The Final Fantasy of Theme Month (Chocobo's Crystal Hunt)

Welcome back to the final week of Theme Month: Classics with a twist.  This one will actually be posted on the 1st of November, as the last day is Halloween.  
So for the finale, I thought what better way than to review a version on what is probably the simplest and, really, most boring game I could think of.  The game in question: Old Maid, to be rivaled with War.  The game, Chocobo's Crystal Hunt.  Let's see where the hunt takes us.



BACKGROUND: Chocobo's Crystal Hunt is a card game for 3-5 players, and was designed by Yoshihiro and published by Square Enix.  Chocobo's come from the game franchise, Final Fantasy, and are a staple in the game.  Players use these creatures to find crystals, but must look out for monsters.

GAMEPLAY:  Each player starts with a Fat (white) Chocobo, 1 elemental Crystal of their type, and one random card from the deck.  Each turn, a player draws a card, and reveals either a Fat Chocobo or Yellow Chocobo to look at a card in the opponents hand.  If it's a Crystal, the player takes it.  If the Yellow Chocobo was played, the player may continue attempting to find Crystals in any players hand.  If a Chocobo is revealed, the turn ends, and the Chocobo is discarded if it was Yellow, or returns to the hand if it was Fat.



MONSTERS:  There are 2 Monster cards to trigger if revealed.  The fiery Bomb forced the turn player to place a Crystal on the bottom of the deck.  The two one-eyed Ahriman forces the player to reveal their hand to the player that was attacked.

WINNING:  A round ends once any player gathers either all 4 different Crystal Elements, or 6 Crystals.  The player is granted a Victory Token, marked with a crown.  The first player to get to two Victory Tokens wins.

CONCLUSION:  Despite its colorful box, gorgeous artwork, and attempt at something different, this is Old Maid.  That being said, it does try to do something unique and original with its good, bad, and win scenario.  As with any Final Fantasy work, the strongest point is the art.  Square Enix has always pushed the visual aspect of every Final Fantasy piece, and this is no different.  Chocobo's Crystal Hunt is a game that I can enjoy in small bursts with young people, or those who love Final Fantasy, but don't expect this game to blow your mind.  But every once in a while, it's fine to just put on some To Zanarkand, pour a glass of cider, and play something nice and chill.