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pete belli — 2008-05-27T23:26:24+00:00

Components

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pete belli — 2008-05-27T23:24:53+00:00

Uncluttered board

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pete belli — 2008-05-27T23:19:31+00:00

Box with description

Thread: Re: Cross Crib - A subjective review

coligill — 2008-04-03T14:05:33+00:00

I was not aware of that version. Thanks for the heads up.

Thread: Re: Cross Crib - A subjective review

thatmarkguy — 2008-04-03T04:44:46+00:00

I think with any CrossCribb review should come a reminder of the nearly-identical game that preceded it by about six years.

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Thread: Cross Crib - A subjective review

coligill — 2008-04-02T20:31:18+00:00

Hello all,

This is my first review, but I have read many of them and I am reasonably literate, so hopefully this will turn out well. I titled this as a subjective review, because I don't know how I can give specific scores to the game, I will describe how it works, say what I like, and leave it up to you, the reader to judge for yourself. On the main page, it states that the game can be played with 1-6 players. While this may technically be true, it is really a 2 player game that can be played in teams or solo. I will be describing the game as is played between 2 players, since that is how it is best enjoyed. A four player game is the same as a 2 player game, it's just that each side is basically cut in half. A 3 player game has one player with a hand the size of a 2 player game playing against two players with hands the size of a 4 player game. I honestly don't know how a 5 or 6 player game would work. I don't have the game or the rules in front of me, I am writing solely from memory. Also, I am writing this assuming that the reader knows the basic rules of cribbage, the card game that this board game is based on. If you aren't familiar with or don't like cribbage, this game probably wouldn't appeal to you anyway, since it is basically a new, reimagined way to play. Enjoy!

I love Cribbage. I learned to play from my grandfather at family reunions when I was young, sitting around a card table with my uncles. Learning to look for fifteens, knowing what to keep in my crib and what to keep out of their crib, trash talking with people who in any other situation I would have to show the due respect for their age and being able to skunk them was great. I was as an equal with my family elders, at times I even imagined that I was smarter than them, I was learning the usefulness of math, probability and strategy. Also, looking back now, cribbage is one of the few card games that shares characteristics with so many of the great board games that have come out in the past few years. Nobody is eliminated until the very end, victory points are kept track of on a specialized track, there are many different ways to score and win, actions made by opponents significantly affect you so there is no downtime, Hands are played and scored in separate and distinct phases, and there is even a marker that gets passed around to declare who is in the starting position at any given time, with bonuses given to that person. Point being, Cribbage is good. And when I saw a board game on the shelf that takes the core concept of crib and goes further with it, I was hooked.

Components
The components of Cross crib are simple and sparse, but there is not much needed and there are of good quality. The game comes with a medium sized square board of thick cardboard, which lays flat easily. On the gameboard is a grid of 25 spaces where cards can be placed, 5 rows by 5 columns. Each row and each column is numbered 1-5. Aditional components include a pack of "CrossCrib" branded playing cards (same quality as any pack you would get anywhere, same cards, they just say crosscrib on the back), a scoring pad, and the rulebook, which is small and not as professionally bound as some games, but the rules are simple enough that it is not an issue. Also, there is a pencil and one 6 sided die included as well.

Gameplay
After the deck is shuffled, and it is agreed upon who will have the first crib (players can roll the die, draw for high card or do whatever they like) 14 cards are dealt to each player face down (or in the case of a 4 player game, 7 cards each) and the deck is cut and a card is flipped over and placed face up in the center of the board (on the intersection of the 3rd row and the 3rd column). This card is functionally the same as the card that is turned in cribbage. Players then take turns drawing the top card of their hand and laying it down face up on any space on the board. At some point during play, a player must discard 2 (1 if 4 player) cards to the crib. After a card has been given to the crib, the player gets another turn. Once the entire grid is filled up with cards (there should be 25 cards on the board, 4 in the crib, and none in the players hands) each row and each column is scored separately according to the rules of cribbage (looking for various combinations that add to 15, pairs, runs, flushes, etc.). One player/team scores based on the columns, and the other based on the rows. The player/team that had the crib that hand gets the score for it as well. Then the scores are added up for each player/team and the one that has the highest point total of all of their rows or columns as well as the crib if applicable adds points to the scoring track equal to the difference between their score and their opponents. Then the deck is reshffled, the opposing player/team gets the crib, and another hand is played. The first player/team to reach 29 points on the scoring track is declared the winner.

OK, so what?
The above description may have sounded a bit dry, but in the actual play experience it is extremely engaging. Every card that is laid down counts for both you and your opponent. Do you try to concentrate on one extremely high scoring row/column or go for a more balanced approach? Do you play a card to benefit yourself or block your opponent? will you be able to get the card you want into the spot you want in time or will it be blocked or even show up at all. Will you be able yo use this card or will it be better suited in the crib? Also the scoring mechanism is interesting too, since it is not based on how many points you can get, but how many more than your opponent you can get. Usually games can last for many hands, with each player having very closely matched scores, but just as easily one side can have an awesome hand (or a horrible one) which can throwthe game for a loop. Everything that I described in the above paragraph adds to the tension of the game and makes it very engaging. Also, if you don't like the randomness of drawing a card each time, there are a couple of variations included in the rules, one of them being that you are allowed to look at your entire hand as you play. This may seem to open things up, but it makes the decision making process just as hard since now you havea whole hand full of options to work with. Another variant is to roll the die that is included and for whichever number that comes up, the corresponding row and column is doubled in value for the current hand. If a 6 comes up, the bonus applies either to the crib or is ignored.

Will I like this game?

If you've made it this far in the review, then probably. If you like Cribbage, and you like simple, but deep strategy then you should love this game. The game flow and length is highly variable based on the scoring system that I explained and based on how indecicive the players happen to be, but in my experience the game goes quickly, rarely as long as an hour. As I said above, it is very engaging, and with it being so quick, there have been many times when I have played multiple games back to back. There is no theme to speak of, so someone who is looking for another world to get lost inside of will not be satisfied with this. The target audience is somewhere in between a card player and a board game player, so anyone who is too entrenched on either side may not be as enthralled as I am.

So that is my subjective review. I love the game, hopefully you will too!

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Hang Man — 2005-07-29T13:05:47+00:00

Game board

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Hang Man — 2005-07-29T13:05:46+00:00

Box cover

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TonyNelson — 2003-01-06T13:27:00+00:00

Game: CrossCribb

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Thread: Re: Cross Crib - A subjective review

Thread: Re: Cross Crib - A subjective review

Thread: Cross Crib - A subjective review

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