I'm a very diverse gamer, who enjoys playing all types of games. I usually enjoy Euro games the most and party games the least, but there are exceptions to both. I am 24 years old, and play board games at least twice a week if not more with very varied demographics. I am trying to give more focus to my opinions and perceptions in my reviews instead of regurgitating component lists and rulebooks, especially for older games that other people have reviewed multiple times.

Overview

This past weekend I participated in a 36-hour gaming marathon event for charity, benefiting Children’s Miracle Network. Knowing I needed engaging games to keep me awake, I packed up two tubs full of my games, and a few card games to take with me. This would be the perfect place to try out GUBS with a lot of different people and different number of players. I took the deck with me, and I can tell you this: We had a blast.

What you get in the box



The box comes with all the cards you need to play. It includes basic cards (the gubs), event cards (which are played immediately), and many different cards that are played to affect the game. All the cards (except the basic gub card and the letter cards) have a title, flavor text, art, card type and effect. The letter cards are three special event cards that mark the end of the game.

Flavor text and art are both amusing. We all had some great laughs reading the cards the first time. The card effects are all simple and easy to execute. For example destroy X card, trap a gub or make one player discard his hand.

Setup and Game play



Start the game by giving every player one gub card. Then shuffle the deck VERY well, as it is important that the three letter cards are randomized throughout the deck. Deal 3 card to every player, and then everyone returns any event cards dealt to the deck and reshuffle. Play starts with the player that suggested GUBS, which I thought was a great rule and a very nice touch.

Play proceeds in simple turn order:
1. You MAY draw a card. This is important in some situations.
2. Play any cards you have in your hand.
3. Discard down to 8 if you have more than 8 cards in your hand.

That is all, very simple and straight forward.

Game play proceeded very smoothly. It is a very simple game in concept so many players were eager to try it, unlike when you put out a board game with 20 different cards and chits. People watching us play would understand the rules almost immediately, and were ready to jump in the next round. Even people that are not regular board and card gamers got into the action. Games took only about 20 minutes each, so it was easy to get people in and out of the game.

The point of the game is to be the player with the most un-trapped gubs in play when the last letter card is played. The letter cards (‘G’, ‘U’, and ‘B’) are event cards, so they are played immediately when it is drawn by any player, and since they are randomized in the deck you never know when the game will end (although, people will start to worry as soon as there are 2 of the 3 letters out on the table).

Gubs can be in one of three states: Free, protected and trapped. Free gubs are just there on your play area, and are the most vulnerable. They can be ‘lured’ to other player’s sides, destroyed by flash floods or killed by spears, among other things. Free gubs can also be protected or trapped. Usually, you protect your own gubs and trap the ones in the other player’s play area. There are always exceptions of course. Towards the end of the game, especially if there was only one letter card left in the deck and the deck was running thin, play sometimes involved a lot of ‘skilled top-decking’. However, this was very much part of the fun. Like playing the Omen Beetle when all your gubs are protected by Mushrooms...



Our biggest fun came from discovering the multiple card ‘combos’ that are possible. For example, in a memorable play I trapped my own gubs with a ‘Double ring’ card (take and trap 2 free gubs in play) while holding a Flute card (destroy a ring in play and take the trapped gubs to your side). This worked for me because in a later turn, a Flood card (reshuffle all free gubs back into the deck) was drawn, and all my gubs were trapped in the ring. After the second letter card was out, I released my own gubs so they would count as points in case the third letter card was drawn soon.

The only rule problem we encountered was that the rulebook did not include a tie-breaker rule in it. We came up with a house rule of "Sudden Death". When the third letter card was drawn, all players tied for the highest points discarded any gubs in their hands. Then, the first player to get an extra gub to their side won. I e-mailed the designer, and his suggestion (and the way he is teaching it to other people) is to deal out the remainder of the deck to the tied players, and the first person to be dealt a gub wins.

Overall Experience



We all had a lot of fun when playing this game. The cards are easy to understand, the card combos that occurred are very clever and it has a surprisingly addictive nature. Out of all the game I had with me this weekend, this one was by far the most played. People were asking me if I didn’t mind if they borrowed the cards all the time. It was fun to learn, fun to teach and fun to play. I guess if you hate ‘munchkin-style’ games this game might not be as fun. But if you love the types of games where you think you are winning, and someone nukes your Esteemed Elder the turn right before the last letter card is drawn and steals your win last second, this is an awesome game. It also plays very well with any number of players.

And toad riders are awesome. Wits and luck indeed!

Fun: Difficulty: Length: (scale: 1-6 [changed to 6 to be more dice-intuitive])

-Carlos Robledo