Racko -- So Easy and Tons of Fun!!
Written: Jan 01 '01
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Product Rating:
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Pros: educational, easy and FUN
Cons: none
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| Rose66's Full Review: Hasbro: RACKO Card Game |
“Happy New Year!! Um…I mean, Racko!!! Ha-ha!” That is what we heard in our house on New Years Eve when playing Racko with two of our children.
Just what is Racko, you may be wondering? Well, let me tell you all about this fun and simple game that is made by Parker Brothers. . .
What Racko is
Racko is for 2 to 4 players ages 8 to adult. It is a card game that consists of a deck of 60 cards, numbered sequentially from 1 to 60, and four cardholder racks (two of one color, two of another color to allow for team play). The racks hold 10 cards each from front to back. Each of the 10 card slots in each rack is numbered from 5 to 50, counting by fives, and the numbers are used for scoring.
The object of Racko
The object of the game is to be the first player to get all 10 cards in numerical order from the front of the rack towards the back. For example, a winning rack could have 10 cards in this order: 5-11-14-16-28-29-31-48-49-56.
When a winning rack is achieved, the player calls out “Racko!” and is the winner of that round. The winner earns 75 points for getting a “Racko” while all other players earn only the amount shown next to their highest numerical card. For example, another player could have a rack with cards in this order: 4-7-8-10-21-12-54-60-33-32. The score for this rack would be 25 points because only the cards from 4 to 21 were in numerical order, and card number 21 is in the slot next to the number “25” on the rack.
The first player to score 500 wins the game!
Playing Racko
To begin playing Racko, each player is given a rack. The dealer is determined by cutting the deck--the lowest card gets the deal. The cards are shuffled and dealt to the players. Each player inserts the cards into his own rack in the order they were dealt, beginning at one end of the rack and moving in order to the other end of the rack. If four players are playing, all 60 cards are used, if three are playing, cards 1 through 50 are used and if two players are playing, cards 1 through 40 are used. The cards that remain after the dealer deals are put between the players face down (the draw pile) with the top card flipped face up to form a separate stack (the discard pile).
Play begins to the left of the dealer. The first player then must take one card, either from the draw pile or the top card of the discard pile. If the top discard card is chosen, he must exchange it for one from his rack, which he then discards. If he takes the top card from the draw pile, he may exchange that card for one from his rack or discard it if he chooses to do so. When any card is exchanged, the player must place the new card in the slot from which the old card has been taken.
Play continues to the left, continuing until a player calls out “Racko!”
Other variations of Racko include playing two against two and Bonus Racko, which is a more difficult way to achieve a “Racko!” In Bonus Racko, the players try to not only to get their cards in numerical order but also get a minimum of three cards in sequential order before calling out “Racko!” This makes the game play more interesting and challenging!
Racko is educational!
Racko can be a great help when teaching children counting skills and addition. Have your child do the addition when each round is over and he will be honing his math skills enthusiastically before you know it!
There is a bit of strategy involved in this game as well, as we witnessed while playing on New Years Eve. Our 8-year-old son was playing along with our 13-year-old son, my husband and me. It took 10 rounds to reach the 500-point level, and by the time we finished our 3rd round our 8-year-old had caught on to the idea of this game. He called out “Racko!” in the 4th round, and the 7th through 10th rounds, winning the game!! Our 13-year-old was flabbergasted—he had not gotten a “Racko” all evening!
Racko across the ages
Just a bit of history regarding this game; my Racko game is the original one I remember playing with my Grandparents back when I was a little girl and it was rather old then. My Grandmother gave it to me two years ago after my Grandfather passed away. The box states that Milton Bradley makes it, and to quote a gold ribbon printed on the front of the box, this game is “Keen Competition” and “Also Excellent for Partnership Play”. Amazingly enough, the original price sticker is still on the box! It states that the retail price of the game was $1.98 and it was purchased for $1.44. The copyright inside the box is 1961, five years before I was born.
This game is still in wonderful condition and will surely last our family many more years before we have to go out and purchase a new one for $6.99.
Racko is certainly a game that withstands the test of time!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Rose66
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Member: Tina
Location: Idaho
Reviews written: 52
Trusted by: 21 members
About Me:
I like to find high quality merchandise for the best price when I am shopping.
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