Seven Card Samurai

By Mindtwister USA
Price $19.95
Age 9 & Up

This enjoyable game has just the right amount of intricacy. It's a game that can be played very lightly, or with great intensity. The strategies are easy to understand and employ, and the stealing and defending, two main components of game play, are gratifying as all get out. Each of the five types of cards in the deck has a designated function or functions. Throughout five rounds of play, you'll use cards from your hand to defend your rice (markers) and to attack and plunder your opponents' rice and cards. A round ends when a player has accumulated seven Samurai cards of the same or two different colors, at which point rice markers are worth one point apiece, and the seven Samurai cards have a point value determined by their color distribution. Highest cumulative score at the end of five rounds is the winner. For 2 to 8 players.