Game: Trendy

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Toynan — 2008-02-01T17:48:00+00:00

Star cards

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Toynan — 2008-02-01T15:13:33+00:00

Losers cards

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Toynan — 2008-01-30T22:09:50+00:00

Standard Cards

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Toynan — 2008-01-30T22:08:36+00:00

Back of the box

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Verkisto — 2007-12-02T20:33:29+00:00

Sample cards from each suit in the deck.

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Verkisto — 2007-12-02T20:30:09+00:00

Standard, double, and zero cards from one suit.

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cktjharris — 2006-09-05T17:01:39+00:00

Trendy, sample cards from each designer

Thread: Wow, let's play again!

seppo21 — 2006-02-21T18:46:12+00:00

Third Game: Trendy

Robert arrived at the house in the last round of our first game of Trendy. He was somewhat intrigued by the game. In addition to this, Heather very much wanted to play again. I had no problem with this either, so we started up another game. Since Robert had been watching, he did not need much of a rules explanation for us to get going.

In the first round, Robert and I managed to end with nearly the same number of points. Heather came out with a good spot at 29 points. However, this was not enough to keep up with Matt who managed to finish in the lead on the strength of several four point designer melds and 33 points.

Current Results:

Matt -- 33
Heather -- 29
Stephen -- 25
Robert -- 24
Christine -- 17

In the second round, Robert and I continued to bump heads. There was an opportunity for us to each pick up ten points off of the 5 point designer when Robert chose instead to go with the three point designer and give points to the leader, Matt. Matt again finished ahead of the pack with 41 total points, followed by Heather at 30.

Current Results:

Matt -- 74
Heather -- 59
Robert -- 48
Stephen -- 47
Christine -- 41

At this point, it looked as though Matt would easily run away with the game in the third round. However, we ran into a round with hardly any points. Actually, we not only made liberal use of the cancellation cards, but we were making a concerted effort to keep Matt out of points by intentionally avoiding designers he was playing. Matt didn't help himself much here by always seeming to follow his own path. Christine led the way with 22 points while Matt trailed in last with 12.

Current Results:

Matt -- 86
Heather -- 76
Christine -- 63
Robert -- 61
Stephen -- 54

By now, I had settled firmly into last place. I just seemed unable to really get it together. In this last round, we once again were working against Matt. However, this time around, he needed even fewer points. Added to this, he managed to tag along with a couple of the designers. When he got the points he needed to pass 100, we kept on playing since there was still a reasonable chance for Heather to catch him. Unfortunately, this was not to be. This round actually belonged to Robert, who picked up 31 points to take a stronger hold on third place.

Final Result:

Matt -- 104
Heather -- 95
Robert -- 92
Christine -- 83
Stephen -- 73

This game did not play out as well for me as the first game did. After the first two rounds, there just was not all that much I could do. For whatever reason, after Robert slapped down my fives in the second round, I never really lead in cards for a designer and wasn't really able to tag along with anyone else. Still I found it a quite enjoyable game. It doesn't hurt that the game is different enough with five people to add another whole layer of challenge. An added bonus is that Heather still likes the game, despite not winning this time. That may mean that it sees a fair amount more play in the future. Total game time was about an hour.

1/17/2006

Thread: Heather likes clothes

seppo21 — 2006-02-21T18:45:38+00:00

Second Game: Trendy

Around the time we were finishing up our game of Get the Goods, Heather arrived. After the obligatory swarming of the girls, she came to see what we were playing. She didn't seem to keen on Get the Goods, but thought Trendy looked interesting. Since she actually showed some interest in a game I wanted to play, we pulled out the rules and got started. The object of the game is to have the most points at the end of the round someone passes 100. During the game, players lay down cards representing one of five different designers. Whenever there are the same number of cards as the number of the designer, that designer's cards score and all other cards are discarded. At the end, these cards are worth their printed value. Thus the seven point designer is worth a lot of points but is hard to get credit for due to needing so many of them out in order to score. In fact, in order to score anything, you need help from the other players. To make life even more interesting, there are cards that clear every card of a designer and cards that count as two on the table but only one in scoring.

