Playing Card Information

Celebrate Thirty Years of AMIGO Wizards, and Discover that Matter Matters

by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=17" >W. Eric Martin</a> <div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/5948"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/ygVQlepjPxyg7IizSCM_Tw__small/img/1qmNhxNzPDSu_Am2rmIobVe9J1M=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic5948.jpg" border=0></a></div>▪️ As German publishers prep for Spielwarenmesse — the annual toy fair in Nürnberg, Germany at the end of January — they're starting to promote what's coming, with <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamepublisher/8/amigo" >AMIGO Spiel</a> teasing the four titles it plans to release in early 2026. These games are: • A 30th anniversary edition of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/618/ken-fisher" >Ken Fisher</a>'s trick-taking game <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1465/wizard" >Wizard</a>. (Fisher self-published Wizard in 1984, but AMIGO's German edition didn't appear until 1996.) In <a href="https://blog.amigo-spiele.de/2025/11/12/30-jahre-wizard-2/" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">a Nov. 12, 2025 press release</a>, AMIGO noted that this edition will include two new special cards: the Vampire, which copies the trump card, and the Witch, which lets you exchange one card in the trick. Special cards from other editions — Dragon, Fairy, Werewolf, Juggler, Bomb, Cloud, and Shapeshifter — will also be included. What's more, "new scoring chips provide a quick overview of the game's progress and simplify the final scoring". <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/11883/franz-vohwinkel" >Franz Vohwinkel</a> will be handling the illustration, as he has done for previous AMIGO editions. • Matter Matters is a 2-4 player card game from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/82725/tsutomu-dejima-chu-dao-mian" >Tsutomu Dejima</a> that plays in 20 minutes. (I don't know whether this will be a German edition of <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/424957/milkuro" >milkuro</a>, a trick-taking game in which you try to take the same number of tricks in two suits, but that would be my guess.) • Koffer, Katze & Sombrero, a 2-4 player card game from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/139861/christian-kudahl" >Christian Kudahl</a> that plays in 20 minutes. • Greedy Goose, a card game for 2-6 players from <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/148428/george-feledichuk" >George Feledichuk</a>, <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/148360/david-duvey-rudow" >Duvey Rudow</a>, and <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/148359/leo-taylor" >Leo Taylor</a> that plays in 20 minutes. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9250651"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/WEL5-wUc6Lo6HInXr4L5Gw__small/img/x4pKXiX_tj4C39q_UP15t4P7A9w=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9250651.jpg" border=0></a></div></center>

Teen invents playing cards that are gender-equal – and diverse

In card games, you play the hand you’re dealt. Maayan Segal wants that hand to be more diverse. At 16 years old, she’s released the second iteration of her gender-equal playing card deck, Queeng – ...

Why marbles, playing cards, and ping pong balls decide so many local Pa. races

Counties use a variety of methods to cast lots, but it typically involves drawing a numbered object — a piece of paper, ping ...

Dale Yu: Review of Ninety Nine

Ninety Nine Designer: Reinhard Staupe Publisher: Kendi Players: 2-4 Age: 8+ Time: 30 minutes Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Ninety Nine is a race to 99 points, with players scoring for both smart card playing … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/26/dale-yu-review-of-ninety-nine/">Continue reading →</a>

Game Review: Badass Bunnies, or Hares, Hares Everywhere

Eric Martin Sjoerd Yska's Badass Bunnies from 999 Games gives you a simple goal: Reveal at least ten bunnies from your deck of cards in a single turn.You start with only two bunnies, though, so you'll need to pick up more as quickly as you can...and to get bunnies, you'll need carrots. Your deck starts with four carrots, and you can use them to buy more cards, but foxes await in your deck as well, and as you reveal cards one by one, if you reveal two foxes, you must race back to your burrow to h

Dale Yu: Review of Tropicalia

Tropicalia Designer: Phil Walker-Harding Publisher: Mojito Studios Players: 2-4 Age: 10+ Time: 45-60 mins Amazon affiliate link: Played with review copy provided by publisher Even this morning, the sky is clear and the sun is high over Tropicalia Island. It … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/25/dale-yu-review-of-tropicalia/">Continue reading →</a>

