IOTA

By Gamewright
Price $7.99
Age 8 +

The first thing that jumps out at you about this new game is how tiny the box is, perfect for a game named IOTA. The second thing, as soon as the game is in motion, is how much fun it is. Each card has a color, shape, and number on it. Players take turns adding cards from their 4-card hand to a grid on the table, making sure that color, shape, and number are either all the same or all different across the line being created or expanded. For example, you could create a line in which each card has the same number and color, but the shapes are all different. What matters is that each of the 3 characteristics must conform to one of those two extremes - all the same, or all different. On each turn you score points by totaling the numeric value of all the cards in the lines you created or expanded on that turn. The maximum line length is 4 cards (called a 'lot'). When you create a lot, your score for that turn is doubled. Doubling also occurs when you play all 4 of your cards at once, sometimes leading to massive jumps in score. Wild cards add to the possibilities. There's nothing small about IOTA. The brain power brought to bear as players survey the terrain for the highest scoring possibilities is considerable. What's more, it's massively fun. For 2 to 4 players.