How To Play River Valley Glassworks

How To Win

In River Valley Glassworks you try and collect the most glass, or really glass in the best columns to score the most points. Scoring is done in both rows and columns. When you score a column you score your two highest columns, and if there is a tie, the ones further left, because they give fewer points. And for rows, you score each row that starts on the left edge and then as far right as you can until you hit a gap. That’s mainly it for scoring, you might end up with negative tiles, but how you do that, we’ll talk about as I go through how you play.

Your Actions

On your turn you place one tile from your bag onto the river. When you place the tile you place it on the tile with the matching shape. The only way to break this rule is place out two matching shapes onto any location. Basically, two for one for a wild resource. Then you take the glass from either of the adjacent river sections. You place those pieces onto your scoring board. Each new color goes in a new column, and a repeated color goes to the next highest available row for that column.

When you are down to one glass piece tile or out of glass piece tiles you take four of the five glass pieces from the lake. That’s your other option and then you continue playing as normal. And you keep track of your glass pieces until you get up to 17 on your board or someone else does. Then everyone completes the round and there is one more round after that.

One thing you need to be aware of is filling columns and rows. It is good to do because you gain more points. However, if you take a piece of glass you can’t place, that goes into your trash area. Your trash counts for negative three points at the end of the game.

What Doesn’t Work?

I find that most of the game works for me. I think there is one element that is trickier to remember. That is keeping track of the stones. They give you a nice spot to tick that up, but it is trickier to remember. So it is something that only works so well. It’s not a major negative. But I think it is a piece that is easy to forget. So when you play River Valley Glassworks, it’s a rule to be aware of.

The other rule to be aware of, and again not a major negative, is the row scoring. I try and explain the row scoring at least twice. Why, because it rarely gets understood the first time. Or it is rarely understood until you play a few stones out. Maybe that is the best way, don’t teach the rule until everyone has taken two turns. For some people that is going to work. For other people, they want to know it right away.

What I Like

River Valley Glassworks is good for me because it is a simple game. I wrote out the actions and that is it for them. There is not a more complex action that I skipped. You either play out glass or you take glass from the lake. And then as you place on your board, that part is simple as well. So I love how easy it is to teach and play the game, besides the rule for scoring rows.

To go with that, River Valley Glassworks is a fast playing game. This is definitely because of limited options. But once you know what to do, you just figure out your best play and go for it. Sometimes it might require a little math in your head, but never too much. And the number of options is small enough that no single turn is going to take too long. And the longest turns happen at the end of the game in those last two rounds when you know it will end soon and you want to get as many points as you can.

I also appreciate the balance of luck and strategy. Some of it is that you get lucky with what is one the river sections. But there is some thought and strategy as to how you place it on your board. Certain colors of glass are less common. So I want those earlier because the more common are better later. Why, because they give you more points if you get a taller column. But at the same time, you want them earlier because that might mean you get more rows filled in. So it’s a nice balance of figuring out your strategy for that game and the luck of the glass.

Who Is This For?

I think that this is a great family game and a great filler game. Because of the ease to teach the game, it can come to the table fast. And there is basically no language in the game that you need to worry about. So as long as a kid can understand the scoring, they can play the game. What I want to do soon is try this as a soli game and see how that goes. Because it’s easy to get to the table and a lot of fun to play with all sorts of different groups.

Final Thoughts on River Valley Glassworks

I enjoy this game because it is that balance of luck and strategy. You certainly can plan to go one direction in the game, rows of columns and find that you pivot part way through because things weren’t going your way. But if things really seem like they aren’t, that’s okay. The game is fast and you just play it again. It’s nice for being a filler that way, or one that you might play multiple times in an evening.

I want to explore the solo mode still as well. I think that it will be one that I stream maybe next Wednesday (8/21/24) on Malts and Meeples. Because I want to know if it’s as fun, or if it’s less fun, because I can see it going either way.

And while I expect it won’t be for some people because of the luck. I think that a lot of people will enjoy it. And with the nice tactile nature of the game, this is one that should be popular. The question will be, is it a game that will break into the masses. Because it has that mass appeal to it, I think, which a lot of more hobby board games, or especially crowdfunding board games, tend to miss.

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

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How to Play Forest Shuffle?