Designer Diary: Deckers

The game's core remained the same, but its theme changed to one in which the game's payoff was in solving its puzzles.The game funded on Kickstarter, and players were able to table the game I had dreamt of, with its deck-building and evolving board pieces intact, albeit in a new setting, with renegade hackers fighting an evil corporation intent on controlling the citizens of a cyberpunk Japan.Unfortunately for Alan, Tylar, and the rest of the team, Victory Point Games was subsequently acquired,

Alison Brennan: Game Snapshots – 2025 (Part 29)

I’ve recently had mixed feelings about being the gaming organiser/leader in my groups. The upside is that I ensure enjoyable gaming. The downside is that I started perceiving that friends might think it too directorial, which then got me a … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/24/alison-brennan-game-snapshots-2025-part-29/">Continue reading →</a>

Dale Yu: Review of Harvest Valley

Harvest Valley Designer: Bruno Faidutti Publisher: Grail Games Players: 2-5 Age: 8+ Time: 15 min Played with review copy provided by publisher Harvest Valley is a farming game in which players are trying to build up their farms as their … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/23/dale-yu-review-of-harvest-valley/">Continue reading →</a>

Designer Diary: Paddy

You can find more about me by checking out my designer profile.Here are features of the games I create, and what defines Paddy:• Simple rules.• With strategic depth.• Quick set-up.• Easy to remember how to play.• With direct interaction between players.• Better player decisions than sheer luck.• Suitable for all types of players: new, casual, and experienced.• Language-independent components.But today, let's focus on the creation of Paddy.June 2019: BackgroundI had spent a year working on my fir

Dale Yu: Review of Clickety Clack

Clickety Clack Designer: Ralf zur Linde Publisher: NSV Players: 2-4 Age: 8+ Time: 25 minutes Amazon affiliate link: https://amzn.to/48Z2lFL Played with review copy provided by publisher In Clickety Clack, you score points by making dice combinations that allow you to … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/21/dale-yu-review-of-clickety-clack/">Continue reading →</a>

