01-013 Hi Lo Flip

01-013
Hi Lo Flip

If Mattel is making the BOLD too small, then Gamewright is making their Hi Lo Flip too big!

Hi Lo Flip

First, the box is unnecessarily big. There are only 100 cards in the game, plus a chip and instruction leaflet. These can perfectly fit into a UNO size box. I bought this game from Amazon and have no idea how big the box is by just looking into the photos. It really surprised me when I opened the parcel.

What a big box!

Also, the cards are too big either. Cards are in poker size which is not convenient to hold a large number of cards on hand. They should adapt the more common US game card size or bridge size.

Cards are beautiful, though.

The cards and the instruction booklet are nicely made, however. The cards and the chip are plastic, thus very durable. Cards are colourful but the colours have no meanings in the game play. They are just design.

Hi-Lo Flip is a shedding game. Any player managed to first get rid of all has hand cards ends the round. Collected cards are counted towards their points. Game ends when any one player reached 75 points. Player with the highest points wins. 

I bought this game because of its high rating and also because I wanted to acquire something America but Mattel into my collection. But my kids and I do not like this game. We just played it once or twice then we put it aside. And it takes up quite some space on my bookshelf.

General Information

Player	2 to 6
Playing Time	20 min
Age	8+
Year Released	2020
Designer	Garrett J. Donner, Michael S. Steer
Publisher	Gamewright
Family	Hand Management, Shedding / Stops
Score	6.4 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	Poker size (63mm x 88mm, 2.5" x 3.5")
Deck size	100 cards + 1 chip
# of suits	n/a
Details	There is no suit. Cards are all number cards, ranging from 1 to 100. There are no face card, no wild card and no special card. Cards are colourful but colour has no function in the game play.

The game play

Where to buy?

Amazon.

Hacking

You can play this game with a deck of "6 nimmt!". Just remove cards number 101 to 104 and ignore the bull heads. Use a coin to replace the Hi-Lo chip.

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01-012 BOLD

01-012
BOLD

BOLD is another card game from the Mattel value pack that I bought from Amazon. Along with the other 7 games in the value pack, my deck of BOLD is also made in China. However, I have never seen this card game selling here.

BOLD is a matching game. There are no hand cards. You need a big table to play this game. It would be nicer if the cards are in Poker size. But you know large companies. Cost is their only concern. The cards are just in normal US game size, i.e. the same size of UNO. And the box is also the same size as that of UNO. This does has a good point. Different games but same box size, they fit neatly on my bookshelf.

BOLD

BOLD consists of 112 cards. But only 81 of them are for playing. The others are point cards for score keeping, as well as 1 scoring reference card. All playing cards are unique. There is no suit. Cards are matched by their icon size, icon shape, background pattern and background colour. There are 3 different icon sizes – large, medium & small; 3 different icon shapes – hexagon, square & circle; 3 different background pattern – stripe, triangle & zig zag; & 3 different background colours – blue, yellow & pink. So, 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 81. Simple math.

This game is fun. But if playing this with kids, then you are the only one to lay down the cards! And it is a quick game. I just keep busy laying cards. It is just so tiring!

Some games are better to appear on computer. I don’t recommend buying this game.

General Information

Player	2 to 4
Playing Time	10 - 30 mins
Age	7+
Year Released	2016
Designer	Jack Hanauer
Publisher	Mattel, Inc.
Family	Memory, Push Your Luck
Score	5.9 (Board Game Geek)

 

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	US game size cards (55.9mm x 87.1mm, 2.2" x 3.43")
Deck size	112 cards
# of suits	n/a
Details	There is no suit. Only 81 cards of the deck are for playing and their design are unique. Each card has different icon size, icon shape, background pattern & background colour. For icon sizes, there are big, medium & small; For icon shapes, there are hexagon, square & circle; For background patterns, there are stripe, triangle & zig zag; For background colours, there are blue, yellow & pink. 30 point cards for score keeping: 5x 5 points 5x 10 points 4x 20 points 16x 1 or 30 points (double side) & 1 scoring reference card.

The game play

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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01-011 6 nimmt!

01-011
6 nimmt!

6 nimmt! is one of the oldest German-style card games entering Hongkong market. I have played this for more than a decade. During the Chinese New Year, we visited a friend and our kids played 6 nimmt! together. Since then, my son keeps asking me to buy him a pack.

To my surprise, 6 nimmt! now gets a local licensed version. I found it in Toys"Я"Us. The local publisher is Broadway. The game is authorized by the German game publisher Amigo. You can find both logos of Broadway and Amigo on the box. Instructions are bilingual.

6 nimmt!

It is a strategic game. The goal is to get the least point. Design is very simple. It contains 104 cards, numbered from 1 to 104. Most cards worth 1 point while some worth more. There is no suit and no wild cards. The cards are colourful.

General Information

Player	2 to 10
Playing Time	45 mins
Age	8+
Year Released	1994
Designer	Wolfgang Kramer
Publisher	Amigo / Broadway
Family	Hand Management, Kill Steal
Score	6.9 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	US game size cards (55.9mm x 87.1mm, 2.2" x 3.43")
Deck size	104 cards
# of suits	n/a
Details	There are only number cards, no suits, no face cards or wild cards. Cards numbered from 1 to 104. Most cards worth 1 point, with some cards worth more.

The game play

Where to buy?

Toys"Я"Us or Amazon

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01-010 UNO Flip!

01-010
UNO Flip!

First published in 2019, UNO Flip! is probably the most unique card game in the world. For almost every card game, no matter it is a dedicated deck like UNO or Skip-Bo, a standard deck of 52 playing cards, or something more traditional like the Chinese Sap Ng Wu or the Japanese Hanafuda, one thing is common. The back sides of the cards always look the same within the same deck. Reason is simple, not to let other players knowing which cards are in one’s hand.