In Forest Shuffle, you try and build the forest that is going to give you the most points. To do this, you need to play out trees and then surround them with animals and other vegetation. Each card has a cost and some benefit to scoring. When all three winter cards are drawn, the game immediately ends. And the player with the most points wins, as I said.

On your turn you either play a card from your hand using other cards from your hand to pay the cost, or you draw two cards. When you play out cards there a few things to note. Firstly, there are three types of cards, left and right divided cards, up and down divided cards, and tree cards. To play the first two, you already need a tree in place. And when you play a tree, it costs one card from the deck of cards. And with a few exceptions you play only a single card above, below, and to the left and right of your tree. You do so that half the card is covered up by the tree.

Dual Purpose (and more) Cards

Cards get used for basically two things, you either play them out to score points in your tableau or you use them pay for other cards. But there is a risk with that. As you pay for cards it goes into a discard row. When that discard row gets to 11 or more cards, it wipes. But until then, those cards are ones that players can pick up with their draw. So you need to pay attention to what other players are doing to try and avoid setting them up.

But it’s also dual purpose in that the non-tree cards are split in two. Either a top and bottom halves or left and right halves. Each half is going to score in a different way. So I pick which side I want to use, and that side is the cost that I need to pay. Some some might be free, but is their scoring as good or is it worth it to pay more? That all depends on the synergies that you have.

Bonus Powers

Let’s do a little aside on the bonus powers you can activate. This is a trickier element of the game, but as you play out cards they might have a color symbol on them that’s kind of an arrow or chevron. If you pay for that card with cards that have that color, you get the bonus. And that bonus is sometimes great. It might be draw more cards, or take a whole next turn. But they make it good and tricky so you can’t just play the card, you need to set your hand up with the right colors to spend.

Luck Level

I think it is important to talk about the luck level in the game as well. I find that it is a nice balance of luck and strategy. Often times the strategy that you pick to start the game, let’s say, I want to get hares, or butterflies, or lots of trees, that is a valid strategy throughout your game. But there is an element of luck and the potential need to pivot.

So you can also just push for what you need. You never can have more than ten cards, but with ten cards there is always something you can play. So you might just find that you draw to get the strategy that you want to work. If you need more hares, you draw two cards blind and hope you get them. Eventually you’ll find what you need.

But there is a level of luck to the game. And at times you might find that you need to pivot. If all I see are people discarding bats, maybe I should start collecting and synergizing around bats. But the further you get into the game, the more focused you are apt to be in what you play.

Is There A Lot To Take In?

That, I think, is both a yes and a no. At the start of the game, there is a lot to take in, especially in your first game. The more games that you play, the less you need to read because you just know a lot of the time. But when you start, you often need to spend some time with your hand trying to figure out what direction it is leaning.

And the more you play the game, the easier it is just to know with a quick glance, nothing is that complex about the game. So as you gain familiarity with all the symbols, which there aren’t that many, the game is a whole lot faster to play. And as you focus your strategy it becomes even faster to look and see what you need, just by the type of animal or symbols an animal or tree gives you.

Who is Forest Shuffle For?

Honestly, I think that this game is going to be for most people. It might be a bit too light for some people, but it’s a good blend of strategy and planning and then making decisions based off of what comes up. And the them is very accessible, building out a forest, that makes sense and doesn’t feel too nerdy, like a fantasy or sci-fi game. And I think even for people who like heavier games, this one isn’t too long, so it’s a good palette cleanser.

Final Thoughts and Grade for Forest Shuffle

I really enjoy this game. I like to play it both in person and on Board Game Arena. It is one that works well to play asynchronously. But in person is always better for a game. But it’s that nice balance of just enough strategy and planning without an overwhelming amount of decisions. And the game is almost always positive in what it does. Don’t get a card you want from a draw, that’s okay, those cards can now be used to pay for stuff. It’s simple, elegant and with a good theme, so a very fun time.

My Grade: A
Gamer Grade: B+
Casual Grade: A

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How To Play – Via Magica

Like I said, Via Magica is a bingo style game. Or maybe more Super Mega Lucky Box style game, though, Via Magica came out first. In this game you are trying to capture animus to open different portals, all very magical. What that means is you have three portals in front of you and as a player draws out tokens, you match the animus type, colored white, blue, red, brown, green, and black, to the animus needed on that card. There are wilds, and when that is drawn, you reset the bag of tokens and draw some more.

