Game: Vegas

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kyrasantae — 2007-12-11T20:54:17+00:00

Photo of cover

Thread: It's certainly a gamble

sorewinner — 2006-12-07T04:35:44+00:00

Vegas is the one of the only Cheapass games I've played, but I've noticed that it's usually a case of 'you get what you pay for' when it comes to a game in an envelope. And although I've certainly played much better, this little game isn't too bad. It feels a little bit like Monopoly meets Poker, but there's a time and a place for a game like that.

Theme and Object of the Game
The theme to Vegas, as you may have guessed, is gambling. The game simulates the overall feel of wandering around the streets of a casino town, playing games of pure luck, and then handing over your money for your trouble. That's not to say it's a pure luck-fest, although it's close. The object of course is to end the game with the most money. It's a simple theme and a simple objective, but it's suppose to be that way.

Components
Basically, there aren't any. What you get in the envelope are twelve pieces of cardstock that can be placed side by side to make a gameboard, and three more pieces with the rules printed on them. Supply your own pawns, counters, dice, cards, and poker chips (or play money). Personally, I like the dice, cards, poker chips, etc that I use to play but since I bought them totally separate from the game they don't count. Then again, I got what I paid for.

The board is similar to a Monopoly style board with a movement track along the outside with spaces along the way representing eight casinos, each featuring a simplified game such as Craps, Blackjack, Slots, Poker, etc. These aren't the real casino games though, but simply dice rolling or card drawing with a win or lose outcome. Each casino also has a card suit associated with it for replay options, and a lottery ticket cost for an 'end of the game raffle'. At each corner is a Draw/Showdown spaces similar to the Free Parking square of Monopoly, and four penalty spaces similar to Luxury Tax. And of course in the middle is The Pot, where money from raffle tickets go to be later be won in Showdowns.

I'd recommend laminating the board or using contact paper to keep the cardstock sections together. Otherwise they just move around too much.

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Gameplay
Surprisingly, this isn't too bad once you realize that it's a 'roll and move' game. Before the game players are each dealt a hand of five cards that will serve as a poker hand and replay cards as the game goes along. Each casino is stocked with starting chips or money, and each player places four of their counters at the Start. These counters serve as countdown counters that are removed after a player passes Start and determines when the game will end.

On a players turn, he rolls three dice and moves his pawn that many spaces. Then he follows the instructions of the space he lands on. Most often this will be playing a 'game' at a casino, wagering the amount listed on the space he's on. If he loses the 'game', he gives the casino that money. He may 'cheat' by discarding one of the cards from his cand that match the suit of the casino listed on the board. This allows him to replay the 'game'. If he wins, he takes the money from the casino. After playing the 'game' he may purchase a ticket for the raffle at the end of the game. Any money used to buy these raffle tickets goes into The Pot. A player may buy as many tickets as he'd like. The only downfall to this is if the casino where he bought the tickets goes backrupt in which case he loses those tickets.

If a player passes the Draw/Showdown spaces, he may draw a card and lay it face down in front of him. This serves two purposes. It increase his chances of having a better poker hand (used later) and it gives him more replay options. The fact that these cards are face up clues the other players in on what poker hand he may have. Instead of drawing a card, a player may choose to stop on the Draw/Showdown space and declare a Showdown. If this is done, each player reveals his best poker hand of five cards and the winner collects the money in The Pot. Also, whenever the deck empties, a Showdown is automatically conducted. After each Showdown, each player receives a new hand of five cards.

The game continues in this manner until all the counters at the Start are removed and the next Showdown occurs. Then the game ends and each casino raffles off it's remaining money to ticket holders. Whoever has the most money at game end wins.

Impressions
Vegas is a light game but last a little longer than most light games. It more entertaining than Monopoly, not as 'poker-ish' as Poker, and the raffles are more satisfying than Bingo. That might not sound very impressive, but it's a nice little game. It's the kind of game you can easily get non-gamers to play although there are certainly better games to get them hooked. But after the first copy I bought got a tear on the board I went out and bought another copy, so it can't be that bad. For a couple bucks, it's worth giving it a try.

