Eat Flesh (Give Me the Brain!)

Working at a dead-end job sucks.  No matter who you were, or what you did, nobody likes working in the food industry.  The wages are terrible, the customers are rude, and the work is tedious.  So you and your zomb-ployees have come up with a way to make it a little less tedious.  When your manager comes in, he sees you playing Hot Potato with a brain.  He won't stand for fun here, and shouts, "Give me the brain!"

BACKGROUND:  Give me the Brain! is a card game for 3-8 players.  It was created by James Earnest and has been published by Cheapass Games and Steve Jackson Games.  Players take the roles of fast food Zombie employees that attempt to take the Brain and be the first to finish all their jobs for the day.

GAMEPLAY:  At the beginning, or whenever the Brain (die) is "dropped", players can only play purple Bid cards to try to get the brain.  Once a player has the Brain, each player can play yellow Job cards.  All Job cards have 1 or 2 zombie Hands printed, and players can only play up to 2 Hands worth of cards.  Some have black borders, which are Objects.  Objects stay in front of the player when they are played.

BRAINS:  Some Job cards have a Brain with a number printed on them.  These cards can only be played if the player has the Brain.  Once the card is played and resolved, they then roll the Brain.  If they roll equal to or higher than the printed number, they keep the Brain, but if it's lower, the Brain is dropped and bidding begins.  If no player can bid, all players draw a card, and bidding starts again.

SLACKING:  Sometimes, players don't like their hand, or have anything they can play.  If this happens, they are 'Slacking', and can choose to draw a card, or discard their hand and draw the same number of cards in their hand + 1.

WINNING:  The first player to run out of cards in their personal hand wins.

CONCLUSION:  This is a fun, interesting game that plays like a lot of classic Steve Jackson published games, simple but engaging.  The first biggest complaint are the randomness of being dealt a bad hand.  The other is the nature of the jobs themselves, as they can feel counter-productive.  If you can get past that, there's a lot of fun to have in this little card game about Zombie Fry Cooks.

College the Card Game (Chez Geek)

Wake up, go to class, eat a "healthy" lunch, do homework, and go to bed.  Is that how you expected life on campus to be?  No!  You need to break from that dull routine, and have adventures.  Or more accurately, do as little as possible while still passing class.  It's now your mission in life to be the best slacker imaginable at Chez Geek.



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Chez Geek is a card game by Steve Jackson for 2 to 5 players.  Each player takes the role of a geeky college student, with the goal being to get away with doing as little as possible, such as napping or watching TV.

SET-UP:  Each player is dealt 1 Job card face-up, and 5 Life cards from the deck to their hand.  At the start of each players turn, they draw until they have 6 cards in their hand.  All cards with Slack will stay in front of the player, such as People or Activities, in their Room.

JOB CARD:  Each player has a set Free Time, Income, and Slack Goal located on the Job card.  If a Job card have a "/" printed with 2 numbers on the Free Time or Income, then each turn, that player rolls a die/  If they roll a 3 or less, the lower number applies; but if they roll a 4 or higher, the higher number applies instead.  Each Job card's Free Time and Income may be spent, but is reset at the beginning of the turn.



FREE TIME:  Each player has a set amount of cards they can play determined by Free Time.  On the players turn, they may do an Activity, such as watch TV or have Nookie (which, apparently, is a type of snack).  They may also use their Free Time to go Shopping to buy cards like Booze and Food from their hands.  However, those also require spending Income depending on the card.

PERSON CARDS:  Each player may also call a Person to any Players Room, which does not require spending Free Time.  Instead, the player may only call them during the Call phase, which takes place before spending Free Time.  If no Slack is given from the person, they go in that Room automatically.  Otherwise, the player calling rolls the die.  On a 3-6, the call succeeds and goes into that Room.  On a 1 or 2, the call fails, and the card is discarded.

WHENEVER:  These cards are the only ones that can be played regardless of who's turn it is.  Some require a certain activity to be played in order to use them, whereas others can be played anytime to get their effect for the next event.  In most cases, these are usually discarded.



SLACK GOAL:  Most cards have a Slack count in the top right corner.  Whenever a card with Slack enters your Room, gain that many Slack counters as points.  The player who manages to get Slack points equal to or greater than their Slack Goal on their Job card wins.

