iRelle

The first time I set eyes on this game was a couple of years ago, at my cousin’s house. Actually, the very first time was several years before that, in his parents’ home. But the first time I played the game as a competitor in my own right was when I sat down across the table from my sandy-headed relation, threatened with the wrath of ages if I let the team down so much as an inch. It’s a little intimidating to be introduced to a game when you’re playing with someone who is, dare I mention it, just a *little* competitive. However, by the time I’d lost a bunch of cards, put my chips in some bizarre places and finally worked out what a one-eyed jack looked like, we had somehow managed to win, and I had a little of the competitive spirit, too.

The game board features two copies of every card in the deck, save jacks and jokers, arranged strategically. One player’s turn involves discarding one from your hand, placing a chip on one of the spaces on the board and picking up another card. If you forget to pick up before the next player’s turn, you forfeit the card (Me? Finish a game with two cards instead of seven? Never happened before, honestly!). Also, the Jacks help make things interesting – one-eyed jacks are a wild card to take any chip off the board, two-eyed jacks let you put a chip anywhere. Ultimately, the object is to get five chips in a horizontal, vertical or diagonal row. It’s a bit like Connect Four for adults. If there are four players, you play the same colour chips as the person opposite you, but you mustn’t collude or collaborate in any way. Play with someone who really loves winning and watch them steam at the ears when you put your chip in the wrong place!

All technicalities aside, the game is marketed as easy enough for kids to play, challenging enough for adults – although adding some kids into the mix does make for gameplay that’s a trifle more chaotic! With two people it can be a relaxing afternoon passtime (or launch a vendetta), with four or six people it can instigate a civil war. The game is easy to learn, quick to play and fun to win, and at around $25 it’s a fantastic addition to any family games cupboard!

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