In the first round, I was a little slow getting started. My first play was one of the three point cards, which I figured would be pretty easy to get credit for. It was. I then managed to get shut out of nearly everything else for the round. I did get another three-pointer in before the end when I started up a seven point series. Before it was all finished, I managed to score three cards in this group. However, that was not enough, leaving me in last place. Christine, however, went nuts with the points.

Current Results:

Christine -- 49
Heather -- 39
Matt -- 31
Stephen -- 27

The first round was not really my chance to shine. I did manage to fare a little better the second time around. This time around, I did not try to take the lead as much as in the first round. Instead, I did my best to try to tag along with what the others were doing. It seemed to work out all right as I tied with Heather for the round catching 41 points. While this pulled me out of last place, Heather used it to catapult herself into the lead. Matt was the one who got stuck without points to speak of this time.

Current Results:

Heather -- 80
Christine -- 77
Stephen -- 68
Matt -- 51

The third round ended up being the final round of our game. This time, I was able to have a commanding presence in the game. I earned a whole host of points in both the six and seven point designer. In fact, we all worked really well together in this round, with each of us scoring higher than the highest in the second round. I finished up with 63 new points. Matt again was in last for the round, even with a total of 43. Despite my good showing, it was not quite enough.

Final Result:

Heather -- 135
Stephen -- 131
Christine -- 127
Matt -- 94

For starters, Heather really liked this game. I'm sure that winning in her first play helped this opinion out quite a bit. Perhaps she was just able to zero in on the strategy relatively easily. My opinion is that this is a rather fun little game -- certainly better than some of the comments on the Geek seem to have indicated. In fact, the whole idea that others must help you out in order to score seems to fit the idea of the fashion industry quite well. After all, in fashion, you become popular when other people jump on your bandwagon and push you along. Our game took about 45 minutes.

1/17/2006

Thread: 3 Player

Spielguy — 2005-09-08T17:23:36+00:00

Another chance to teach new people this fine game.

Bill and Travis didn't appear too concerned about the fashion theme. They were a bit apprehensive about game play. The first card down was a three by Bill. Travis laid a 3, then did I. We all scored 3. What's the point in that?

Well the game didn't play that nicely after that. Travis felt the brunt of it as his sevens and sixes were scorned as Bill and I found our matches. Four of the five OUT cards were played that first round and that left Bill with 49, Brent 44, and Travis in a distant 3rd with 24.

Travis led the next round and it quickly started with a Supermodel 3 and my 3. We went through three scoring events before the first card was discarded as we were evidently all trying to take advantage of the other players' cards and not be left out. That led to a very high scoring round and very few lost cards. But there were a few. The second round and game ended with Bill taking a whopping 78, Travis 62, Brent 55. That makes a combined score of 195 when a perfect round would net 261 points. Compare that to the confrontational round at the beginning (117 points). I was the clear loser of the second round. Bill the winner of both rounds.

Final score:

Bill 127
Brent 99
Travis 86

Thread: Two Player

Spielguy — 2005-08-30T03:48:29+00:00

Carson and I sat down for a quick test of the game. I was surprised it had been listed as a two player game. It played decently well for two although I'm guessing a few more is better.

Carson started out with the sevens and I had a fistful. I thought it perhaps best to get a piece of the action, which was a good thing since he ahd put down five very quickly. I ended up with 2 which put me far behind.
I next worked on fives, carson tried with sixes. Until the 6 OUT came out of my hand. I scored my fives (Carson had 1). I next grabbed the threes. I had two, Carson 1. Things were looking better until Carson got the fours.

Good game. We played just one round and our final scores were 52 to 57. More players will add a bit more chaos and a tad bit more fun.

Thread: Re: Trendy: Knizia's simplest game?

themore5@earthlink — 2005-07-18T17:40:32+00:00

The simplest Knizia game I've seen yet is Tit for Tat. It's found in his book Dice Games Properly Expained. Excellent game for kids, by the way.