CONCLUSION:  Steve Jackson manages to pull out another solid title in Chez Geek.  It invokes a similar feel from things like Munchkin, but the gameplay is still as strong as ever, and the rules just as crazy.  Plus, there's still variations in expansions like Slack to the Future, and thematic changes in Chez Cthulhu and Chez Goth.  Steve Jackson is a giant among the tabletop industry, and Chez Geek shows you the reasons why.

One of us, one of us (C'thulhu Dice)

You slip the comfy robe over you, and tie it tight.  You light the candles at the shrine, and give your offering to the great C'thulhu.  Tonight, you ask for his favour and aid to prepare for his coming.  But he is a fickle Eldritch, and you know that his 'aid' may only cause you to lose your mind.  You took that risk when you became a follower.  You know when it comes to C'thulhu, you might as well...roll a dice.

GAME DESCRIPTION: Cthulhu Dice was created by Steve Jackson Games.  Out of the bag, it can only support up to 6 people, but it's designed to hold as many as are willing and able to play.  The object is to not go insane, which is made difficult due to the C'thulhu die rolled each turn.

C'THULHU: C'thulhu is also a player in this game, represented by a pot in the middle.  Each turn, one player chooses any other Non-Cthulhu player, then rolls the dice and applies the appropriate effect:

• Yellow Sign: Looks like a question mark with two extra symbols.  The player chosen loses 1 sanity to C'thulhu
• Tentacle: The roller takes 1 sanity from the chosen player.  If the roller is currently at 0 sanity, then the sanity goes to C'thulhu
• Elder Sign: The roller gains 1 sanity from C'thulhu.  If C'thulhu is a 0 sanity, nothing happens.
• C'thulhu: Every player loses 1 sanity to C'thulhu
• Eye:  Shaped like an Egyptian eye symbol, it is the wildcard roll.  The roller applies any other effect mentioned above.

The targeted player than "responds" by rolling the die. Play then continues on to the next person to the left from the roller.

SANITY: Every player starts with 3 sanity tokens.  Sanity tokens are what allow you to potentially win.  If you end up losing all 3 tokens, you go insane.  You will still roll when it's your turn.  Your opponent cannot respond to your rolls, however.  The only way to gain sanity back is if you roll the Elder Sign.  If only one player has sanity, they win.  If all players lose their sanity, C'thulhu wins.

CONCLUSION: A simple, quick party game.  The option of adding as many players as you want really helps the game.  It's pretty fun to pull this out as the night is winding down, and you've only got a few minutes to play.  The only real weakness this game has is it's almost entirely luck based, and it's simple.  If you want something quick, this is great.  If you're looking for something to just relax with and talk with your friends, this is definitely the game to do that.  You're just not going to find anything with real substance or skill here

Mmm, brains (Zombie Dice)

Shambling through the forest, you hear a faint noise. You fall into a clearing and see them.  Two humans, both with tasty brains.  You haven't eaten in quite some time, and the shot you took awhile back is certainly slowing you down.  But you're hungry, and you need to take the risk.  You choose to shamble to them.  You manage to get both people's brains, but not without taking a shot in your shoulder.  But that's the risk you take when you're a zombie.  Now, you have to take the chance, and roll the Zombie Dice.

GAME DESCRIPTION:  Zombie Dice is a *ahem* dice game created by Steve Jackson Games.  You take the roll of a zombie during the zombie uprising.

PLAY:  Each turn, you take 3 dice at random, and roll an encounter to determine the outcome of that turn.  You can then choose to keep progressing and roll 3 more randomly selected dice, or you can pass to the next player.  The main objective of the game is to just keep eating brains from people without dying, until you become full.

DICE EFFECTS:  Each die has a different group of colored symbols on them.  The colors determine the difficulty of the roll, with green being the easiest, yellow the next difficulty, and red being the most difficult.  The shape of each die determines the effect of the encounter

• Brain:  "Yummy." Each time this is rolled, the die goes off to the side.  If you pass, the total number of brains rolled increases your score permanently.
• Shotgun: "Ouch." These also go off to the side.  If you get a total of three shotguns, your turn ends, and you gain 0 brains this turn.  
• Footprints: "Almost."  Any footprints you roll this turn are re-rolled, decreasing the amount of dice you draw for this encounter.

