It may sound like sacrilege, but I’ve never liked trick-taking. I grew up around Bridge and Euchre and Hearts, but they never really did anything for me. As a result, I’ve ignored all the “modern” trick-taking games like Wizard, Skull King, and The Crew. Something changed the other day when I watched a video of Cat In The Box, and suddenly I realized that there were interesting things happening in this space and I should pay more attention.
Now I’m on a quest to buy up all the greatest trick-taking games out there! My only caveat is that they should work with 2 or 3, as I’m not really a fan of team play and I don’t often have 4 available.
It looks delightful and that hook (no suit until you declare it) makes the game, in my mind. That’s when I started exploring other modern trick-takers and really, my interest in them is directly informed by their various hooks. Ghosts of Christmas has you playing three tricks at once, and the lead card in the following trick is impacted by the winner of the last trick, even if it wasn’t led first. It’s crazy, and I’m excited to try it out. In Potato Man, you’re specifically not following the suit. You must play a colour that nobody else has played. So many clever ideas that just put a little spin on the core idea.
I’m sure, at some point, designers will start rehashing ideas and the freshness will wear off, but right now it’s an interesting little space.