Thread: Re: Trendy: Knizia's simplest game?

Windopaene — 2005-07-18T16:59:23+00:00

I'd say Flinke Pinke/Thor/Loco! is actually a bit simpler, but this one is simple, and in typical Knizia fashion, he cranks a lot of gaming goodness out of the maths.

Thread: Trendy: Knizia's simplest game?

hibikir — 2005-07-17T20:25:40+00:00

Most Euro gamers are familiar with Reiner Knizia. His big box games, like Amun Re, Ra, Taj Mahal and Through the Desert make many people think all he designs is complicated, mathematical and mostly themeless games. However, from time to time, Knizia will design light, family friendly games. Trendy is probably one of his simplest designs, playable by any kid that can count and read numbers.

Components

Inside the box, we can find a good quality deck of 65 cards in 5 suits, representing 5 fashion designers. The suits are easy to identify: each suit has a different picture, name, color, and number on the corners of the cards. The art, while not outstanding, is clear and appropriate.

Gameplay Description

Each player has a 6 card hand. On their turn, players will play a card face up in front of them, and then draw a card from the deck. Players continue to do this until a designer achieves a breakthrough. This occurs when, among all players, there are as many cards face up for that designer as the number indicated in the cards. Whenever that happens, all cards from that designer are put aside to be scored at the end of the game, while all other cards in play are discarded.

All cards from the same designer have the same number, but each designer has a different number, ranging from 3 to 7. This means you only need 3 Hugo Moss cards for him to have a Breakthough, but you need a whooping 7 cards for Zerutti. This is balanced by the fact that there are 15 normal Zeruti cards in the deck, while only 7 Hugo Moss cards are available.

There are also 2 special cards for each suit: One supermodel card, worth 2 cards as far as breakthroughs go, and 1 out of fashion cards, that removes all cards from that designer in play.

The game continues until the deck is exhausted. After that point, the next breakthrough stops the round. Each card that was part of a breakthrough is worth as many points as the number printed on it. Supermodels don't count double.

While you can play a single hand of Trendy, I'd recommend playing until each player has been the dealer once or twice.

Gameplay Impressions

Since, in most cases, it is o a player's advantage to play a card matching a designer that has already been played, the game progresses at a brisk pace: In our games, sometimes we play the cards so fast we forget to draw. When in doubt, just follow the crowd. What can be more representative of the world of fashion? It's easy to just mindlessly play the same thing that has been played already, turning a game of Trendy into a rythmic, parchisi-like experience.

However, the game doesn't really end here. You can bash on the leader by stubborny refusing to play the same kind of card as he/she does. Turn somebody into a Pariah through fashion... sounds like high school to me!

Also, for those mathematically inclined, there is the card counting element, altering the success chances of any designer. Knizia uses an interesting card distribution that goes like this:

number of cards = card valuex2 +1

So, it's possible for the 3 point suit to have 3 breakthroughs, while all other suits are stuck with a maximum of 2. An out-of fashion card that comes out at the right time can make almost half of the cards from a designer worthless.

Conclusion

Overall, Trendy is a solid, kid friendly filler that deserves to be in any gamer's collection.

+ Enjoyable in all kinds of different groups and situations
+ Quality components
+ Highly thematic mechanics
+ Quick play

- Some players will dismiss the game without seeing its depth
- The theme can be a turnoff to some

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hibikir — 2005-07-15T11:39:22+00:00

Cards from the Spiels Spass edition

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hibikir — 2005-07-15T11:39:22+00:00

Back of the box (Spiel Spass edition)

Thread: Waiting Game

snoozefest — 2005-05-31T15:07:58+00:00

Mary, Kevin and I were waiting for a few more people to arrive, so we played a quick game of Trendy. K taught - M and I were both new to the game.

