Gubs: A Game of Wit and Luck
Silliness is sometimes a required commodity in games; otherwise, we are left with players who somberly face each other across the table with their books of strategy piled in front of their unsmiling faces. Too much silliness can be a bad thing and can actually destroy a game (I have one such game staring at me on my desk right now). Gubs (Cole Medeiros Games, 2007 – Alex and Cole Medeiros) is a game that embraces silliness, along with the quite popular "take that" mechanic. It has a feel very similar to Killer Bunnies but is self contained in one small deck.
And it's very, very silly, as players attempt to get as many Gub creatures as they can – strange little folk who look like distant relatives of Earthworm Jim. I normally am not a huge fan of these games, but for some reason, Gubs strikes a chord with me. Possibly, it's because the deck is small enough that the different cards and combinations are easily remembered, and possibly because games last less than twenty minutes. Likely, however, it's because the game seems to be extremely popular with children – the artwork and interactive parts of the game work very smoothly, rule arguments are few, and the game is simply fun to play. I wouldn't recommend the game to folks looking for a strategic experience, but folks looking for a quick guffaw should give it a whirl.
Each player is given one Gub card which is placed face up in front of them – the remainder of the cards are shuffled and placed in a deck. Three special cards, a "G", "U", and "B", are placed at varying points in the deck, which is then reshuffled again. Each player is dealt three cards, and one player takes the first turn.
On a player's turn, they may draw one card from the deck. A player can forgo this, but not two turns in a row. When a player draws a card with a small explosion symbol, it's an event card and must be played immediately. After this, the player may play as many cards as they want, and then must discard down to eight cards if necessary. Cards include:
- Gubs: Can be added in front of a player, at which point the Gub is known as a "Free" Gub.
- Barricades: These are placed on top of a Gub to make it "Protected". Some barricades can be discarded to get rid of other barricades.
- Hazards: These are cards played to attack others. Some destroy barricades, others discard Gubs, and others will steal an opponent's Gubs.
- Tools: These cards allow a player to take special abilities such as looking at the top two cards of the deck.
- Interrupts: These cards can be played at any time – even during another player's turn. Many of them cancel other cards that have been played.
- Traps: These cards are placed on Gubs, causing them to be "Trapped". Trapped Gubs cannot move, although they may be freed by some tool cards.
When the third letter card (all of which are event cards) is revealed, the game is over. The player with the most Free and Protected Gubs in play wins the game immediately.
Some comments on the game...
1.) Components: The game comes in a small box that easily fits the cards and rules into it – it's quite nice, actually. The artwork and design of the cards and box is very charming – it brings a lot of joy to the game and presents a miniature little fairy world of lumpy pink Gubs and their forest friends and enemies. It's amusing and gives the game a different feel than most, causing it to stand out from the typical massive fantasy dragon style art that pervades many games.
2.) Rules: The rules are on two sides of one paper and are very, very clear. One side simply states the rules, and the other talks about each card and how exactly to play it. I didn't run into a single card question, even though some of the cards can be made into "combos"; and even children can pick the game up easily, although there is a decent amount of reading on the cards themselves. Games are taught quickly, although a game is almost always better the second time, as players have learned what cards are in the deck.
3.) Take That: Gubs consists of what I call the "take that" mechanic, in which players play bad cards on others and good cards on themselves. There are numerous games that utilize this mechanic, and I'm not always too fond of it, but it works in this game if only because the game is so light. There are plenty of ways to avoid attacks from other players and a good amount of Gubs in the deck. All that being said, some people will still be annoyed when they finally get three Gubs to the table, only to have them captured by a Triple Ring. No one is safe in this type of game, and a person in the lead can fall behind, which can be a bit irritating.
4.) Tension: While luck is a gigantic factor in games like Gub, it can be controlled somewhat by the cards that a player keeps in their hand. In fact, this is part of the game that I enjoy the most. Players will build their hand up to eight cards, waiting to place them, since cards are somewhat safer in their hand. At the same time, there are a few cards that can cause a player to discard their hand; and one never really knows when the game will end. This keeps players on their toes, and there is a good bit of tension throughout the game.
5.) Combos: Once players save up their cards, they can play "combos", which can often turn out pretty neat. One can play a triple ring to trap three other Gubs then play a Haki Flute to free the Gubs, who go to that person's side. Others can use a mushroom to destroy the mushroom barricade on their opponent's Gub, lure the Gub over to their side, then play another mushroom to put it back under protection. There are ways to stop combos, and card counting will likely surface in this game, if only because there is a limited number of cards in the deck. Nothing is really "safe" at any time, but players can assume that some Gubs are more reasonably safe than others, as long as they are better protected.
6.) Fun Factor: Some people will be driven crazy by the fact that they have six Gubs on their side, lose all of them in a few turns, and have the game end moments later. This is a bit teeth-grinding, I will agree; but in a twenty minute game I find that it's more cause for laughter than anything else. Gubs simply has a fun feel, which might be because of the theme OR card combos, but is definitely enhanced by the light feel of the game.
Games like Gubs are all over the place, but most of them attempt to be huge undertakings and often become unwieldy and annoying. Gubs manages to take this genre and streamline it, making it a fun, silly game that players will enjoy – and older kids will love.
The cute theme, good quality cards, tremendous artwork, and speedy playing time take Gubs and make it into a game that will likely never make the "Top 10 Strategy Games" list but one that will be remembered by those who play it as a fast, frivolous affair. Gubs is full of levity that doesn't bonk you over the head with how clever it is. In today's bloated market with "humorous" games, that's a pleasant change.
Tom Vasel"Real men play board games"www.thedicetower.com
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