Designer Diary: Frog Faire

by <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/blog/1?bloggerid=19535" >NicoleMaynard</a> <div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9121246"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/1Lgw3CQFAdEgVkOu4j7P8g__small/img/DgOX0W-7D5RNW4h85c_ZN5ZDHaw=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9121246.jpg" border=0></a></div><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/454577/frog-faire" >Frog Faire</a> began as a Renaissance Faire/Olympics-themed card game in 2023. Tapping into the athletic nature of frogs and a fairytale setting like <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/381249/rebel-princess" >Rebel Princess</a>, I brainstormed a list of Olympic-inspired activities frogs might be good at and activities found at Renaissance Faires. My list included the long jump, swimming, tree climbing, rowing, baking, karaoke (kara-CROAK-e), dancing, and pie eating (fly pies), among others. I entertained the idea of acquiring skills in the game and researched which would apply to each activity, such as balance, co-ordination, and rhythm. Could equipment factor in: ropes, carabiners, cooking utensils, a microphone? Could all these be boiled down to "agility" or "style"? I was lost. I shelved the idea for a year and a half. As an artist (a painter), I was new not only to game design but to the modern board game revolution, and didn't have the necessary skills to move the game forward. Meanwhile, I did a deep dive into every resource I could find. I read, watched, listened to, played, and playtested, immersing myself in games. As I worked on other game ideas, I came across the concept of mini-games. The frogs were back! <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9217561"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/-58WW8kbN90eAbcRsy5UkA__small/img/semaXhNmYSV6u4OneNfNDyX3xLI=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9217561.png" border=0></a></div></center> A fan of efficiency, bento boxes, and minimalism, modularity appealed to me. The design challenge excited me: designing not one but three games, all of which could be played sequentially or independently. This would allow players to learn the game over multiple sessions, which could benefit adults teaching children or encourage players who have just enough time to try something new if it's quick. There were big questions to answer: Could I create a welcoming family game and offer interesting decisions to gamers? How would the three games be similar yet different? How could they connect thematically and mechanically? Minimum set-up in between games and game flow were also necessary conditions. I connected with designers and playtesters from <a href="https://www.breakmygame.com/" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Break My Game</a> and the <a href="https://www.meetup.com/princeton-board-game-playtesting-design-group/" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Princeton Board Game Design Group</a>, and others online. As all designers know, these important people become one's teachers, and iteration in response to feedback is key to unlocking a game's potential. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9217547"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/7UcDexU65Nu0qr3lFuTfwA__small/img/chg-Nyg7cxWAdis3OlKheZEX4wA=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9217547.png" border=0></a></div></center> It started to come together slowly. YOU are a frog, competing in three interconnected mini-games: The Long Hop, Tree Climbing, and The Talent Contest. I eliminated the first ideas about equipment and the convoluted way I was thinking about skills. Traditional card games with set collection offered a starting point. I decided to work with a deck of cards consisting of only numbers — no suits or red and black cards like in a traditional deck. Jokers became Wild Frogs. Six sets of 1-10 allow the game to be played with up to four players. I created a special deck of "talent cards" to use as goal cards. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9217528"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/1IpD4uBRv7dYxWc6fsJm_w__small/img/RsI3I0qHnD7dAQf6YPgpMBLudmw=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9217528.png" border=0></a></div></center> Everyone agreed that Tree Climbing was a dud. It was a shedding game with the winner being the first to get rid of all their cards. It was the least satisfying and most luck-based of the three games, so it had to go. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9216942"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/7Qy_9H-XlvFosRmx7t2f-g__small/img/uZ0gGBxOTAh7ye-gssfa8FW71yo=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9216942.jpg" border=0></a></div></center> Swimming took its place. It had to be easy to start playing, so in both The Long Hop and Swimming, you draw two cards and discard one. The goal of each is to hop or swim the farthest by collecting card combinations to score the most points. When you reveal your hand, the cards are laid out on the table in a row, like in the long jump or a swim lane. To connect the games, players select cards from their hands to use in the next game and prizes from each carry over. The scoring of The Long Hop has similarities to classic card games, such as two-, three-, and four-of-a-kind. The twist is a <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/2/reiner-knizia" >Reiner Knizia</a>-inspired score of 0 for collecting three-of-a-kind. Hold out for a fourth card in the set, and you will be rewarded with a whopping 6 points. The push-your-luck effect makes the game fun. Swimming is peculiar in its basis of collecting even- or odd-numbered cards, and it makes you look at your hand of cards differently. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9216969"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/uQ_oLGrihXdenu4yNBDsrw__small/img/3pkaWvBpwu_PZwMpaqL7hysa0TI=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9216969.png" border=0></a></div></center> I learned about games that allowed a player to spend their victory points. Fly pies would serve as points and prizes. I worked to get the point system right so that players could still win if they lost the first two mini-games, but it had to be difficult because the first and second games had to matter. I learned how changing the scoring motivated players in different directions and made those decision trees branch in ways that were equally viable strategies. The Talent Contest is inspired by drafting cards from a grid, like in <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/5782/coloretto" >Coloretto</a>. The talent cards are set up in combinations that inform the players of which row of cards to take. Thematically, this is a celebration of the arts, the grand finale and performance after the jocks have had their moment in the spotlight. Each numbered card features a talented frog. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9216971"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/w8v6nx0RCBc2ji_Aj4s8RA__small/img/O3SzbrwOd9UgWfSRkdGYa3d3tGw=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9216971.png" border=0></a></div></center> Lastly, a note on the art. Most published games pair an artist with a game designer, and I'm willing to have another artist create the art, should a publisher be interested in Frog Faire. Producing the game in a small edition as an indie designer allowed me to have a version of the game as I envisioned it, and it was important to me to have the frogs be reminiscent of classic children's book illustrations. <center><div style=''><a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/image/9217546"><img src="https://cf.geekdo-images.com/3aZaNRvmhNRi_T350HrnOw__small/img/TDbxQwn8pcPXpr4KXmPpZQVkH6I=/fit-in/200x150/filters:strip_icc()/pic9217546.jpg" border=0></a></div></center> I drew them directly using Procreate on the iPad and did the graphic design in Adobe Illustrator and InDesign. In terms of graphic design, it is important to me to include everyone, so the rulebook and player aid are large in order to use 16-point font for accessibility. In my work as a painter outside of the game world, I created a series of triptychs, three oil paintings displayed next to each other, often in a row, in which design elements (shapes, lines, and colors) as well as the theme related to one another from canvas to canvas. The visual structure functions as a backbone, like game mechanisms. The format echoes narratives with the three parts suggesting a beginning, middle, and end, as well as the overarching experience of the whole. If you try Frog Faire, which will debut at the <a href="https://www.newmillindustries.com/ignm" target="_blank" class="postlink" rel="nofollow noreferrer noopener">Indie Games Night Market</a> during PAXU 2025, I'd love to know about your experience! <a href="https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/170991/nicole-maynard" >Nicole Maynard</a>

