Game: Flinch

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Unco — 2008-10-07T11:04:39+00:00

Flinch Components (Parker Brothers Version - 1938)

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Unco — 2008-10-07T11:00:49+00:00

Flinch Front Cover (Parker Brothers Version - 1938)

Thread: Re: Great thrift fodder

garygarison — 2008-08-26T18:13:51+00:00

My most recent re-purposing of Flinch is for a cruddy homemade version of High Society. A Rage deck is also needed.

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Thread: Re: Isn't it the same as Skip-Bo?

B Weage — 2008-08-26T17:39:37+00:00

That should be "Isn't Skip-Bo the same as this?" given that Flinch is 1901 and Skip-Bo is 1967. And probably that question should also have added to it "- but with the addition of some useless wild cards that are a detriment to play."

Both games are often described as "based on the traditional card game Spite and Malice" - though I haven't found a reference to S&M that would rule out it having evolved as a non-proprietary version of Flinch.

Thread: Re: Isn't it the same as Skip-Bo?

GaryP — 2008-08-26T17:28:35+00:00

Ack! Apparently the new versions do come with optional wild cards. Burn them!

Thread: Re: Great thrift fodder

GaryP — 2008-08-26T17:27:01+00:00

Kwyjibo wrote:
Duell requires 25 cards: 5 each of 1 through 5. No modification required.
garygarison wrote:
The cards are oh so versatile for playing other games -- see my message in the Babel forums for an example.
Great suggestions, both. My wife just bought me a copy from a thrift store, and I was contemplating what to do with it. The "Babelfish" idea looks very neat indeed!

Thread: Re: Isn't it the same as Skip-Bo?

GaryP — 2008-08-26T17:18:58+00:00

The Unbeliever wrote:
They are very similar, but there are a few subtle differences that I think make Flinch the better game.
The most significant is none of those awful Skip-Bo (wild) cards. My willingness to play Skip-Bo tanked after seeing a couple games where a player had three or four Skip-Bo cards in their draw pile. Certainly they both rely heavily on the luck of the draw, but having 25% of your draw deck playable ANYWHERE makes that round rather pointless to play out.

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nickguay — 2008-06-29T15:46:59+00:00

Game

Thread: Re: Isn't it the same as Skip-Bo?

The Unbeliever — 2008-06-13T23:01:39+00:00

They are very similar, but there are a few subtle differences that I think make Flinch the better game.

Thread: Isn't it the same as Skip-Bo?

okiedokie — 2008-06-13T21:13:27+00:00

Isn't this just like Skip-Bo but without the wild cards? I ran through the rules quickly and it seems exactly the same.

Thread: Re: Great thrift fodder

garygarison — 2008-05-26T07:00:56+00:00

I too buy up Flinch in thrifts whenever I come across them. Must have 7 or 8 packs now. Prefer the older versions for the more stylish designs. The cards are oh so versatile for playing other games -- see my message in the Babel forums for an example.

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garygarison — 2008-04-17T07:27:31+00:00

old PB Flinch ad from brochure

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garygarison — 2008-04-16T06:59:44+00:00

Very nice old American design

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garygarison — 2008-04-16T06:57:41+00:00

My very stylish Flinch cards, scrounged from a thrift and that required I lift off the bottom shelving unit to retrieve the 5 or so cards that had fallen to the dark and dusty floor.

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Luminous — 2008-02-26T01:42:16+00:00

1951 version, box and components

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Warbanner — 2007-10-17T02:52:02+00:00

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Warbanner — 2007-10-17T02:51:31+00:00

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chansen2794 — 2007-10-09T19:25:56+00:00

The Stack - Groups of five cards layed in alternating orientations in the holder. 1963 PB Edition

Thread: Great thrift fodder

Kwyjibo — 2005-11-16T00:40:21+00:00

I like when I find a copy of this at a thrift store, since it can so easily become a good game with little to no modification. Each package of flinch contains 10 cards of each number from 1 to 15. You can easily make 3 Knizia games for instance.

Duell requires 25 cards: 5 each of 1 through 5. No modification required.
Lost Cities: 5 each of 2 through 13 (11-13 are the investment cards). Get a few markers and make 5 different suits.
Schotten Totten: 6 each of 1 through 9. Grab your markers again and make 6 suits.

This list could go on I'm sure.

I already own Lost Cities, so this will be a fantastic way of allowing me to try the 4 player variant without committing to buying a second copy of the game just yet.

Thread: Re:User Review

Shade_Jon — 2005-01-11T07:00:29+00:00

pusherman42 (#75958),

Thanks. I was racking my brain trying to remember how this game worked. I have since recycled my cards to be used in other games.

I remember that tic-tac-toe like board very well, made from sturdy red plastic. It's kind of sad that they are not making that anymore.

Yehuda

Thread: User Review

pusherman42 — 2005-01-10T17:42:16+00:00

Quick Rundown
Flinch is a stockpiling card game for 2 to 8 players ages 7 to adult. Each player is dealt 10 cards and the first person to play all 10 of their cards wins.

How It Works
Each player recieves 10 cards which they keep face down in a pile, flipping up the top card. Then, everyone is delt a hand of five cards. The rest of the cards are made into hands of 5 cards and stacked in a plastic tray for later. In turn, players play down cards into multiple piles in the middle in numerical order, starting at 1 and going to 15. Players must play a 1 if they have one. Players must also play the top card from their 10 card stockpile if it plays as well. At the end of each turn, players discard a card into one of five discard piles they will start during the game. Any time you run out of cards in your hand, you draw a new 5-card hand. By usuing the cards in your hand and the cards at the top of your discard piles, you build the play piles in the middle up until you can play the flipped-up card from you 10-card stockpile. The first player to exhaust their stockpile wins.

Is It Fun?
It's not NOT fun. It's a simple mindless game, with easy rules and enough strategy that you can be better at it than someone else. It's a good game to play with your little brother or sister when you're worried about them eating one of your Catan settlements.

Clever placement of cards in your discard piles allows you to have whatever card you need to continue playing on your turn and hopefully to build the piles to where you need them to play a stockpile card. Also, you are never forced to play a card other than 1's (to start the piles) and your stockpile cards, which means that, if you're paying attention, you can hold back or discard cards that your oppenents need in order to play thier own stockpile cards.

Components
This one's hard to mess up, it's a card game. There are 135 cards in the newer editions (including 9 Wild cards for alternate rules), and a plastic tray for holding all the extra hands that get drawn during the game. The older version I used to have came with a hard plastic tray which held the hands in a criss cross fashion so it's easy to draw 5 cards without having to count them out. The newer versions come with a cheap plastic hollow tray, which makes an attempt to hold the hands apart, but just feels flimsly and cheap.

Rules
The rules are simple, and the instructions are clear. The version I have comes with regular Flinch rules as well as 4 variations on the game (including a solitare version). There's also a picture inside from 1905-06 of Mr. Parker and a few others game testing Flinch.

Overall
The game's been around for years, so some people have to be enjoying it. I don't play it often, but it's fun for when you've got a half hour to waste or are playing with gamers who aren't going to get into Risk or Catan.