Citadels
Playability Rating:
Objectionable Material Rating:
Family Rating:
Gaming Group Rating:
Youth Group Rating:

Game Information
U.S. Company: Fantasy Flight Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Bruno Faidutti
Players: 2 - 7
Ages: 10 and up
Time: 20 - 60 minutes
Retail Price: $19.99

Overview: Citadels is a game of bluffing, diplomacy, and city building. You are a medieval ruler trying to complete your city before your opponents can build theirs. Expand your city by adding new districts, but be sure to invest wisely: Some districts are more valuable than others, but cost more gold to build. There is more to ruling a city than god, however. Lords, ladies, and other nobility arll have arole to play. The game changes each turn as each player secretly chooses a new role - the Assasin, Thief, Magician, King, Bishop, Merchant, Architect, or Warlord - and the power that comes with it.

Playability: This game is an absolute blast! Changing characters each turn during the game gives you an opportunity to use their ablities to help your cause. But be careful, when it becomes obvious what character you want to be players may steal your money or you may end up dead (losing a turn)! For example: tired of always picking your character last? Pick the king character and get to go first! Is one of your friends pulling ahead? Pick the Warlord character and destroy parts of his city. What to build a lot this turn? Pick the architect who will certainly help you out! But watch out. Someone picked the assassin character and may call out your character and your turn is over. The thief character is also on the lose and is looking to empty someones pockets full of gold. We played this game again and again. The expansion characters that come with the set may be added in later to continually give new deep to this fun game.

Objectionable Material: The Assassin character assassinates. (Translation: the player assassinated loses a turn.) The thief steals (Translation: you can take all of the gold from one player.) In the expansion characters you may pick an Alchemist card, a Witch card (lets you bewitch another player) and a Wizard card. However, since they are expansion characters they do not have to be used. Some of the images are scarying and the queen image is a little "revealing".

Game Information
U.S. Company: R & R Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Alan M. Newman
Players: 3 - 5
Ages: 10 and Up
Time: 30 min.
Retail Price: 9.95

Overview: It's chaos in the kitchen and the cans of food are 'revolting'. Spoiled little peas thinking nothing of creaming the corn and stewed tomatoes relish in dent-n-run tactics. Pull out the big guns with the Catsup Cannon! Chop, peel and squash your way to victory in this hilarious game of King of the Kabinet.

Playability: This is a fun game for any card playing group! If you like trick taking games you will enjoy the variations found in this game. The ability to play random cards to win a trick and gain points make this a neat variation. It is, as most card games, made up mostly of chance but if that is what you enjoy, pick up a copy today.

Game Information
U.S. Company: R & R Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Richard Borg
Players: 3 - 6
Ages: 7 and up
Time: 30 mins.
Retail Price:

Overview: No mud slinging allowed in this fast-paced family game where players compete to corral the most pigs. Get rid of your cards first and be awarded the prime pile of pigs. Sounds easy, but pigs can be slippery! The more cards you have, the better your chances of calling out Hogwash! and clearing away the deck! But don't hog the cards too long or you'll get stuck. The player with the largest stockpile of swine after the final round wins. Quick thinking and clever card play determine how high you'll heap your hogs.

Playability: This is a cute (yes, I do mean cute) game that is the most fun for card playing groups. This is not a game for serious gamers! The game play is quick and the pig counters are cute. What I did not enjoy about the game was that you have to draw and discard lots of cards.

Objectionable Material: Are you kidding? They are pigs! Absolutely none.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Looney Labs
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Kristin & Andrew Looney
Players: 2 - 10
Ages: 10 and up
Time: 15 - 45 min.
Retail Price: $9.99

Overview:

Playability: This has been a popular game with us for a long time! It plays from 2 players to 10 players very well. The only frustrating part might be that the rules constantly change. This takes a little while to get used to. Once you get through about 8 rounds it goes much easier for everyone and becomes a game that you will probably play all night!

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Rio Grande Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Uwe Rosenberg
Players: 2 - 7
Ages: 12 and up.
Time: 45 min.
Retail Price: 19.95

Overview: Bean farming has never been so much fun! In Bohnanza, you have two or three bean fields and a handful of bean cards to plant in those fields. When you sell beans, you earn more for growing more of one variety than a few of several. Thus, you want to plant as many of your favorites as you can. But you must plant the beans in your hand in the order you got them. To get rid of the beans you don't want to plant, you trade them to other players for those you want. With clever trading, you get the cards you want without helping the other players too much. In the end, the players who earns the most gold is the winner!

Playability: This is a wonderful, balanced game that can be enjoyed by the whole family (or can give the serious gaming group a "light" night of bean planting fun!) As in many games, the ability not to trade beans to the suspected leader helps keep the game close and balanced. The cards are beautifully illustrated and on real card stock (which is good because you will play this game over and over and over...