Dale Yu: First Impressions of Movie Tricks

Movie Tricks Designers: Vegard Eliassen Stillerud, Eilif Svensson, Åsmund Svensson Publisher: Chilifox Games Players: 2-5 Age: 10+ Time: 20-30 minutes Played with review copy provided by publisher Movie Tricks is a unique trick-taking game: Play cards to determine turn order. … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/20/dale-yu-first-impressions-of-movie-tricks/">Continue reading →</a>

A Newcomer’s Guide to Tokyo Game Market

In 2025, Game Market is hosted at Makuhari Messe in Chiba, about forty kilometers east of Tokyo, with the event often still being referred to as "Tokyo Game Market".Exhibitors will have their titles — board games, card games, tabletop RPGs, and more — on display and for sale, and beyond the games themselves, you will find a plethora of game accessories such as meeples, dice, and more available for purchase.2. Who are the exhibitors?Most of the exhibitors are from Japan, ranging from first-time d

Renegade Revives Lords of Waterdeep, Invites New Diplomacy, and Doesn't Stop Dungeon Crawler Carl

Only the most cunning leader will emerge victorious as "The Golden Blade".Diplomacy: The Golden Blade is a standalone card game for new or experienced Diplomacy players that features no player elimination.▪️ To follow up another Gen Con 2025 revelation, Renegade has announced that in addition to the promised Dungeon Crawler Carl Roleplaying Game, the second title using that license will be Dungeon Crawler Carl: Unstoppable, a one- or two-player game based on John D. Clair's 2025 title Unstoppabl

Dale Yu: Review of Yum Yum Trouble Gum

Yum Yum Trouble Gum Designer: Axel Streubel Publisher: Loosey Goosey Players: 2-5 Age: 8+ Time: 20+ Played with review copy provided by publisher The troublelicious heist game with just one loser! YUM YUM Trouble Gum is a card shedding game. … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/19/dale-yu-review-of-yum-yum-trouble-gum/">Continue reading →</a>

2025, the summer I won every cribbage game but one

Teasers for Indie Games Night Market at PAX Unplugged 2025

More importantly, each card has a partial sentence such as "This ______ a pipe" or "This ______ winning" near the bottom of its face and either "is" or "is not" near the top.When you lead to a trick, you use two cards, with the top card indicating the suit and the bottom card completing the sentence. If you lead with a card in the "winning" suit, for example, you must flip around the second card (which can be any suit) underneath the winning card so that the sentence will read "This is winning".

Mark’s Bundle of 2025 Essen Game Thoughts

Five days. Forty-six plays. Four prototypes plus thirty games that were new to me. Unless otherwise noted, these are FIRST impressions… I only had the opportunity to play many of these games a single time with a physical copy. If … <a href="https://opinionatedgamers.com/2025/11/18/marks-bundle-of-2025-essen-game-thoughts/">Continue reading →</a>

Designer Diary: The Evolution of Nature

My family, childhood friends, college friends, even my dad (who taught me chess when I was four). No one was interested.The experience Magic offers can be transformational, but the barrier to entry is high. For the past decade of my life, I've been trying to bring that experience to a wider audience so that others could share it with their closest friends.With Nature, I finally feel like I've arrived. It accomplishes everything I originally intended for Evolution.Why I Redesigned EvolutionNature