It's a very simple game: cards are numbered 3-7, with each number having an 'Out' card and a 'Super Model' card that counts as 2 cards towards completing the set (but scores as 1 card only). Everyone starts with 5(?) cards. Each turn, you play a card in front of you, then draw a card. If your play (card # n) results in n or more of those cards on the table (all players), those cards are scored - they move to each players scoring pile - while all other played cards are discarded. Play through the deck, then stop the round when 1 more set is completed. You get points from the cards you scored, according to the # on the card. We played 1 round/player (3 rounds), although you are apparently supposed to play till someone scores 100pts.

This is a fast filler. Turns are quick - you play, then draw. Your play will largely depend on what's already been played, and of course how many cards of a single type are in your hand. There's hardly any thinking involved, except when you have to start a new card # or if you're holding the Out card. Even then, it's not very difficult. We ran through 3 rounds, with Kevin ending up as the winner.

This was a decent little filler, but nothing particularly special. I wouldn't mind playing it again, but I'm not likely to go looking for it, either.
6/10

Thread: Session Report

Gola — 2005-03-12T15:18:54+00:00

I played a quick game of Crazy Derby (a.k.a. Trendy) with my brother and father last Sunday. This was my second playing; the previous playing was also with three players.

Crazy Derby is very light but very pleasant, and not entirely uninteresting. The number of cards in your hand (six) makes it so that you just sorta almost kinda have some control over your destiny; you can often follow the trends while still having enough space to save up cards of an animal or two for a push in the second half of the round, though of course you'll sometimes find yourself stuck with mismatched stuff all game. The offset to this tenuous command of your destiny is that the game is rocket-fast, so while each individual turn might not be a taxing decision (although it does require a little thought, and might occasionally cause a moment or two of agonizing), you get the fun of seeing the overall situation play out very rapidly. It's sort of like a movie; you wouldn't necessarily want to stare at one single frame for any length of time, but when you flip through many frames quickly things blur into motion and amusing things happen.

I've also noticed that it's not really all that hard to keep track of the cards that have been played (the formula is (n * 2) +1, where n is the number on the card, and there is then one 'loser' and one 'star' card per animal), and so once you're doing this, even vaguely, it adds just a little bit more meat onto the game; by the end of a round you'll know which animals are "due" and which animals likely won't finish. Of course there may well be nothing you can do about the situation, but it does occasionally inform your decisions.

From what I know about Knizia's light games, Crazy Derby is fairly typical of the type of thing he does. It's not chaotic or zany (Guillotine would be an example of a chaotic game, I think), it's just simple and quick and is slathered with a sugary frosting of luck. One thing that's worth mentioning, though, is that the number of players is probably going to have a big effect on the feel of the game; you have a certain amount of control in a three-player game which is not going to be there in the five-player game, simply because there are more cards getting on the table in between your turns. I would expect that the game is still decent with four, but I have to think that playing with five is sort of like being adrift on a raft with only half a paddle. It might be a fun enough ride, but you couldn't really say you were steering much.

The only bad thing about Crazy Derby are the somewhat flimsy cards. My deck is already warped diagonally (something that seems to be happening to me a lot--my Die Sieben Siegel and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde cards are the same way), and on top of that they're not even cut that precisely, so they're a little hard to riffle. It's a bummer that most game companies seem to be moving away from quality cards. Why bother buying a card game with a non-standard deck if you know it's just going to be trashed after ten or twenty plays? The one exception I've seen is Phalanx; "Who's the Ass?" has sturdy cards just like the old Amigo ones.

Anyway, the game went two rounds; the first was relatively low-scoring (high thirties), as there were several instances of animals getting hit by the loser card just as they threatened to cross the finish line. The second round saw point totals in the high sixties. My dad ended up beating me by one point--104 to 103. My brother finished in the nineties.

Thread: Session Report

dougadamsau — 2005-03-06T23:09:21+00:00

Crazy Derby. A Knizia remake of the classic (well, classic in our group!) Trendy. After a couple of hands the scores were extraordinarily high (in the 50's) and we were convinced the deck must have been made larger. I checked my copy of Trendy when I got home and it's the same deck. Go figure. After the usual frantic play, Tina and Doug were only two points apart going into the final round. Tina romped away with the win.

