DeFrank

Jab is a boxing card game published by Tasty Minstrel Games that is played in real time.

I like Arkham Horror and Earth Reborn. This game sounded goofy.

Even goofier: it’s awesome.

Jab simulates a boxing match between two fighters. The theme is realized through remarkably intuitive and creative gameplay mechanics played in real time. It’s fast, it’s fun, and perhaps most importantly, it’s a game which rewards players with repeated plays with the understanding that a skill is being developed.

Many games cultivate skill progression by rote memorization, or the illusion of skill progression by way of blind luck.

Jab fosters progression in the rarest of ways: Your skill is developed by honing your instincts. Like a musical instrument, or boxing itself, proficiency with Jab requires muscle memory matched with an increased awareness that can only be achieved through practice.

And by practice, I mean losing. Losing badly. For a game that can be played in fifteen minutes or less, it’s incredibly fun and rewarding; and for less than twenty bucks, it’s purchase is a no-brainer.

If you don’t own it, then you don’t have a game like it in your collection. Buy it now, thank me later.