Zentaur

Introduction

When I first started collecting games for my daughter, now 4, I noticed that there were quite a number of memory games for kids. I don’t know whether it’s because there aren’t many mechanics suitable for kids or designers are too lazy to think of one. I suspect its a combination of both. Anyway before I know it, I owned a few. Ramasee’s Return (LEGO game by the good Dr K), Enuk (Tile flipping game with an Eskimo theme), Magic Labrinyth (An interesting game with great components). Soon, I began to realise a terrible truth. My daughter, like her father, did not like memory games!

So why did I get this game then? One word: Co-op. To clarify, one other thing I discover about my daughter was that although she likes to win, she does not seem to enjoy it as much if it comes at the expense of her miserable looking father. In a pure co-op game players defeats the game instead of other players.

Gameplay

The basic premise of the game is to attempt to match the picture on a tile with that on a card. The tiles represent toys which there are 10 of. The cards are basically monsters and the idea is that each monster has a specific toy that it is afraid of. There are 20 monster cards provided but not all have to be used at once. The number of cards use basically determines the length of the game. There are also three cards that act as a timer to indicate if a new monster will appear. The game starts with one monster but each time a non matching tile is turned over, the timer advances one step. Three times, a new monster will appear. Anytime there are 4 monsters, players lose.

Players win by sending all the monsters back to the “closet” and they do that by opening the tile that has the matching toy. The tiles stay with the picture side down throughout the whole game, which means in the beginning it is pure luck whether you get the “right” tile. As tiles are being turned over, players should then attempt to remember the their position so they can get the right toy for any new monster that appears and this is where the co-op aspect comes in.

Setup

Setup is really simple. Place tiles facedown, mix it up. Shuffle the monster cards and make a deck based on the length of the game, 10: Short, 15: Medium, 20: Long. Put the closet card somewhere near the monster deck.

Components

The components are really good in my opinion considering the price. The tiles are thick and glossy. The cards are on the thin side but laminated so I think they should last. However my favourite thing about the components is the art, especially the toy art on the tiles. I think it is really beautiful with the appropriate child-like innocent. The art on the cards (the monsters) are good although I personally find them a bit goofy for my taste.

Final Thoughts

If I were to rate this game purely on gameplay, I would probably give it a 7 instead of a 9. This is not because its a kid’s game, it is because there are some issues here I feel limits its scope and replayable. I guess I would classify the problem as one of diminishing returns. As I played the game it was apparent that once you reach a certain point, even my daughter was able most of the positions of the tiles. For that reason we would only play a short game as by the if the players have not been defeated by the 8thish monster, they are more or less assured of victory.

Having said the above, I have to point out I really like this game. The nice art, combined with fast quick gameplay of a co-op nature, makes it something my daughter and I really enjoy together. All this despite the fact that both of us do not generally enjoy memory games. If you have a child below 5 and enjoys playing games TOGETHER, its a no brainer.

I am not a huge deckbuilder fan, maybe its all the shuffling that goes on… However I have wanted to get Friday ever since I read about it, mainly because I am primarily a solitare gamer and have always wanted to try a Friedemann Friese game. Heard all about him but don’t really have a group that is really into Euros to justify buying any of his other games.

When I first got the game it took me some time to understand some of the rules but once I got into it, I was impressed by how he was able to bring in some interesting mechanics to what is to me a tired mechanism by now. The choices the player have to make is meaning every round and unlike a lot co-op/solo games I play, randomness is not overwhelming.

I highly recommend this game to anyone who likes solo games that engage them on a cognitive level i.e. puzzly games EVEN if they don’t like deck-building as a mechanic.

This game scratch all the right itches for me. Its a co-op game, a genre I really like and because it co-op I can play it solitare which translates to more table time. The theme is interesting, with comic book adaptions becoming the norm in movies, almost anyone can relate to the it. More importantly, the designers have managed to use a Magic like deck system to bring out the flavour of the heroes and that to me is the greatest and most interesting part of the game. However since there is no deckbuilding a lot of overwhelming complexity of Magic is removed, leaving a game with lots of interesting card mechanics (quite obviously inspired by Magic I have to say) without have to worry about building decks. If you like card games, co-op games and superhero theme you HAVE to get this game. If you like any of the above at least give it a try.