However, you only have a limited number of crystals. You put them out and you might have two near completion but no crystals left. Depending on what is drawn, you can move crystals around to get a card completed. When you complete a card, you pick a new card. And once someone has completed seven, the game is over.

But it isn’t just that, each card has a power, or a lot do. It might be that you score two points for each green animus that you have. Or it might give you 12 points but be a hard card to complete. And some might make a color wild or allow you to place animus of a certain type for free. So you try and build up combos that will help you get the most points. Because at the end of the game, most points wins.

What Don’t I Like?

I have played this at two and it plays up to six, so I want to play with more. The reason I want to play it with more is that the market of portal cards is pretty static with two players. I might complete a portal, take a new one, and then complete a second one with only one new portal being available. This isn’t a major issue, but with more players the market would be in flux more. It’s a minor quibble with the game, though.

I also wish that the tiles that you draw were nicer. In my final thoughts I’ll talk about how this gives me a bit of a Splendor vibe. Splendor has great chips in the game, and then fewer other components. I wish this one has Splendor like chips as you do draw them from a bag, so as they are handled they will start to wear out. Not as fast as Quacks of Quedlinburg, the chip here are handled less. But it’s worth noting.

What Do I Like?

Simplicity

I like the simplicity of the mechanics. The game is easy to setup, easy to teach, and easy to play. It says 30 minutes, I think in lower player counts that is a bit long for the game. Two players probably takes 20 minutes, unless you get really poor draws. So it falls easily into that category of from box to teach to table in 10 minutes tops. And if everyone knows how to play, probably five minutes.

The game is also going to scale really well. I draw an animus tile, everyone puts down on their portal, if they can or if they want. So while with more players it’ll take longer because it’ll take more time for people to pick portals. This is not going to be a long game ever. Maybe at the full six players it’d take 40 minutes in a slow group. Goes back to that simplicity of the mechanics.

Strategy

I also think, that while it is simple to play, there is strategy and choice in what you are doing. Not tons of a complex level, but when you finish a card matters. I play down onto a portal that lets me place out two crystals on blue animus immediately. Well, if I don’t have two open blue animus in play, that is a waste of my play. Or in the last game I played, I got three colors to be wilds for me which wasn’t a ton of points, but gave me a ton of flexibility early in the game to then go for bigger points.

I think this is an area that people will overlook. They will see it like Super Mega Lucky Box and see such a simple game but not realize the strategy that you can have. And probably lose their first game because of that. There is a lot of luck in the game, what is pulled out of the bag. But there is strategy or thought that goes into which portals you do and when you try and finish a portal.

Who Is It For?

This is a good filler game for gamers who want something quick while waiting for more people to show up. Or maybe as the game night is winding down. Not some party game, but a game with decisions that is fast to play and get to the table.

But, this is also a good game for when you are with non-gamers. The artwork is cute, the rules are so simple, and it plays fast. I could see pulling this one out with family and playing it twice or three times in a sitting, because the game is that easy to get to the table. And it is that level of a Splendor where the rules are simple, animus is drawn, you place a crystal. But as you play you learn more of the game.

Final Thoughts on Via Magica by Hurrican

I really enjoy this game. In fact, I prefer it to Splendor. There are a few games, Century Golem Edition, and now Via Magica, that I put in the same weight as Splendor, same depth of strategy as it were. And I prefer both of them to Splendor. Both Century Golem Edition and Via Magica have more strategies that you can try. And while I might eventually feel like I’ve played enough of either, it’ll take much longer than it did with Splendor.

Now, it isn’t going to be a game that works for everyone. It is a very simple game, but treating it as such should entertain most people. It is a great filler where it isn’t just a lucky party game. And there is no scaling to worry about for the game. So it will never play longer, which I love in games. That way it falls int some of those roll and write categories like Super Mega Lucky Box. But it is also like Sushi Go Party! that way with decisions but not too many.

I want to always have a game like this in my collection. The type of game I play with anyone. It might not get played all the time, but it will get played. It is like Ticket to Ride or Small World in that way. I play those once a year, maybe. But they come off the shelf, and I keep them because they will always find time to get played.

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

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Simple vs Complex

Simple vs Complex can actually be broken down into a couple of different ways. One is going to be for learning a game, the other is going to be the actual playing of the game. Mainly, because I think that some games can be a bit of both. Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift, which I wrote about yesterday, I think that game play can be simple. But learning the game is a challenge.

