kids into astronomy / space.

Great fun to play with him...although being scorekeeper does indeed suck the suck out of suck.

I don't mind though, he helps figure out the scoring so it helps reinforce his math and cognitive skills...and we get to spend time together.

Thread: Re: We haven't opened this yet?

Karlsen — 2007-12-24T09:51:54+00:00

This is most definitely a children's game. The scoring is tedious, possibly to the extreme. OK to play with children, but adult vs adult I would give a big miss

Thread: We haven't opened this yet?

karrde — 2007-12-24T03:05:28+00:00

An evening of games at Duane & Steve's was started (after an abortive attempt at Pinochle) with the gem known as Space Shuffle.

We cracked open the box, opened the deck of cards and immediately started shuffling, after all it is the name of the game. Duane tells us to stop as we missed the player "reference" cards. We quickly sort them out, then proceed to more shuffling. Rules are explained, cards are dealt out, semantics are debated, and we proceed to play.

Two solar systems immediately take shape, and play progresses smoothly. A mostly yellow solar system (no player) and a mostly green solar system (me of course) shape up nicely, and purple cards (Steve) are nowhere to be seen. Steve makes a comment to the effect of "I think I hate this game", m response is "I know who else hates this game... the scorekeeper". To which Duane responds "watch it or that'll be you".

The score keeping in this game truly is tedious, and a few times people got too into the grove of playing for Duane to keep up on the score keeping duties. The game proceeds ok for the most part, the first solar system closed is a solid blue one. We continue toward the end, and as we are playing out the last cards in our hand, I get to play 3 cars in a row to end the game. Still wasn't enough to win the game. Scores are scattered between 170 and 120.

Overall a run of the mill card game, I won't be suggesting it any time soon.

Image

Duane Abrames — 2007-06-29T21:56:26+00:00

Box back

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Duane Abrames — 2007-06-29T21:55:41+00:00

Box Front

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:23:51+00:00

Inside the box.

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:22:51+00:00

What about Quaor?

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:22:09+00:00

Poor Pluto, no longer a planet.

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:20:33+00:00

Neptune

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:19:41+00:00

(Insert Caption Here)

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:18:12+00:00

Saturn

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:16:56+00:00

Something wonderful

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KSensei — 2007-03-25T16:15:03+00:00

Mars

Thread: Space Shuffle aka: Today We Add, Tomorrow We Die

fizzix — 2005-06-13T14:47:44+00:00

Space Shuffle is a card game which combines knowledge of the solar system with game play that borrows elements of rummy and Coloretto. The object of the game is to play cards in your hand in order to build solar systems and score points in the process.

Inside the box

Well it’s a card game so there isn’t much here. Each of the 55 cards is a planet with a colored number and border. The artwork on each card is a NASA-derived image of the 9 planets, the sun, and a large Kuiper-belt object called Sedna. There is also a Space Commander (i.e. reference) card which also gives you a “color”.

Playing the Game

Each player gets seven cards face down and a Space Commander card. In a two-player game each player gets two space commander cards. A draw pile is placed between players.

When it is your turn you do three things:

1. Play a card onto a solar system pile. You do this by playing a planet card in your hand either above or below the line of cards that form the pile. For example, let’s say that Mars and Jupiter are a pile. You can play a Saturn above the Jupiter or an earth below the Mars. If there are less than five solar system piles, you can start a new one. If you can’t play a card, you show your hand as proof and skip the remainder of your turn.

2. Score your played card. The player of the card and the owner of the color of the card played each get points. So if you played a Saturn card with a purple 5 on it, you would get 5 points and the space commander who is purple gets 5 points too. There is also a bonus, the person playing the card gets the score of every card in that solar system pile that has the color of the card played. So, using the previous example if the pile also had a Purple Jupiter 4 and a Purple Mars 3 then the player would actually receive 5 + 4 + 3 = 12 points.

3. Draw a new card.

The game ends when one player is out of cards.

Comments

The artwork and theme of this game made me want to like this but then I played it…. First there is very little strategy regardless of what the rules say. You can lead your opponent through card play? Maybe but it’s still mostly luck of the draw. Try not to give your opponent big scores? Duh. The problem is that there is a synergy to the big scores: I play the same color then you do than I do then you do etc… it makes us both score but the player who plays last gets more points and that’s all luck. The worst part is scoring after every card play, it ruins this game by disrupting the flow. Yes I can do basic math but I don’t want to do it EVERY TIME I PLAY A CARD and also in my head for every possible play I may have.

In an educational setting this game might be a nice diversion for students that have completed an assignment and have a little free time as it does teach planets and involves a lot of basic addition. Unfortunately it adds to the reputation that educational games have of being lame.

I do like the cards and am currently trying to see if there is a better card game hiding in there. No luck yet.