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Dutch Blitz Games Company
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer:
Players: 2 - 4
Ages: 8 and up
Time: 30 - 45 min.
Retail Price: $9.99

Overview: Dutch Blitz is such vonderful goot fun for young folks-and old vones too. Vhy you should see the vones who plays; They gets in such a stew. Easy to learn-exciting to play, for two or three or four. And this for sure is vone such game, that ain't gonna be no bore. So now, sit down with your friend or kin, and try this game to play. Chust bet that vhen you get started vonc't, you'll play for most of the day!

Playability: This game is great! You don't need to think too much, just be really quick! Each player has a stack of cards and they try to get as many cards as they can out into the middle of the table. This is done by finishing stacks of the same color. Get rid of your blitz pile first and yell dutch blitz! The round is over. How many points did you get? The first player to 75 wins!

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Mayfair Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Klaus Teuber
Players: 2
Ages: 10 and up
Time: 45 min. - 1 hr. 15 min.
Retail Price:

Overview: In The Settlers of Catan Card Game you control a group of settlers taming the lands of medieval Catan. A unique card mix creates a map for your principality. Then explore and settle new lands, acquiring resources through card play and the luck of the dice. Use gold and combinations of resources to develop your domain, and guide your settlers to victory by clever trading and cunning development. Expand your settlements and cities, and recruit knights to defend your territory and compete on the tournament field. But beware! When your opponent plays the Black Knight even your strongest knight can fall!

Playability: I was very skeptical about this card game being based on the best selling board game. I was afraid it would rely on the Settlers of Catan name only. I was very surprised! The card game captured the essence of the board game while establishing itself as a unique card game. The limited number of resources you can have can be annoying but it is bearable.

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Rio Grande Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer:
Players: 2 - 6
Ages: 8 and up
Time: 20 - 40 min.
Retail Price: $9.99

Overview: Knights in olden times fought each other at jousts with swords and lances. Nowadays, they fight with dice and cards. It is much less dangerous and a lot more fun. May the Knight with the best skill and dice, win!

Playability: This is an interesting game that is easy to slip into your backpack or briefcase! It is based on the dice roll, much like Yatzee. that amount of chance might be frustrating to some players.

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Rio Grande Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Richard Borg & M. Fitzgerald
Players: 2 - 4
Ages: 12 and up
Time: 45 - 60 min.
Retail Price: $ 19.95

Overview: The wild west! Tough times and tough characters! Bandits, desperados, rustlers and thieves, are everywhere. Take the rolls of the brave sheriffs, riding on the heels of these legendary outlaws. Capture Jesse James! Hunt Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid! Rich rewards await those brave and daring enough. Just don't let them slip away...

Playability: This unique card game is a mixture of looking after your own interests but keeping the common good in mind. Disregard one or the other and you will not win. This game does not require a lot of strategy and will sometimes come down to the luck of the draw but that is very appropriate for the setting of this game.

Objectionable Material: None.

Game Information
U.S. Company: Mayfair Games
Game Type: Card Game
Game Designer: Emiliano Sciarra
Players: 4 - 7
Ages: 10 and up
Time: 20 - 40 min.
Retail Price: $9.99 Overview: The Outlaws hunt the Sheriff. The Sheriff hunts the Outlaws. The Renegade plots secretly, ready to take one side or the other. Bullets fly. Who among the gunmen is a Deputy, ready to sacrifice himself for the Sheriff? And who is a merciless Outlaw, willing to kill him? If you want to find out just draw (your cards!)

Playability: Each player receives their own, hidden identity (Renegade, Outlaw, Deputy, or Sheriff). Only the sheriff is revealed. The Outlaws need to kill the Sheriff, Deputy and Renegade to win. The Renegade needs to kill everyone to win. The Sheriff and the Deputy need to kill the Outlaws and Renegade to win. Kill an outlaw and you get to draw three cards as a bonus. If the Sheriff kills the Deputy he loses his entire hand. How do you show the sheriff you are his deputy? How do you convince the other outlaws that you are just a normal outlaw like them but still manage to kill them off? This a great game of bluffing that will find players shouting, jearing and begging for mercy! The only thing I did not like is that when you are killed you are out which means you could be sitting around for some time waiting on the game to end so you can play it again!

Objectionable Material: The object of the game is to kill off certain players. This already is enough to downgrade the game's acceptibility to a B. Then, when you are losing life points you may use "Beer" cards to give you more life. While I am still not sure how beer can give you life, it is understandable why it was used in a western themed game. However, with players killing each other and drinking beer, this is a game conservative Christians may not want to play.