If only beating the real stock market was this easy
Written: Aug 22 '01 (Updated Sep 04 '01)
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Pros: Easy to learn, easy to play, easy to enjoy, it's just easy! ;-)
Cons: It's too easy?
The Bottom Line: Close to a perfect game since it's just so easy to pick up and play (even for newbies) and doesn't require much effort to enjoy.
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| kenshin27's Full Review: Deluxe Pit |
This review is actually for the basic Pit game, not Deluxe. Deluxe is for the hardcore players. It comes with a real bell. ;-p The rest of us'll have to make do with a cardboard coaster.
I played this game for the first time a few weeks ago at a friend's surprise birthday party. Impressed by its absolute simplicity and ease of play (it's basically a no-brainer), I found it to be quite enjoyable. Of course, winning the game didn't hurt either. ;-)
Gather your troops!
First, you'll need 3 to 8 players. No more, no less. Then you'll need the game itself. All it consists of is a deck of cards and a cardboard coaster. Can't get much easier than that. Place the coaster in a centralized location to all the players for easy access. Then sort out one set of cards (each set consists of 9 cards of the same commodity, e.g. corn, oats, wheat, etc.) for each player. Throw in the Bear and the Bull cards (unless you don't want to play with them) and shuffle like mad.
Let the games begin!
Once you've shuffled to your satisfaction, or one of the players tells you to "Hurry it up!", deal out all the cards. Everyone should wind up with 9 cards in hand. If you're playing with the Bear and the Bull cards, 2 of the players will have 10 instead.
The point of the game? Be the first to trade for all 9 of one commodity, slap the Pit coaster, and you're da winnah!!! Easy enough, eh?
You trade cards with other players by yelling out how many cards you want to trade (up to 4 at a time and they _have_ to be of the same commodity), and if somebody also has the same # of cards to trade, you swap. If more than one person has the same # of cards to trade to you, you choose who you want to trade with. If no one has the same # of cards to trade as you, well, consider lowering or upping your quantity. What makes it so entertaining is that the game isn't turn-based. Meaning _everybody_ goes at the same time. So you basically have everyone shouting numbers constantly with cards flying across the table as everyone tries to be the first to complete their set.
The winner of each round receives points equal to the point value of their commodity. For example, wheat cards have a big 100 printed on them. If you win by having 8 wheat cards, then you get 100 points. Whoever gets to 500 points first, is Alan Greenspan, grand poobah of Pit. ;-)
If you're playing with the Bear and the Bull cards, it gets a little more interesting. First off, you don't want the Bear card. Ever. Get rid of it immediately if someone else passes it off to you. When passing it, you can combine it with any of the other commodities. Why? Because if the round ends and you're not the winner and you're holding the Bear card, you get -20 points. Also, if you have your set of 9, you can't hit the Pit and win until you get rid of the Bear card. One novice forgot this rule, celebrated too early, and wound up losing cause for the rest of the round, no one would trade with him. =) So remember, just like in the real stock market, bear = bad!
As for the Bull, it acts like a wildcard. So if you have 8 cards of the same commodity and the Bull, you can win. If you have all 9 cards and the Bull, you get double the points of the commodity. But if you have the Bull in your hand when the someone else wins, you lose 20 points.
And if you have both the Bull and the Bear cards in your hand at the end of a round in which you are not the winner, you lose 40 points. So while the Bull card is generally good for you, you still have to be careful with it.
How to make your opponents cry
So, to be consistently successful at this game, you need a loud voice, a gregarious personality, and decent reflexes. Cut-throat attitude is optional. And be nice, no elbow-throwing or feet-stomping during play.
While there is very little strategy to it, there are still some things to keep in mind. Remember that if you're one of the two players holding 10 cards at the start of play (because you're playing with the B&B cards), you're gonna have one extra card dangling around at all times. So don't get into the mindset that you win only when all your cards look the same. Cause it's not gonna happen since you're holding 10 cards and not 9. Sounds like stupid advice but it happens often enough to warrant mentioning.
Secondly, don't just pay attention to the cards. Keep track of who you've been trading with. If you don't, and say you just passed the Bear to someone, you might wind up getting it right back.
Bah, who cares about all this? Just play the game! It's meant to require as little thinking as possible anyway. Just a good way to waste an hour or two with friends. And if you're too cheap to pay the $11 for even the basic set, you can pretty much play the game with 2 decks of regular playing cards. Just take out how many sets of same number or suit cards that you need and use 2 jokers as the B&B cards. You'll only be needing 8 cards to complete a set but the gameplay should still be the same.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 11
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
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Epinions.com ID:
kenshin27
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Member: Ben C
Location: NJ
Reviews written: 34
Trusted by: 17 members
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