Main Catalogue |  BOARD GAMES & CARD GAMES |  Playroom Entertainment |  Reiner Knizia's Poison

Reiner Knizia's Poison Price: £8.99 Currently unavailable. Card Game; 3-6 Players by Playroom Entertainment The mad doctor has cooked up something evil in Reiner Knizia\'s Poison, a clever strategy card game. Players choose a potion card from their hand to add to one of three colored cauldrons, being careful not to let the pot go over a total value of 13. The player who causes the cauldron to go over 13 must take all of the cards within it, trying to avoid taking a potion mixed with poison. Be the player with either the most or none of any potion and you\'re safe - otherwise take the risk of receiving a deadly dose! * For 3 to 6 Players * Ages 10 to Adult * 15 Minute Playing Time Contents: 42 Potion Cards, 8 Poison Cards, 3 Cauldron Boards and Instructions in English, Spanish & French COUNTER MAGZINE REVIEW Reviewed by Joe Casadonte Do you say ``Pick your poison\'\' or ``Choose your poison\'\'? Whichever colloquialism you prefer, you\'re sure to hear it come up often while playing this latest Knizia card game. It\'s typical Knizia fare: a bit on the abstract side, albeit slightly less so than usual; vaguely mathematical, though you only need to be able to add up to 20; filled with interesting (and sometimes painful) decisions; all perfectly thought out and very well balanced. The game is about mixing potions and consists of 50 cards and 3 large, cardboard cauldrons. While completely unnecessary, the cauldrons are at least useful, and help maintain the theme. Some may object to the extra cost, but it can be had for as little as $10 here in the States, which is quite reasonable in my opinion, and only a couple of dollars more than the typical Adlung game. I\'d easily pay twice that for as much fun as this game gives us. The cards come in three suits (blue, purple & red) plus a fourth suit which is wild. These last represent the eponymous Poison which can be added to the brewing potions, and are a bright green. There are 14 of each of the regular suits with values ranging from 1-7 (specifically, three each of 1\'s, 2\'s, 5\'s and 7\'s plus two 4\'s), and there are eight Poison cards, each with a value of 4. The game is played over a number of rounds, one per player. To start, all of the cards are shuffled and dealt out; with any number of players other than 5, this will result in several players having one extra card, which is why it\'s important to play 1 round per player. On your turn you must play 1 card. Cards are played onto a cauldron with the restriction that each cauldron can only have one suit in it, and each suit can only be in one cauldron (wild cards can be played anywhere, of course). If the card played pushes the total count of the cauldron over 13 (i.e. 14+) then you take the cards in the cauldron, leaving behind the one just played. Taking cards is not a good thing, though, as each card taken will count one point per card against you at the end of the round (two for each Poison taken), and at the end of the game the person with the fewest points wins. This being a Knizia game, there\'s always one more twist, right? At the end of a round, if you have taken the greatest number of cards in a given suit, then they do not count against you. So, if you\'re taking cards in a particular suit that round, it\'s best to take a lot of them. Poison cards cannot be thrown out in this way, though, and if two or more people tie for the most in a suit, they\'re all out of luck, as none will get to throw them away. When the round is done and the scores recorded, the deals passes to the left and the process is repeated until each player has had a chance to deal once. Whoever has the fewest points wins. That\'s all there is to it. It may not sound like anything special, perhaps, but it is a hoot to play, with a healthy amount of ``take that\'\' in it. Knizia adds in some maddening elements, like omitting the 3\'s and 6\'s from the card\'s values. How he knew it would be so frustrating to leave them out is beyond me; a lot of playtesting, perhaps, or just pure instinct? Also, you can find yourself subject to a seemingly endless and vicious cycle of always being presented with 3 cauldrons of 13 each, so no matter what card you play, you have to take something. Your kind opponents will build on what you have played and by the time it gets round to you again, you once more have all 13\'s presented to you. With the rule of throwing out the cards you have in a majority, though, and you can set out to collect enough of each suit to not have to count any of them (though you\'ll still have to count the Poison cards you will have inevitably picked up). At some point your opponents will have to start taking some cards, and you\'ll have the last laugh, as their points start racking up! Production values are top-notch as the cards are sturdy with a nice linen finish. Each suit has a very distinctly shaped bottle on it to help those with color issues, and all feature nice touches in the artwork; I particularly like the symbols outlining the cards, meant to evoke a ``magical\'\' atmosphere, I\'m sure. We\'ve had a lot of fun with this one. It plays very well with 3, 4 and 5, and although I\'ve not played it with 6, I hear it plays well that way, too. Our games have featured tons of laughter, recriminating looks, threats, counter-threats and the like. It makes a great opener or a closer, and while light and easy, it\'s also a catalyst for a whole lot of fun! More ...

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