Thread: Session Report

dougadamsau — 2005-02-28T01:21:57+00:00

Becoming our standard closing filler. This is a gem of a game - half game, half popularity contest. I am beginning to suspect the key to this game is to be no leading going into the last two rounds, because nobody is going to support your designs. Lots of laughs as always - Janet the win, Doug second (having scored 12 and 10 on the last two rounds!).

Thread: Session Report

jm100 — 2005-01-19T15:52:39+00:00

On a quiet Sunday, the girlfriend and I decided to crack out a few games that we hadn't played. The first on our list was Trendy.

The rules to this game are incredibly simple and short, and I was rather skeptical that there could be any game underneath, especially for only two players. But you know what: I surprised myself by liking it.

The game is incredibly light. I mean, really, really light. We kept having to grab cards out of the air because they kept floating off into the ether. Turns literally take less than a second, and the only thing slowing our plays was the fact that sometimes we had played our cards so quickly that we hit our hands as we drew from the deck. Nonetheless, there are often non-trivial decisions to be made about when to start a new trend and when to ride with the current one. And the option of playing "out" cards can be pretty useful (though a bit snippy in the two-player game). But even the toughest decisions in Trendy rarely take longer than a second, and there's a tremendous amount of luck here.

We played two hands, splitting the games between us. Neither game was particularly close, and barely needed to score because it seemed fairly obvious who was won both times.

The quick play-time and the zippy gameplay left me a bit more intrigued by this game than I thought I would be. I'd be happy to play this again, though I'd want to try it with 4 or so players. Building trends would be much more interesting with more players. The girlfriend seemed relatively engaged by the game, but that engagement was quickly overshadowed by her enthusiasm for the next game we played: Familienbande.

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nerotora — 2004-10-10T01:18:26+00:00

Crazy Derby - Card

Thread: Any tips for 2 players?

dboeren — 2004-07-29T23:53:39+00:00

Does anyone have suggestions for a better 2 player variant? As it is, the game is a little flat because there are so few cards in the players hands.

Thread: Review

gschloesser — 2003-12-18T18:52:46+00:00

I first played this light, yet strangely addicting card game from Reiner Knizia at Gulf Games 10 back in August 2002. I enjoyed it so much that I played it several more times during the course of the convention. At the time, the game was relatively unknown to most folks, but the surge of enthusiasm displayed by the many folks who played it during the course of the convention spread like wildfire. Soon, the game was being discussed on numerous internet forums and became a game that was highly sought.

Since the theme is that of fashion designers attempting to set the latest fashion trend, it wasn’t surprising that many folks adopt faux designer personas while playing. This bit of fun role-playing adds to the fun.

The cards depict various fashion models wearing the latest fancy duds from famous fashion designers. The deck is comprised of 65 cards, with suits of 3 – 7. However, there is not an equal number of each suit. Rather, the formula to determine how many cards there are in each suit is: 2x suit number + 1. So, for example, there are nine 4’s: (4 x 2) + 1 = 9. Plus, each suit has a ‘Super Model’ card, which is actually acts as two cards of that suit, as well as an ‘Out’ card, which causes all cards of that suit played in the current round to be discarded.

Game play is astonishingly simple. The cards are shuffled and six are dealt to each player. On a turn, a player plays one card face up and draws a card to refill his hand. The next player does the same and this process continues until there are as many cards played in one suit that equals the number of that suit. For example, once seven 7’s are on the table, the fashion trend has been set (it’s the seven’s, with a lovely green, form fitting dress with a saucy slit to expose the leg!). All players who played one or more sevens get to keep those cards in their score pile, while all other cards are discarded. A new round is now played.

As mentioned, the Super Model card counts as two cards of that suit, so the proper timing of its use can be critical. Of course, the nasty ‘Out’ card can also prove critical and cause quite a bit of consternation when it disrupts a potential trend.