Thread: Re: User Review

sorewinner — 2005-06-27T21:58:33+00:00

I'd like to add to your review that there really is strategy to be found in the game. Players aren't just suject to the roll of the die of luck of the draw. Knowing when to invest in tickets can be tricky. You certainly don't want the casino you have tickets at to go bankrupt. Knowing when and how to cheat is tricky too, especially when you sense a showdown is coming. And knowing when to pounce on the pot by calling a showdown before your opponents build a good hand can greatly help out when you're low on money. On that note, remembering what cards have already been 'rolled' is harder than it seems.
If there is any downfall to the game in my eyes, it's that the final lottery drawings often seem to determine the winner. Even if you are helplessly low on cash, a few lucky lotteries and you've got a good chance to win.

Thread: User Review

zombiemonkey — 2004-05-19T14:20:42+00:00

Vegas - aka James Ernest Writes Off Another Trip to Vegas - is yet another cheap and cheerful game from the prolific guys at Cheapass. This one seems to be from a period in which Cheapass didn't have quite as good a reputation as they now have. Back then I believe they were seen as a company that released mostly random dicefests with little strategy or depth. To be fair, these dicefests - games such as Devil Bunny Needs a Ham, Get Out, The Great Brain Robbery, Bitin' Off Hedz and Vegas - aren't representative of the kind of depth, humour and fun that characterise the Cheapass that we know and love today.

The gameplay in Vegas consists of players rolling dice to travel around different (fictional) casinos in Vegas, playing various simplified casino games along the way and buying lottery tickets at each location in order to buy chances to win each casino's bank at the end of the game. The player with the most money at the end wins.

Like a kind of friendly Monopoly - the only bitterness from players in this game is not directed at the other players, but at the casinos and their low odds! - players must follow the instructions on any square they land on, which in most cases means making a bet on the relevant game. Each casino runs one game, with the instructions, odds etc. printed on the board for easy reference. Once a player has played this game, they are free to buy tickets at their current location, which means more chances at winning the lottery for that particular casino's bank.

Each player has five cards from a standard poker deck, which they use when a Showdown is called by a player landing on a 'Draw-Showdown' space. The player with the highest poker hand wins the pot in the middle of the board (which grows when players buy the lottery tickets) and everyone is dealt a new hand of five cards. Instead of a showdown, the current player can instead draw a card to be laid face up in front of them, which can be used when constructing a poker hand.

Lotteries are drawn once all lap counters are removed (four of these are placed next to the start space at the beginning of the game and are removed as players pass) and a final showdown takes place to clear the pot. Each casino then has a lottery with each player getting one card from the poker deck for each ticket they own in that casino. The player with the highest card (with suits being relevant here too, to avoid ties) wins that bank. The winner is the player with the most money after four laps of the board, and after all of the lotteries have been drawn.

Vegas is a very entertaining game, especially seeing as it really is just a 'roll the dice, move, follow the instructions' type of game. Decisions can only be made about how many tickets to buy and if it is worth attempting to cheat at the games (cheating means using a card from your hand to retry a game you have just lost - basically, each casino has a suit associated with it - discarding a card of this suit into the discard pile allows you to try the game again). It is easy to be rather gung ho with buying tickets, only to run out of money from losing games on the way around the board. Going bankrupt means losing all of your tickets but starting again from your current position with $500 and a new poker hand, so knowing how to balance ticket purchases with the compulsory gambling is often a tough decision-making process!

Vegas certainly doesn't stand alongside the most recent Cheapass titles as a deep and rewarding play experience, but I can't say that we didn't have fun playing it. It is just a dice fest, but one that encourages quite a lot of fun along the way. This fun doesn't come from the usual Cheapass humour - often infused into the themes of the games, but here relegated to the amusing Casino names and descriptions - but from the social interactions between players on their way around the board. Recommended as an uber-light respite from strategic thinking, a nice little leave-your-brain-at-the-door experience.

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davemenc — 2003-10-29T13:33:13+00:00

Vegas Game in Progress

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2002-08-16T11:12:56+00:00

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Octavian — 2002-08-16T11:12:50+00:00