2 Goofy Games for a crowd – 6 nimmt and welcome to…

To learn more about what board games are good for beginners click here.

These next two games, 6 Nimmt and Welcome To…, prefer a little larger crowd, but in the case of Welcome To…, could also be played as solitaire. I did a full write up on Welcome To…, comparing it a bit to Sudoku. Some times people refer to games like that as multi-player solitaire, and they wouldn’t necessarily be wrong. It still good with a crowd. I also took a little closer look at 6 Nimtt when I talked about great party games over the holidays. A testament on how accessible the game is.

As the collection of game starts to grow, I want to expand the types of games you have. – I narrowed the scope of what I was looking for as opposed to the last two games I picked. Those qualities are:

• Simultaneous Play
• Flip and Write
• Degree of Player Interaction

6 Nimitt/Take 5

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What is It

First and foremost – for the purpose of discussion – “6 Nimmt” and “Take 5” are the same game. The game was originally published in Dutch as 6 Nimmt and when it was published in the States the name was changed to the slightly easier to pronounce – Take 5.

In 6 Nimmt! players embark on a quick yet “thinky” card game where the goal is to accumulate as few points as possible before someone ultimately hits 66 points. With its straightforward rules, this game is fun to both noobs and seasoned players, offering a unique blend of luck and strategic decision-making. One of the great things about this game is that because everyone is playing essentially simultaneously, it scales very well. There isn’t to much difference in game length with addition of more people.

Shuffling 104 numbered cards, players begin by laying out four cards face-up to initiate four rows. Each player receives ten cards, and the objective is to strategically play cards to avoid accumulating points. Players will quickly notice the bull horns on the various cards varying from 1 to 5 – though one particularly dastardly card has 7 points on it.

The game play is very simple. Secretly selecting a card, players place it on one of four rows following the two essential rules. Playing the sixth card in a row leads to claiming the entire set and accumulating points. The games produces tense moments as your hand size dwindles and you are just hoping that someone else will be forced to play a card that will absorb a row of points.

Early on there are plenty of spots to decrease your hand and not take points – but as the card choices in your hand become smaller, and the spots where cards can be played become fewer – a real tension builds trying to find the card that will fit the row.

What a Turn is Like

In each round, every player is dealt a set of 10 cards. Additionally, four cards are placed in the center of the table, creating the start of the playing area of 4 rows. Simultaneously, each player selects and then reveals a card. Cards are then placed on the expanding play area, starting with the lowest numbered card. The key rule is to play cards in ascending order into the row showing the highest number lower than the card being played. For instance below, if a player had a “29” it would be played to the lowest row, where as a “31” would be played in the upper row. A “70” would be played in Row 2.

When a row has 5 cards, it is considered “full.” The next player, as per the rules, that would have to play a card in a full row, ends up collecting all 5 cards and the points on the cards. The card that was just played stays, and is shift all the way to the left to start a new row. Players possessing a card with a lower number than the highest card in each column face a choice: they can select a column and replace it with their card, taking on the corresponding points. For instance above, if someone played a “9” – they would choose which row to take. Most often taking the row that has the least accumulated bull heads (points)

The game ends during at the conclusion of the round when a player reaches 66 points.

Why I picked it

Simultaneous Play: I like it when everyone essentially has the same decision to make at the same time. Not only does it keep the game moving at a fairly good pace, but I find it entertaining to see how some people can instantly know what card to play, while others are faced with few “good” options and agonize what to play, trying to limit the damage of points they will take. At first it seems like a game that is heavy in luck, but with time, you’ll see that taking a few minutes of time to think can indeed limit your points exposure.

Family: Because it can handle higher player counts, this is great for family gatherings like holidays or just get togethers. The game itself comes in a pretty small box making it easy to travel with. The rules can be very quickly explained to both younger kids and adults as well.

Dynamic: The game state is constantly changing. It is true that with higher player counts, it becomes much more difficult to predict where your number will end up, but honestly that extra flavor of chaos adds to the fun. Players cards will “get in the way” and take up precious spots on the board. It is done in a way though that its not a “take that” move – its hard to know just who you might be interfering with, so you can’t really dogpile on someone and cause hurt feelings.