UNO Flip!

Not so for UNO Flip!. In this card game, there is no back side but only light and dark sides. And both sides are for playing.

Since the first publication in 1971, UNO has received more than 10 variants. UNO Flash, UNO Dice Game, UNO Dare!, just to name a few. Reviews for most of these variants are just so-so. But UNO Flip! scored up to 6.5 in Board Game Geek. You will find out the reason after playing a game of it.

Game play follows the rules of UNO. But there is a Flip card. When it is played, players need to flip their cards over and the whole hand would become difference. This is the exciting part.

Each card has two sides, the light and the dark. On the light side, there are 4 colours or suits – Blue, Green, Red & Yellow. On the dark side, there are also 4 colours or suits – Pink, Teal, Orange & Purple. Just like normal UNO, cards are number from 1 to 9, with additional Draw, Reverse, Skip and also the Flip cards.

The eight colours, four from the light side and four from the dark side

Both sides also got 8 Wild cards.

The Wild cards of the Light side and the Dark side

Since the cards are double sided, technically one can guess the hand cards of other players. But the light and dark sides are jumbled and it is almost impossible to figure out the pattern in between.

Both sides are jumbled and you simply can't guess

General Information

Player	2 to 10
Playing Time	30 mins
Age	7+
Year Released	2019
Designer	unknown
Publisher	Mattel, Inc.
Family	Shedding / Stops
Score	6.5 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	US game size cards (55.9mm x 87.1mm, 2.2" x 3.43")
Deck size	112 cards
# of suits	8
Details	For each colour, there are:  2x 1 2x 2 2x 3 2x 4 2x 5 2x 6 2x 7 2x 8 2x 9 2x Reverse 2x Skip 2x Flip 2x Draw One (light side only) 2x Draw Five (dark side only)  And for wild cards:  4x Wild 4x Wild Draw Two (light side only) 4x Wild Draw Colour (dark side only)

The game play

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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01-009 Land Unter

01-009
Land Unter

“Land Unter”, or “Turn the Tide” in English, is the first German-style card game in my collection. The game was published in 1997 and is one of the earliest German-style card games entering Hongkong market. I played this game long before I met my wife. I remembered all the fun time of playing this card game with friends in the canteen of the City University of Hongkong. After acquiring more than a dozen of American card games into my collection, I decided to buy this as a Christmas present for my son.

"Land Unter", or "Turn the Tide"

Like many other German-style card games, the composition of “Land Unter” is a bit complicated. There are 108 cards in total, but not all of them are for playing. Among the 108 cards, 24 of them are lifebuoy cards. They are for score keeping only. 60 of them are the weather cards and they form only the hand piles. The remaining 24 cards are the tide cards, which are solely for the draw piles.

“Land Unter” is a hand management and trick-taking game. To win the game, it requires both skill and luck.

My deck is imported by the Taiwanese game distributor Swan Panasia. The cards are published by the German game publisher Nürnberger Spielkarten Verlag (NSV). You can find both logos of Swan Panasia and NSV on the box. Instructions are only available in Chinese. The cards are colourful and the cartoons are cute. They are in Skat size, which is slightly bigger than the normal US game size.

The sheep are so cute!

My kids like the cartons but not quite enjoy playing it. They are still too young and do not have the technique to win. It is a good game but it is more suitable for older kids or adults.

General Information

Player	3 to 5
Playing Time	30 mins
Age	10+
Year Released	1997
Designer	Stefan Dorra
Publisher	NSV / Swan Panasia
Family	Hand management, Trick-taking
Score	6.8 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	Skat size cards (58.9 mm x 90.9mm, 2.32" x 3.58")
Deck size	108 cards
# of suits	n/a
Details	The whole deck consists of the following cards: 24 Identical Lifebuoy cards; 24 Tide cards, range from 1 to 12, two each; & 60 Weather cards, range from 1 to 60.

The game play

Where to buy?

Capstone or Amazon

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01-008 Blink

01-008
Blink

Blink is one of the card games from the Mattel value pack that I bought from Amazon. And it is also the first card game from the pack to play with my kids.

Blink is a fast acting game. It tests your reflection, rather than your skill or luck. A game normally last only 2 minutes. It is a 2 player game and is very ideal to carry around and play with friends while waiting for somethings.

Blink

My son enjoys playing it with his friends in the children church. Only kids with similar age can compete with each others. Like my daughter, who is 2 years younger than my son, can never bet her brother. So, she does not like the game. My son do like it, however, because he is always the winner while playing with my daughter.

Blink is a Mattel product. So there is no surprise to see its box to be exactly the same size as that of the UNO. It nicely fits alongside with other Mattel card games. Price is also cheap. I highly recommend to have one handy.

General Information

Player	2
Playing Time	10 mins
Age	7+
Year Released	1995
Designer	Reinhard Staupe
Publisher	Mattel, Inc.
Family	Shedding / Stops
Score	5.9 (Board Game Geek)

Specifications

Due to copyright issue, I cannot show you the full deck here.

Card size	US game size cards (55.9mm x 87.1mm, 2.2" x 3.43")
Deck size	60 cards
# of suits	n/a
Details	There is no suit. All 60 cards are unique. Each card has different shape, colour and count.  For shape, my version has dot, cross, triangle, diamond, star and lightening. For colour, my version has red, yellow, green, blue, purple and black. Count ranges from 1 to 5.  Design varies slightly between different versions.

The game play

 

Where to buy?

Amazon.

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