Learning

A game is complex to learn when the rule book is difficult to get through. This can be for a number of a reasons. It might be that a game is challenging to get through because of a lot of different reasons. It might just be a big rule book, or a lot of specific side situations. Or just a poorly done rule book that is hard to reference when you need to.

Versus a simple rule book, that is going to be one where it lays out out clearly and the game is not that challenging to pick-up. Even with a more complex game, a simple rule book is going to give you the information you need and not much more.

Playing

For playing, simplicity and complexity can be in two different areas. Firstly, if a game is simple, turns are going to be simple. I do one thing on my turn, and it’s done. So I know what I want to do right away, I do that action, and I know how that action is going to go. Something like Century: Golem Edition (or Spice Road) is an example of this. On my turn, I get a card, I pick up my played cards, I get a golem, or I play a card. I do one of those things and all are straightforward.

A more complex board game is going to create more questions in what you are doing. When you select an action, it branches into many more things that you can do. Kind of like a bunch of combos happening. Sonora, for example, is complex for a roll and write because everything combos into everything else.

Another way board games add complexity is through housekeeping. This is the idea that you don’t just need to know what you do on your turn, you need to know what the game does. One that’s a bit more simple for this is Pandemic. Unless there is an epidemic, you flip a card and put out a cube. But there are games, Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth, for example, where there is a lot that you need to do.

Shallow vs Deep

But now let’s talk about shallow versus deep for a game. Because, I think at times, people get the two concepts confused a little bit with how I talk about them. A shallow board game is going to be one where the decisions I make are pretty straightforward. I don’t need to think about the complexity of a game when considering if a game is shallow. A game with depth is going to give you a lot of meaningful decisions. It is the space where you need to consider and weigh your actions carefully.

For example, the actions while playing Perdition’s Mouth: Abyssal Rift might be simple as you execute them, but the decision space for what action you take at what moment that offers real depth for the game. Compare that to Sword & Sorcery, where the execution of the action is not that complex, but the turn is a bit more complex as a whole, but what you should do on your turn is not that deep.

What Combinations Can Board Games Be?

So, I think that there are three combinations of this that I like. And the rule book is it’s own thing, so that won’t factor in too much. I think too complex rulebook especially if it’s not laid out well, is a barrier to entry that is just a bit too steep. And so a lot of gamers won’t get to see if the game itself is complex or simple, or shallow or deep.

The first combination is shallow and simple.

I like this one for my party games, filler games (generally) and dexterity games. I don’t want the game to feel like it’s too much. Pulling out the game should mean that I can teach it and play it fast. Something like Wits & Wagers is a game that is shallow and simple. Same with something like Ice Cool.

The next one is deep and complex.

This is going to be your bigger games, something like Gloomhaven stands out this way. There is a lot in Gloomhaven to keep track of, and the decision space of what cards you choose to play is really intriguing. So, the decisions really matter and you need to keep track of a lot of rules, statuses, things like that, in your head.

Finally we have deep and simple.

I love games in this area. Ones that give you good decisions to make while not bogging you down in a ton of rules. Res Arcana is a game that does this. I can build out an engine with eight cards, and my goal is just get it running faster and better than yours. Or Hanamikoji is also great. You only do four actions in the game. But when you do each one, and which cards you use, it’s so tough.

I don’t like shallow and complex.

Needless to say, there is one that I don’t like, that is when a game is shallow and complex. In that case, it seems like they are just adding in rules to make the game seem more challenging, but when you get down to it the base of the game is very simple in what you are doing. If you have a thirty page rule book to cover all the one off scenarios but I only ever use 10% of the basic rules in my game and it’s always obvious what to do, I’m am not going to be interested in the game.

I think that a game that kind of falls into that trap is Sword & Sorcery. Now, there are interesting decisions to make, early on, when you play Sword & Sorcery. However, the more you play, the more you just drop into a routine of what you are doing. Move, fight, is your best ability on cooldown, use the next best one, repeat. The decision space shrinks as you go because there are obvious choices in what to do.

Final Thoughts on Different Types of Board Games

I think that players are going to have those different sweet spots. Some people are really going to want to play those heavy and crunchy games that take a lot of complexity to remember everything and give you a lot of decision space. And I even like some of those games.