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“..it’s so small and so simple yet so smart and so silly…”

— Quins, Shut Up And Sit Down

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Welcome To…

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When I picture playing a chill game on the deck with a glass of wine or a cold beer – it is usually “Welcome To..” that we are playing.

“Welcome To…” ushered in a renaissance of Flip and Write/Roll and Write games – It is one of the best hand down.

“Welcome To…” is the classic game of chill. Players will have a choice of a street number and “action” they can take to maximize the points on their board. There is a little bit of a race element to achieve some scoring objectives, but all in all your really just trying to maximize your board. Because the choices are open to everyone at the same time – it is possible that people could take the exact same number and action, and mark down the exact same spots on the board. Granted that seems as likely as filling out a perfect March Madness bracket – but the potential is definitely there.

Players will decide if they will look to score points by marking of “pools” on their score sheet, or build parks, or perhaps simply raise the value of sections of their estates with good fencing and land value modifiers. Of course a player could race to one of the bonus scoring objectives with the benefit of keeping the high points for themselves, and denying others.

Just like 6 Nimtt, Welcome To… introduces the idea of simultaneous play. Generally no matter how many people are added to the game, the total game length will remain the same. It is all about using the street number and the associated action to maximize the points you can achieve.

What is a turn like

The turns are very brief – but generally you’ll put some thought it to what you need to do.

Your score sheet consist of three varying in length – blocks, at the beginning they are completely devoid of numbers or features.

The turn begins by flipping over 3 cards, on from each stack of 3 in the middle of the table. Each card will have a number and some sort of ability. You’ll need to use just one card, and possibility the ability as well.

The first consideration is the number. These represent the addresses of the houses on the block, and like a good city planner, those numbers most be assigned in sequence on your sheet – lowest to highest. You can skip numbers and come back to fill them in later, so long as they stay in order.

The other portion of the decision is considering which of the special abilities you’d like to use. Briefly these are your choices:

• Fence Builder: Build a fence between two houses on the same street to create “estates.” Estates are areas bordered by fences, with numbered spaces in between (unnumbered spots don’t count).
• Real Estate Agent: Manipulate the value of completed estates; for example, marking the “3” column makes three-house estates worth four points.
• Landscaper: Create a park by marking off trees at the end of a street where a house was built. The more parks you have on a block, the higher your score.
• Pool Builder: If the pool ability is part of your combination, mark off a space in the pool column, increasing pool values at the end. The higher your over all pool count, the higher your score.
• Temp Agency: Need to squeeze a house in, change the number shown next to it by adding or subtracting 1 or 2.
• Bis: Write a number a second time on the same street. Careful though – these can lead to negative points.

In addition to your standard choices, you may consider how completing certain specific estate sizes may help you achieve additional bonus points. Each game has three goals – the first ones to create those estates – for example you might need to 6 sized estates – would receive ore points. So you may elect to build fences, in lieu of that pool you always wanted.

At times there may be a situation where you can’t place any of the numbers shown – that will result in a permit refusal, and cost you points as well. Once someone has amassed to many permit refusals, or enough of the aforementioned goals are completed, the game ends.

Why I picked it

Simultaneous Play: In allot of ways this part of the game is not dissimilar from 6 Nimmt. Players will be making decisions at the same time, and essentially the same type of decision. That shared struggle, to find just the right spot, adds an interesting dynamic to the game. People can sympathize and also cheer for each other when the right (or wrong) card combination comes along. Because often times people will go very different routes when assigning numbers, and also because of the fact you can both use the same cards – there isn’t a fierce competition for a single card combo – remember that “chill feeling” i was eluding too

Roll and Write/Flip and Write – These are a very specific style of game. I think everyone should have a roll and write style game in their collection. Often they are vey easy to teach. This obviously uses cards – the traditional roll and write uses dice which people are familiar with already.

Player Interaction – There is none. And that is ok. It has been called Multi Player Solitaire for good reason. In fact there is a solo version built right into the base game. The great part is though, that you could actually have 100 people simultaneously playing this solitaire game with you in a shared experience.

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“…This one is going to get a strong seal of approval from me…”

— Ray Zee, The Dice Tower

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