Once all of the cards in the draw pile are expired, the round concludes once the next trend has been set. Each player then totals the value of all the cards in their score pile and records this amount. If no one has achieved 100 points, a new round is played. Usually, it takes about three rounds until someone tops 100 points and claims the victory.

Yes, the game is very light and simple, but that makes it easy to learn and play. It certainly falls squarely into the ‘filler’ category and has also proven popular in the ‘family gaming’ venue. The game is filled with moans, groans and jeers as players see their attempts to set a trend with one suit (let’s say 5’s) disrupted by other players playing cards to set a different trend. Keeping an eye on how many cards of each suit have been played is an important skill. Further, it is quite possible for the leader to be cut out of many trends, so leads are not very safe. So, in spite of its simplicity, it is not completely bereft of strategy. Another fine, albeit very light filler from Herr Knizia.

Thread: Session Report

garrylloyd — 2003-12-04T02:11:52+00:00

Players: Nige, Mark K, Mark G, Garry

We finished off with a couple of hands of this little card game from Reiner Knizia, which I have been wanting for a while and managed to get at Essen for just 2 Euros. It is a simple “play a card then draw a card” game where you lay cards in the hope that they will score for you. The cards represent fashion designers and as soon as there are a number of cards on the table equal to the number on that designer’s card, they “break through” and points are awarded to those who have laid cards for that designer. All other cards are discarded and do not score. The person with the most points after a set number of hands is the winner.

This is a very light but fun game. In the first hand, Mark G missed out on the points only managing 4 in total. He did better in the second hand but Nige amassed the highest score in both rounds, making him the big winner. I can't believe Nige turned out to be the most trendy of us all.

Result: Nige 77, Garry 56, Mark K 55, Mark G 25

Ratings: NIge 5, Garry 6, Mark K 6, Mark G 6

Thread: House Rule

chockle — 2003-08-03T13:20:20+00:00

We play that the person who is dressed the trendiest goes first.

Thread: Session Report

jsdougan — 2003-07-18T20:53:27+00:00

Last night turned out to be mostly a night of quickie games for me. While several of us were waiting for more people to arrive, Gee pulled out his copy of "Trendy". Nobody had played before, but it was one of the few quick things we had that would accomodate 5 people.

This is one of those games that's easier to explain than to play, and some very clever combinations of cards helped a few people at the expense of others.

I ended in either 4th or 5th place (which was to be the story of the night for me).

On to Cloud Nine...

Thread: Session Report

PBrennan — 2003-03-31T11:00:33+00:00

A bit of card counting helps, but otherwise fairly harmless stuff that, like its theme, is pretty vapid, not leaving you much after the game has finished. Ok to while away the time with though. A 5 after 1 play

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2003-01-22T13:58:37+00:00

Mark and Melissa were eager to play Age of Steam, but we were waiting on the arrival of Keith. So, a filler was in order and Trendy was the game of choice. We were joined by Jim in our attempts to set the latest fashion trends. We opted to play to 100 points.

Jim emerged as the initial trend-setter, capturing the lead following the first round. However, I managed to slip past him in the second round, falling just four points shy of victory. I somehow overcame my opponents’ best efforts to deny me my chance in the spotlight and scored enough points in the final round to claim the victory.

Round-by-round scores:

Round 1: Jim 57, Greg 51, Mark 39, Melissa 39
Round 2: Greg 96, Jim 93, Mark 89, Melissa 70
Round 3: Greg 155, Mark 135, Jim 133, Melissa 122

Ratings: All 7’s.

Thread: Session Report

gschloesser — 2002-12-14T16:31:00+00:00

I first played this light, yet strangely addicting card game from Reiner Knizia at Gulf Games 10 back in August. I enjoyed it so much that I played it several more times during the course of the convention. Since the theme is that of fashion designers attempting to set the latest fashion trend, it wasn’t surprising that many folks adopted faux designer personas, much to the amusement of everyone.

