Chris Hawks
United States
Apple Valley
Minnesota
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I just came off a weekend of gaming where I won 11 out of the 16 games of GmtB that we played, so I feel inspired to finally sit my butt down and write a review of this great, underappreciated game.
PRESENTATION:
The game looks good. The artwork is very nicely done, very clean -- and limited to less than 40 cards (the Bid cards and the Objects) so as not to actually interfere with gameplay. The Bid cards in particular are hilariously done. The cards are nice and fairly heavy; we've been playing with the same deck for probably a year and half now, quite regularly, and the cards have held up surprisingly well. Some may balk at the price, but you're paying $15 for the equivalent of two decks of cards, and $7 for a single-deck card game does not seem unreasonable.
You will need to provide your own die, something that I think won't be much of an obstacle for anyone. It's almost a bonus, actually, as you can select your own specialized die to represent the "Brain". We use a 1-1/2" pink rubber die, which bounces around amusingly on the table. I also have a 3-1/2" red foam die that we've used on occasion.
GAMEPLAY:
It's simple enough. You can read the details elsewhere, but the basics are these: Each player starts with a hand of 7 cards. The object is to play all of your cards, each of which has some "Job" that you are required to perform, affecting your hand or the hands of other players. The catch is that some of the Job cards (the pink ones) require possession of the Brain. The Brain can be "dropped" by a number of means, and when that happens, all players play Bid cards to claim the Brain for themselves. The trick here is that whoever picks up the Brain takes the next turn, thus providing the possibility of players having their turn(s) skipped -- which seems to be the biggest complaint people have about the game.
The actual rules of the game are pretty straightforward and clearly explained in the directions. The Job cards are almost all different, but the rules for each card are printed on the card itself, and are clear and self-explanatory.
TIPS:
If you're playing for the first time, it's a very good idea to read all the text on a card as you play it. Most of them are quite funny, and of course, a group unfamiliar with the game will need the effects of each card read to them. Such a group (as my group once was) will undoubtably find the game to be humorous, light, and fun, but perhaps not too terribly exciting -- especially if a player has spent a lot of time having his turn skipped.
The solution here is twofold: (1) Play in a smaller group. No more than 5, I'd say. 6 would be pushing it. 4 works pretty well, but 3-player is where the game shines. (2) Be familiar with the deck. The cards lose a bit of their funny after a few games, true, but familiarity with this deck makes the game that much more enjoyable. When we play now, we generally just slap the card down and announce its title, and that's enough for everyone to know what's going on. Sometimes, a Job will be familiar enough that we can just slap the card down and do the action immediately without saying a word ("Locked in the Bathroom", or "Health Inspection" for instance.) You don't necessarily need to know how many of each card is in the deck -- though knowing that there are around 4 "Whups!"s is helpful -- but you do need to know what all of the cards are and what they do. The only way to do this, of course, is by playing a lot. But, like some books or movies, this is one of those rare games that gets better the more you revisit it.
If you don't invest the time in getting familiar with the game and the cards, it might appear to be governed mainly by luck and randomness (a la "Fluxx") but the more familiar with the game you become, the more the inherent strategy becomes evident. Yes, there's still the luck of the draw in the cards you are dealt, but you always have a number of options when it gets to your turn (even when you loaf, you have 2 different ways of doing so) and an experienced player can make most hands work for him.
STRATEGY:
Again, the strategy becomes most obvious when you're playing a 3-player game (and are familiar with the deck.) With 3 players, there's never a player you can't directly affect, since you have one opponent on your left, and one on your right -- and that's it. 4-player works almost as well, but with 3 players, you can get some really fast-paced, viciously competitive games.
I'll post a list of strategy tips separately.
HOUSE RULES/VARIANTS:
We don't really use any, but we've kicked around a couple of ideas. I'll post them separately, as well.
OVERALL:
In my opinion, this is James Ernest's best game. It's also one of my favorite games, period. I can't get enough of it.
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Chris Hawks
United States
Apple Valley
Minnesota
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Re:User Review
Version 1.0 of the promised Strategy Guide is up in the Articles section.
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