Easy Come, Easy Go is Yahtzee on Steroids

Okay, we all might as well admit it, we have all played and enjoyed Yahtzee not only growing up but even as adults. There is a reason it's one of the more common games you see at all the free online game sites. Well, Reiner Knizia has once again proven why he is one of the best game designers out there. He has taken the classic game and created a cut throat version. This game is for two to four players, and instead of just working on your own columns on a score sheet you are competing with each other to win "prize cards".

A prize card can be won by accomplishing a specific task on the card. Four of these cards deal with numerical totals. There are two that require you to get an exact total on all four dice (either 7 or 13), one that requires you to get less than 3 as a total value on the dice and one that requires you to get over 17 as a total on all the dice. The other five prize cards are more similar to goals in the classic Yahtzee game. One card requires you to get four of a kind, two of them require you to get three of a kind (one card for three of a kind for an odd number and one for three of a kind with an even number), a card for a straight, and then one that requires you go get two pairs out of your four dice.

You might be thinking "OK, well yeah it's a little different, but not different enough to make it worth buying". Well there are a few things you must consider. First all the sixes on the dice are replaced with zeros. This isn't a huge twist, but don't worry there is one. The goal in the game is to get and keep three prize cards. Any time you get a third prize card on your turn, you put the game into a stage where it MIGHT end. Ever player will get one more turn after their opponent gets their third prize card. If the person that acquired three prize cards still has them on their next turn (in other words nobody has stolen one), they win the game. The trick here though is one of your opponents get what is required on one of the prize cards you own they can steal that card from you.

Let's say player one has two cards before their turn. On their turn they acquire a third prize card. All of a sudden their opponents know they must steal a card from that player. Let's say player two tries and fails, then it's player three's turn. They also have two prize cards, and manage to steal a card from player one. All of a sudden the risk of player one winning the game no longer exists, but player three might win if they keep the three cards until their next turn starts. As you might be able to guess, the game starts off a little bit slow, but gets sort of frantic as players start getting their third prize card.

Yes, this game is not exactly rocket science. It's a rather basic game. At less than $10 though it's worth purchasing as a fun casual game to play. This game will not replace your more advanced strategy games, but then at the same time it's a good game to get non-serious game players to play with you. It is very portable and travels well. While it's a good game, the lack of serious strategy does hurt it in my opinion of the game slightly. I would only give this a rank of 7 out of 10. If you are looking for a bargain game that is simple to learn and play then you won't be disappointed in Easy Come, Easy Go.