Speed

               The last few card games I have reviewed require strategy, but not all games need a strategy or planning ahead. The fact that they don’t require strategy doesn’t mean they aren’t just as much fun, sometimes the best game you can play just requires quick reflexes. Speed is one of these games.

                I really enjoy playing speed because the game is quick and super easy to learn, a whole game can take less than 5 minutes. You set up the game by having two cards face down next to each other, then making two piles of four cards next to the two cards facedown. The rest of the cards are dealt evenly to the two players, then draws 4 cards, these cards are there hand and you should always have four cards in your hand. The game begins by the two face down cards being flipped. Then the players can play their cards in their hands on to either pile. You can play a card if it is the same value as the face up card, one above or one below.

All you need to do to win this game is have quick reflexes and being able to spot patterns. This makes this game an excellent way to train your brain and improve your reflexes. This is an excellent choice for people who want to just play a casual card game without having to really think and can just use your instincts.

Bridge - A Description for Grandma

Rules of Bridge this link will take you to another website which explains in depth the rules of bridge

 

Bridge is a game that many think is just for elderly people in retirement homes. These people are mostly correct, this game requires a lot of time in order to be able to learn and perfect which makes it ideal for people with a lot of free time. Last weekend I learned how to play bridge from the youth division II world champions. I personally really enjoy learning a new game especially one that has a lot of interesting rules. This game has special appeal to me because I have heard of people playing it and even watched it being played but have never understood its rules or play style.

You need four people to play bridge these people work in pairs to win the game. This partnership is very difficult to play with because you cannot communicate with your partner to decide how to bid you basically just put yourself out there and hope that your partner has what you need and can guess what you mean when you make a certain move.

The basic game play is very similar to hearts where there is a lead suit and the highest of the lead suit wins the trick (in bridge this isn’t always true because there is usually a trump suit) the goal of bridge is to win the most tricks between you and your partner. The trump suit is decided by the highest bid. The bidding process is when each player basically guesses how many tricks they will win and what they want the trump suit to be. You would select the trump suit as the suit in which you are the strongest. If you are the highest bid and you don’t get the number of tricks you say you will then the other team gets the difference between the tricks you took and your bid.

This makes bidding one of the biggest strategic points of the game. When you have played bridge for a while you begin to understand what a good hand is and what isn’t for example if you have a lot of face cards that is typically a good hand to bid high on, although a hand with no face cards but all the other cards of a single suit is an excellent hand because you can win hands with that as your trump suit. Often though you have a combination of both and most of your bidding comes on instinct. You can also use other people bids as clues as to what their hand might be.

I really enjoyed playing this game, even though I lost every hand I played, because it combines the hand to hand strategies of hearts with a need for big picture thinking and planning ahead as to how many tricks you want to win. It also lets you play as a team which adds a fun and unexpected element to any game.

Youth Division II Bridge Champions

Paintball - The Only Legal Way to Shoot Your Friends

      Last weekend I went paintballing with my good pal Chris at our local paintball field, Paintball Jungle (http://paintballjungle.com/), in American Canyon. This game is quite different than hearts but is still a lot of fun if you are up to it. My favorite part of playing is shooting people and getting shot. Because getting hit with a paintball hurts a little it makes it more exciting because you are concerned about getting shot. It is also more fun if you play with a partner or a team because you can cover them and implement a team strategy. When you know someone you are able to communicate more effectively which makes your team able to react to new situations, especially if you have a designated leader.

     This was a completely different experience than I have had before in paintball, because apparently what I had done before is called speedball. Actual paintball takes place on a much larger field and has a lot more challenges to win the game. At this field they had 4 game scenarios; Mad Bomber, Capture the Flag, Base Control, Elimination. In Mad Bomber there is a smoke bomb in the middle of the field and your team needs to capture the bomb and detonate it in the enemy fort. In Capture the Flag each team has a flag and the goal is to capture the other team’s flag and bring it back to your fort. In base control there are three bases and your team wants to control as many bases as they can when the time ends. Elimination is just your basic fight to death. The game is over when the other team is completely eliminated.

     My favorite scenario was mad bomber, this was the most fun because the smoke bomb created a focal point for the conflict, in the other game mode it is easy to flank the team and come up behind them but when you are both going for the same goal if you try to go around them it will take too long and the other team will be able to rush in and grab the bomb and get to your base before you are able to spring your trap. This is one of the situations where you need to have a team. In a team you can split into groups and count on each group to do their job. One group will hold them off and the other team will flank around and sandwich them. My favorite part of the game is right at the beginning when you hear the first shots fired that serves as an augury for the coming conflict.

     I would recommend paintballing to anyone who wants to try a game that is very physical and takes teamwork and strategy. Getting hit with a paintball stings a little so if you don’t want that this probably isn’t the game for you. Otherwise, it is a fun day running around shooting your friends, what could be better?