My family and I received Flip Out, an inventive and interactive card game, to review, and while I was initially worried about the 8+ age rating (my boys are 10, 6, and 5), we soon found out it’s as easy to play as it fun. The game contains card holders for two to five players – a welcome sight for our family of five, as most of our games accommodate only up to four players. Also included are multicolored cards for game play. The instructions, while daunting at first glance, are easy to follow and after a few minutes of reading and studying rules we were set and ready to begin.
The Rules
The first step of the game was the funniest to my boys, as the player with the most colorful socks begins the game. Game play then rotates left, with each player taking two actions on his or her turn. To begin, players fill their holders with six cards, looking only at the images facing them. Different images are displayed on the backs of the cards, and while the player is playing the images facing him or her, opponents are playing the images facing them (the backside of the cards).
The Flip Out Game Begins
My middle son was deemed the winner of the colorful socks with his red and blue superhero pair. He began by choosing two of the six available moves for his turn.
1. Flip – the player may flip a card in either his/her or an opponent’s holder in an attempt to create a set (4, 5, or 6 adjacent cards of the same color). This is the only way the player can see the image on the back of the card in his/her card holder.
2. Switch – the player is allowed to switch the position of two cards in his/her or any opponent’s holder.
3. Swap 1 – the player takes a card from his/her holder and swaps it for one in an opponent’s holder, being careful to keep the cards facing the same way they were.
4. Swap 2 – if the player has two adjacent same color cards in his/her holder, he/she may swap them for two adjacent same color cards in another player’s holder. The same rules as Swap 1 apply – cards must remain facing the same way they were before the swap.
5. Score – If the player has a set in the holder (4, 5, or 6 adjacent cards of the same color), he or she can remove them and show them to the other players. The player then puts the set in front in a scoring pile and refills his/her card holder.
6. Swipe – If the player sees a set in another player’s holder, the player may take the set with one catch; the other player receives one scoring card while the player making the move receives the rest. The other player then refills his/her card holder.
Game play continues with each player taking two actions on his/her turn until there are not enough cards left to refill a player’s holder. At that point, the cards in the holders are discarded, and each player tallies his/her scoring cards. The player with the most cards in his/her pile is the winner, and in case of a tie, the player holding the most of any one color is the winner.
How’d They Like It?
Despite my initial fear that this game would be too complex for my guys, we dove right in and within minutes had it all figured out. I was pleased that they caught on so quickly and easily, and while we exceeded the fifteen minute mark, we hardly noticed. Since our initial game, the boys have played independently together, and each time they’ve been able to remember the rules and play cooperatively without my needing to intervene.
Mom’s Thoughts
While this game is a bit more complex than others we’ve tried, it’s still easily grasped by children of the target age (and even a bit below). I appreciated that it was accessible for larger families, and I liked the simplicity of playing a game together with just cards – no toys, action figures, tokens, spinners, etc… My only negative lies with the holders; while they are well made, fitting together easily and holding the cards well, the numbers on them are unreadable. The numbers are intended to help with game play (“I’ll swap my card 2 with your card 6”, for example), but they are printed in the same color as the holders and are therefore nearly invisible. A black sharpie could probably remedy this, but it’s something that caused us a bit of trouble when trying to play using the numbers. We eventually just pointed and touched the cards we wanted to swap, so it’s not a deal-breaker, just a bit of an annoyance on an otherwise delightful game. All in all, this is a quick, fun game, perfect for kids who are just beginning to discover the fun of card games and a fun spin on cards for adults who enjoy them.
Buy Flip Out from Amazon
NOTE: Flip Out won our “Best Board Games 2011″ award. Also, if you love Flip Out, then you will love some of these great board games.
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