Mini Reviews: Get Bit, Love Letter

I played two new games last night, Get Bit and Love Letter. Both are small games, so here are some mini reviews.

Get Bit

What

Sets of cards numbered 1-7, dismemberable figures, 1 shark (similar but not identical to a LEGO shark). This was the Mayday Games version that came in a nice tin. Even though it’s small, it could be made even more portable. You could really play this game with just about anything sitting around, and some cards numbered 1-7. But the little figures can be part of the draw.

How

Line the figures up. Each turn, everyone plays a card simultaneously. In order of lowest to highest card, move to the front of the line. Unless two or more people tie, then they don’t move. If you have only two cards left, return them to your hand. The person at the back loses a limb, but picks up all his cards and moves to the front. Lose 4 limbs and you’re out. When all but two are our, the person in the lead wins.

Good

Fun theme. Interesting bluffing and deduction.

Bad

Player elimination.

Overall

I would play again. There’s interesting strategy trying to out guess your opponents, especially with people returning cards to their hand at different times. And the entire order can change at any time, so you don’t ever feel safe or in too much danger. My only gripe is that with lots of players, you might be sitting out for 5-10 minutes until the game ends. But this game includes the kind of risks I can enjoy taking.

Love Letter

What

Deck of cards numbered 1-8, with 5x 1; 2x 2, 3, 4,and 5; and 1x 6, 7, and 8. Counters for scoring over the total match. We played AEG’s Tempest themed version that came with the deluxe velvet embroidered bag. While nice, the bag doubles the size of the game, so skip it if looking for maximum portability. They also could have used 2-sided cards that rotate to track score instead of cubes. but not a big deal.

How

Shuffle the cards and remove one hidden from the deck. Reveal 3 if playing with 2 to reveal more information. On your turn, draw a card and play a card. Each card has an ability, such as Guard (value 1) that lets you try to guess another player’s card. If you do correctly, they are out of the game. Other abilities include protection for a round, swapping cards, seeing cards, and comparing cards. Some of the higher cards force you to play them depending on the other card in your hand, and the Princess (8) makes you lose if you ever discard it. The last player standing wins the game. You play multiple games, and the first player to win some number wins the match.

Good

Good elements of deduction. Simple and elegant design.

Bad

Heavily luck dependent.

Overall

I was initially skeptical of the game based on reading about it. It was better than I expected, but it still doesn’t feel like much of a “game” to me. It does a good job of hiding some of the forced “choices”, and usually still gives you something to think about on your turn, like who to interact with and what card they might have. I’d like to see what would happen if you had more control over your hand, which makes me think I would like Coup. For someone looking for a quick, light bluffing game this is a good fit, and it’s something you can get just about anyone to play.