It’s a cat crime life in Pumafiosi which I can best describe as a trick taking game, kind of. But it’s a light game that offers a bunch of luck, some strategy, and some pushing your luck. What is it about this game that should put it on your radar or keep it off it? Let’s take a look at a new to me game, Pumafiosi, and see what it’s all about.

How to Play Pumafiosi?

This is a bit tricky to explain, but the let’s start with the main goal. The main goal is to make the most money. And to make the money you need to win the tricks or hands that are played out. However, it isn’t a standard trick taking game. You want to have the number in the middle, so this really a 3 or 5 player game because of that.

If you get the middle number, you’ll get to put that winning card on a score track. You need to decide where you want to place it though, because the points go from -3 to 10 points with a few missing numbers. So if you win a hand with a 20, let’s say, and the numbers go 1 to 55, where do you put that. Do you put that at the 10 or somewhere lower, and why wouldn’t you just put it on the 10 point spot?

Well, there is one major reason. If you play it on the 10 and someone comes along with a 25 they can put it on the 10, and the lower number gets bumped down. For each spot and each card that gets bumped down of yours, you get -1 points. So a 20 might fall a number of times.

You score the track at the end of each round of hands. And then after three hands, you see who has the most dollars. The person with the most, they win the game.

So What Type Of Game Is It?

That is a weird question to answer. Part of it is a straightforward trick taking game. It is a twist to say, you want the middle card, but that is mainly still trick taking. Now if I play a 34 and you play a 33, the third person probably decides who wins the trick. Or if we play a 34 and 32, do they have the 33? So that element is pretty simple.

It is probably more of a push your luck game. How far might something drop? And is it worthwhile maybe even sneaking a card onto the -3 to avoid having a bunch of your cards getting pushed down? Because part of the strategy is that you don’t need to play in numerical order on the score track. It’s just when something get pushed down that you sort numerically. That twist is intriguing for how you try and score in the game.

But it is a hard question to answer. Part of the game is trick taking. Part of the game is push your luck for money. And part of the game is, if you can’t win the hand, how to set-up the person you want to win that hand to get the most points spread out or to make it easier for you to win that next hand. I like every element of the game.

But Let’s Talk About Luck

Luck in Pumafiosi is the thing that will push some people away. You play with a hand of three cards, you play one and draw one. That is not that odd. But if the last person can’t win, they might try and set-up the person one ahead of them to win to make it more likely to win the next hand. That is not luck, that is strategy.

But with a hand of only three cards, luck is an element of the game. If you play out a 3 and my hand is only low cards, that might be good. But if you play out 20 and I just only ever get low cards, I might be locked out of round. I think there is an element of strategy still there, but some of it is dependent upon luck more than some people like for a game like this.

Pumafiosi is a Filler Game

My push back on the complaint about luck is that it is a filler game. A slightly longer filler game than some, but it is still a filler game. And for a filler game, I am fine with a bit more luck, or maybe a lot more luck in a given hand if it starts to get really swingy. I know the game is going to be over pretty quickly in that case and we can either shuffle up and play again or move on to another game.

But it being a filler game is going to be a negative for some people as well. And I think that I call it a trick taking game, but there being less control than in a lot of trick taking games. I do think as a group and dynamic develop, players finding a pattern and style and rhythm to play is likely. Even in the second game with one group, that rhythm of play quickly dropped in and made it a fast trick taking experience.

Final Thoughts on Pumafiosi

I like this game. The fact it is simpler is not a bad thing. It is also unique in being the middle card, and I like the push your luck of the point track. I see trick taking games that try and add in ten extra things and take a 20 minute game to an hour and a half game. Pumafiosi doesn’t do that and that is great. It knows it’s range, and it knows it wants to add one thing. So it does that well.

The negative, of course, as I mentioned, is the luck in the game. I might end up with a hand that just pairs with someone else’s hand. And depending on your strategy as the other player or players, it might make for a very bad round. At a five player game, it is going to be more random and ore of a chance of that. At three it is still possible, but less likely. So I think both player counts, which I say to play the game at, really do offer something a bit different and balance the strategy to luck depending on player count.

My Grade: B+
Gamer Grade: C+
Casual Grade: B

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