WARNING: The reviewer is a friend of the designer of this game, while I have attempted to not let this color my review, there can be little doubt that I had a desire to like this game. This is a standard Pub-Play review so the Pub environment will be taken into account. I am also basic this on a not-quite production quality version of the game (the deck of cards I have are not the production quality ones included in the release of the game, however the designer was nice enough to include a pack of card sleeves for me).

"I want these mutha-f*^$ing cobras out this mutha-f*^$ing cockpit!"

Cobras in the Cockpit is a game-parody of every action movie you've ever seen featuring snakes and planes. In this game you control the snakes moving them from section to section trying to throw the plane into chaos and assure its destruction.

Let's get to the meat (mmmm, roasted rattlesnake...) of this review.

Components: 3/10
For those of you looking for a fancy box to sit on your shelf, this game is not for you. It's self-published and comes in a plain white cardboard box with a color label affixed to the top, this can be a hassle if you, like me, store your games in a closet or some such with only the sides of the boxes visible. Inside are 5 cardstock 8.5"x11" game board segments (arranged in a "+" formation on the table to look like a plane), five pawns in each player color (20 total), 4 "species" cards to let you know about the different species of snakes and ten red plastic poker chips which are used to indicate which areas of the plan have been thrown into chaos. The core of the game however is the 99-card deck. While I can't comment on the cards, I did fear for this board in the pub, so much so that I placed my board segments inside document protectors (this worked out nicely). My cards were sleeved (a good idea for anyone mixing games and alcohol). The game looks as though, out of the package a good spill of a half-full or more beer could cause absolute ruin (don't get me started on red wine). The pawns are typical plastic pawns and are used to represent your snakes.

The deck of cards contains Spook cards (Hiss and Rattle) and Harm cards (bite and squeeze) number 1-9 in addition to many Special cards. The artwork on the cards is designed to look like the safety cards found in most airlines. This is evocative and humorous. The game's sense of humor permeates this game. At first I was worried that this may be along the lines of many cheapass games where once the joke runs out the game becomes stale. Fortunately this is not the case.


Rules & Gameplay: 8/10
For full rules you can visit the company's website, but here's a summary.

Players begin by selecting a species card at random and being dealt five cards. Each snake has different abilities, cobras, for example may play two bite or hiss cards in a single area but are unable to play rattle or squeeze cards, Pythons can play Squeeze Cards, Kingsnake players get "two for the price of one" on their snakes.

On a players turn they may take numerous actions, only limited by the number of cards in their hand, a player may discard a card to. Bring a snake from their stockpile into the plane's cargo hold or move a snake from one area to another. They may play an appropriate Harm or Spook card into an area or play a special card using the effect described on the card.

The object of the game is to earn points by throwing the different areas of the plane into chaos, this is done by playing a set number of Harm and Spook cards into an area (equal or exceeding the values for each printed on the board), once an area is "full" of harm and spook it is thrown into chaos and players score points for each snake they have in the area (or earn double points is they are the only ones with snakes in the area). You must have snakes in the area of the plane when it is thrown into chaos in order to score points (although you need not have contributed anything to it actually being thrown into chaos). Areas once thrown are marked with a chip and may not be scored again (exception: there is a special card which will revert an area to control, this card does not, however negate the points earned for the previous disruption).

Engines and the Cockpit are special areas, the cockpit itself cannot be "Chaos'd!" but the pilot and copilot are the targets in this area. The Engines are a special case. Only Squeeze cards can be played normally on the engines. However a snake may sacrifice itself in order to play any other type of numbered card into the engines instead, if this throws the engine into chaos you score points as though your sacrificed snake is still there.

At the end of your turn you draw back up to five cards.

The player who throws the last area into chaos receives ten bonus points.

The rules are clearly laid out and contain humorous sidebars. Each rule has been given a name, thus aiding in memory. The rules are simple taking only a two-page pamphlet to lay out in detail.

The gameplay is simple enough and the "discard for movement/spawn of snakes" makes it so you've never got a hand full of useless cards, getting your snakes on the plane and spread out over the areas is so important that often times I found myself discarding otherwise valuable special or numbered cards just to get into areas to score points.

The special cards are funny and effective, without being overpowered. I guess if one player was ganged up upon it could be a hassle, but many of the special cards, when played, end up in the hand of the person you played them on. This could give them a six or more card hand thus allowing them to discard and get back in the game easily, or it gives them plenty of ammunition to throw back at their attackers. I think this is an interesting mechanic that I'd like to see a little more of in "take that" style games. Some folks will go so far as to discard the card just to see it out of play for a while.

Sobriety Edge: 7/10
At it's heard Cobras in the Cockpit is an area control game and your strategy is important, sure special cards played by your opponent can easily disrupt your best laid plans, but there is still a definite strategic element, it is however, fairly simple and not harmed too much by excess consumption. The humor of the game just gets better as the pints go down.


Wotcha' Doin'?: 9/10
Given the cultural zeitgeist of the theme Cobras in the Cockpit does attract a lot of attention. I think it would more so if you replaced the plastic pawns with small plastic snakes (an idea for the second edition?). It's also simple enough to explain to the curious, and often times you can elicit a chuckle by having them read one of the special cards. I believe by this time next year the game will not elicit as much attention, unless a certain Bad Mutha-f*^$er signs for a sequel.


Sociability: 7/10
Cobras in the Cockpit really plays best with 3-4 players, I found the two player game a little lacking. There's also the humor component which is really upped by a larger group of people.


Summation:
Cobras in the Cockpit is a solid game, enhanced by its humor but based on sound mechanics. Balance is excellent, for a game with variable player powers it's handled quite well and I've not seen a trend with any particular snake species. The components are somewhat lackluster, but for a first game by a self-publisher I've definitely seen worse. the game is definitely fun and has good replayability (something usually lacking from games that seem to surround a central joke). I'm not sure if I'll bring this back to the pub, the five-piece board takes up a lot of space and if it were not for the document protectors and card sleeves I would have been quite paranoid throughout the evening.