The deck is comprised of 65 cards, with suits of 3 – 7. However, there is not an equal number of each suit. Rather, the formula to determine how many cards there are in each suit is: 2x suit number + 1. So, for example, there are nine 4’s: (4 x 2) + 1 = 9. Plus, each suit has a ‘Super Model’ card, which is actually acts as two cards of that suit, as well as an ‘Out’ card, which causes all cards of that suit played in the current round to be discarded.

The cards are shuffled and six are dealt to each player. On a turn, a player plays one card face up and draws a card to refill his hand. The next player does the same and this process continues until there are as many cards played in one suit that equals the number of that suit. For example, once seven 7’s are on the table, the fashion trend has been set (it’s the seven’s, with a lovely green, form fitting dress with a nice slit to expose the leg!).

All players who played one or more sevens gets to keep those cards in their score pile, while all other cards are discarded. A new round is now played.

As mentioned, the Super Model card counts as two cards of that suit, so the proper timing its use can be critical. Of course, the nasty ‘Out’ card can also prove critical and cause quite a bit of consternation when it disrupts a potential trend.

Once all of the cards in the draw pile are expired, the round concludes once the next trend has been set. Each player then totals the value of all the cards in their score pile and records this amount. If no one has achieved 100 points, a new round is played. Usually, it takes about three rounds until someone tops 100 points and claims the victory.

Yes, the game is very light and simple, but that makes it easy to learn and play. It certainly falls squarely into the ‘filler’ category and has also proven popular in the ‘family gaming’ venue. The game is filled with moans, groans and jeers as players see their attempts to set a trend with one suit (let’s say 5’s) disrupted by other players playing cards to set a different trend. Keeping an eye on how many cards of each suit have been played is an important skill. Further, it is quite possible for the leader to be cut out of many trends, so leads are not very safe. So, in spite of its simplicity, it is not completely bereft of strategy.

Steven, Jim, Elizabeth, Keith and I became fashion designers to close out the evening. Jim and Elizabeth proved to possess the best fashion sense, with Jim earning a narrow victory.

Finals: Jim 101, Elizabeth 99, Spouey 86, Greg 83, Keith 78

The group enjoyed the game so much, a second match was immediately played. This time, I displayed my latent fashion-design tendencies to capture the victory.

Finals: Greg 106, Jim 104, Liz 98, Steven 91, Keith 82

Ratings: Liz 7.5, Jim 7, everyone else 6.5

Thread: Session Report

ssmooth — 2002-04-19T13:46:47+00:00

One of the games burning a hole in Ward's pocket was Trendy, another Reiner Knizia concoction, this one with cards numbered 3 to 7. We found this to be a very nifty little diversion, quite the original! Leon and I seesawed back and forth for the lead through three hands, but Jack came all the way back from fifth place to win it with a huge 44 points on the last hand.

That brought us to 11:00, so Leon and Philip called it a night, but we three iron men battled on....

Eventually we got around to a second run for Trendy, now with just three players instead of five. It was different in ways but a good game at either number. This time I had the lead after the first hand, then Ward took it away in the second hand, but I got it back in the third and final. We liked this fine and will definitely be seeing it again.

Thread: User Review

BoardGameGeek — 2001-06-11T16:39:52+00:00

I suppose after all these years of cranking out some of the best games in the business, Mr Knizia deserves to be able to cash out on a few small-box klunkers. And, with some of the recent stuff (noticably this, Jumbo Grand Prix, Zircus Flochati, and a few others - of which Trendy is close to, but not quite, the worst), this is what he's done.

One player in a recent game commented, "If this were by anyone else, it would never have been published". One good idea short of a below-average game, the decision making is decidedly absent, there is virtually no tension to the game at all, little skill, and it's frustrating and tedious to play.

Interestingly for a Knizia game, though, it does score high on the theme front, although perhaps because the world of "high-fashion" seems capricious and arbitrary

One to avoid.