But when a game can really pull off the simple but deep combination it is a gem to play. Stuff like Res Arcana, Hanamikoji, or Century: Golem Edition stand out as amazing games this way. They offer really fun decisions and interesting decisions without bogging you down in a ton of different edge cases or steps to your turn that you need to keep track of.

For me, complex and shallow is just going to be a killer, though. If I need to put a lot of effort into playing your game, I expect a full and rewarding game play. And if that doesn’t exist, well, that’s an issue. At that point in time, it makes learning the game and playing the game feel like a chore, or work. It’s a bit like a task at work where you need to copy information from 30 e-mails into fields in a spreadsheet. You need to make sure everything ends up in the right spot, but you don’t need to think about it too hard.

Which is your favorite intersection for a board game with Shallow and Deep, as well as Simple and Complex?

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Super Mega Lucky Box Game Play

The game is a very simple roll and write. You flip a card and you cross off that number, between one and nine, on a nine by nine grid. You are trying to complete cards for points, basically like bingo. The game is about completing columns and rows. You get a special bonus when you complete a column or a row, and points when you complete a card.

There are five different bonuses you can get. Two of them are similar, though, they allow you to cross off a specific number, or a number of your choice. You can cross of a pink star, more points, get a moon, more points if you have the most, or, get green lightning bolts. The lightning bolts are the mitigation for the number that is flipped. One lightning bolt allows you to lower or raise the number by one for yourself. This means sometimes you can cross off a number even if you don’t have the number flipped.

The game goes four rounds, and at the end you add up your scored cards, who has the most moons, pink stars, and how many spaces you cross off on non-scored cards. The person with the most points at the end of the game wins. There is a solo mode as well, and that’s a see how well you can score solo.

What Doesn’t Work?

This is a very simple roll and write style game. You flip the card and cross something off. I’m worried about the long term playability of this game. I played it three times solo and while that is extremely fast, the decision space was limited. I’m worried that the space is even more limited than some other roll and write games I have.

What Works?

The game is extremely simple to learn and play. I think that the rule book, while it needs to be the length it is, hides how simple the game really is. While the rule book is a few pages, it isn’t that many, I think I could teach this in five minutes at most. It is probably simpler to teach without the rule book than to learn from there. I also think with the simplicity this is one that non-gamers will like.

But, it is very simple, is there enough for gamers. I think the game offers limited decision space. I like the decisions it does offer. How do you keep it so you complete cards early but keep numbers available. And what do you focus on with getting extra numbers and less lightning bolts or moons? More numbers means potentially more points for completing cards. But less flexibility when numbers are flipped.

The decision space is simple, but it is there. And picking three of five cards to start and then one of three cards when you complete is mainly your choices. That is when you decide to go for filling in extra numbers, or flexibility on the numbers you get. Because, when you fill in a card, it goes away at the end of the round, so you could be limited on what you can do.

What Do I Want To See In More Plays?

Well, I only have one negative, so that is going to be it. The game feels like it can provide more decision space than it kind of seems to. So is this going to feel like the same game every single time. When I play Orchard even though I only get 9 cards, and really 8 decisions, it is a new and interesting puzzle each time. I am not convinced how new and interesting the plays will be for Super Mega Lucky Box.

That said, I also want to see how it goes over for others. This is a game I could pass on to someone who is just getting into games if they like it. And it is a simple enough game I could easy play it with my parents. So while I might not pull it off the shelf solo, which I was hoping for, it might be simple enough to play with a large number of people. And if it is, that could keep it on my shelf longer.

Super Mega Lucky Box Initial Impressions

This is a fine roll and write game. As I keep on coming back to, I am worried about long term playability. I think it might feel like the same puzzle too much with each time that you play it. But it is also very simple, and seems like it could get expansions. If it does, then it might change up the game. Even one more mechanic, another token thrown in, it might give just enough choices then.

Still, it is fun to play. This, to me, feels like about the same level of decision making as A Gentle Rain, a game that I like quite well, but is fading a little bit. I really want just one more decision to make in the game, but I won’t say no to playing the game. But the question is, with owning 30 roll and write games, is it one that I will pull off the shelf? Time will tell on that, but right now, I want to play around with i t more.

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Hats was one of the games, going into GenCon that I was really excited to try and definitely knew I wanted to pick up. There were a few different things that drew me to the game. The first was the Alice in Wonderland theme. The idea of Hats is that you’re at the Mad Hatter’s tea party and you are trying to get the best collection of hats. I have liked the theme on other games, mainly Parade, which might have an Alice in Wonderland theme, but like this game also be a primarily abstract game. The next was that I got to watch a play through that Man vs Meeple did on their Youtube channel. In it the game seemed like it was a lot of fun, but as importantly, and the last thing that drew me to this game, the game seemed simple but challenging.

Hats, like I said, is a game with an Alice in Wonderland theme, but really it’s an abstract puzzle. In the game, you have a hand of cards that you are using to swap with the cards on the Mad Hatter’s table. There are seven different suits in the game, numbered 1-6. You can swap the cards out, as long as the card you’re replacing is the same color or has a smaller number than the card that you’re playing. You then place the card you took in front of you, and that will be what you end up scoring. The tricky part of the game comes with the fact that you only score the colors on the Mad Hatter’s table. So, if you have three blue cards, and the blue card on the table is in the first spot, you get three points, one for each card. If there is also a blue in the six spot on the table as well as the one spot, you still get three points, because you always score the lower numbered spot. And it’s possible that you’ve collected a couple of pink cards, because they are in the six scoring spot, so it’s going to score you twelve points, but one of your opponents on their turn, seeing that you’ll be getting a lot of points from it, can potentially swap out that pink card, as long as they have a higher number.

In most card games, you know which cards are going to be used to score form your hand. In something like Uno, you know that you want to get rid of high numbers. In Hearts, you know you don’t want to take hearts of the queen of spades. In Euchre, you know you want to take so many tricks. You can plan how you are going to use your hand to score or not score points. In Hats, your hand probably won’t be the majority of your points. You’re going to be taking the cards that were dealt to the table originally, and what your opponent is playing. So you have to think about what cards on the table you can use to score, and what cards you can put down so your opponent doesn’t score. And as you get more information about what your opponents are taking, you have to consider more what you want to grab yourself and what you want to try and take away from your opponents.

There are two final ways which you score in the game. Sometimes you can’t play a card, you don’t have the right colors and you have low numbers. The game realizes that this sucks, so it gives you two options. At the start of every turn, you can discard a card to draw a new one, as long as there are still cards to draw. But if you still can’t play, you can play a hat card face down, and that’s worth a single point. The other way to score is the more interesting way. At the end of the game, you still have a card in your hand. You add up your total in the color, say I had three blue cards the 1, 3, and 4, I would add that up and I have 8, and then I subtract the blue card I kept in my hand from them. Hopefully I kept the 2, and I’d score 6 points, but I might have kept the 6, in which case I’d score to points. Black Hats shouldn’t be a big strategy in someones scoring, scoring off the table is basically always better, but if it’s late in the game, and you can’t play or don’t want to help an opponent, it’s a valid strategy. But the scoring based off of the last card in your hand, that can be huge. I’ve seen people get over 10 points, and I’ve seen people get negative points from it.

They’ve done a great job with components and theming of the game. I did say that this is an abstract game, and this is really an abstract game. But it works with the theme, and the cookie is amazing, the board and art are beautiful, and the scoring pad is a dry erase board. My only complaint about the quality of the game is that the dry erase marker that they sent with the game doesn’t have an eraser. Fortunately, I have a lot of dry erase markers with erasers, so I can swap in one from what I bought for roll and write games that I’ve laminated. But if you don’t have that, you’re always going to need an actual napkin or something to clean off the scoring sheet. It seems like a pretty obvious oversight, but not anything that really knocks the game or the ability to play the game.

Overall, I like this game a lot. I think that it’s challenging, even though I’ve probably played it eight times. I think that there’s good strategy to it, but you have a single action, playing a card to the table, and taking the one you played it on for scoring. So it’s a simple yet tricky game, and a fast game. The game says 20-30 minutes, and I think most of the games I’ve played have gone 10-15. Granted, that is two players, but with the full four players, I think that time frame seems accurate to maybe a little bit long. If you want a game that you can teach fast, have some interesting choices, and play multiple times, Hats is a very good game for that.

Gamer Grade: B
Casual Grade: B+
Overall Grade: A

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