WINNING:  The first player who collects 13 or more brains puts the game into the final round.  At this point, every other player gets one more turn to attempt to out-roll that player.  The winner is then declared after the last player ends their turn.  In the case of a tie, the players that tied each play one additional round.

CONCLUSION:  This is a nice little game to play after a high-stress event.  With little decision making involved, it's a nice game to with which to shoot the breeze.  It also makes for a simple ice-breaking game.  Of course, as with all of Steve Jackson's games, there is definitely some room for interpretation and house-ruling.  The expansions are also a lot of fun, such as including new effects, new ways to keep playing, and getting brains from Santa (if you don't end up eating his brain).  I do love this game, and recommend it for small parties and at the end of game nights.

Kickin' doors and taking loot (Munchkin)

You wander into the dungeon, chainsaw in hand, allies by your side.  You check your equipment, flasks at the ready, as you approach the next room.  Who knows what you will encounter next?  It could be a fearsome dragon, or an evil sentient gazebo.  Maybe all that's in there is a curse.  Maybe you will have to ask for help from your 'friends', or have the chance to stab them in the back.  In order to find out, you raise your foot, kick down the door, and enter the world of Munchkin.



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Munchkin is a card game created by Steve Jackson, (loosely) based on D&D, and the concept of the "Munchkin", or the player who will bend, break, and subvert the spirit and rules of the game in order to win. A lot of the rules are deliberately vague to play up the idea of discussion and drama in the game.  Each player takes the role of an adventurer, travelling through a dungeon.  Each player begins at level 1, and their own gender.  You win when you advance to level 10.  Turn order is decided by, to quote the rule booklet "rolling the dice and arguing about the results."

TYPES OF CARDS:  Before we go too much into gameplay, it's important to note the types of cards:

• Curses- These generally have a negative effect, like losing an item or a class.
• Monsters- By fighting one of these, you will increase your level and gain treasure cards.  This is the only way (save some special cards) to advance from level 9 to 10.  
• Treasure-Cards with the treasure chest on the back are "treasure" cards (who knew?), and can have various effects.  Some will allow you to go up a level.  Some allow you to increase your power level by gaining equipment, or a quick buff for one turn.  Note that all equipment must be played logically (1 head, 2 hands, 1 body, 2 feet, and limited to one big item.)
• Class/Race-These cards allow you to become a specific class (wizard, thief, etc) or race (halfling, dwarf, etc.) with their own special effects.  You are generally only allowed 1 class and race per player.  Some other cards are also limited to certain classes/races, whereas some cards prevent certain classes/races from playing them.

You are allowed to play any card during your turn, provided it's both legal to do so, and it is outside of combat.



TURN PHASE:  Once the first player has been decided, that player begins by "kicking down the door."  This means that the player draws a door card (it's easy, the one with a door on the back) face-up.  If it's a curse, it is resolved immediately.  If you draw a creature, combat begins.  Otherwise, place the card into your hand, and the second phase begins.  In this phase, you are allowed to "look for trouble" by playing a monster from your hand and fighting them.  If you can't, or don't want to, then you "loot the room" by drawing another door card, this time face-down so the other players don't see it, and it goes straight into your hand.

COMBAT:  When you kick down the door and see a creature, or look for trouble, combat begins. Each monster has a level, and can only be defeated by having your level plus your items enhancement (also called combat power) beat that creatures level.  Once all equipment and levels have been determined, each player is allowed to play one-shot items or curses, to help or hinder the player.  If the player cannot defeat the monster, he is allowed to ask for help from any other player, but only one (the rooms are kinda small, apparently).  Any player can offer for help for any service (bound by honor), item/equipment, or any amount of treasure.  They can NOT, however, offer an increase of level.  Any level gained is, unless stated otherwise, specifically for the player  If help is accepted, the helping player's fighting's combat power is added to the original players combat power.  If the total number is higher, and no more cards are played, you take or divvy up (if you had help) the treasure cards accordingly, and gain 1 level (or 2, if the monster says to).



BAD STUFF:  If you cannot defeat the monster, you are defeated and must roll (this apply's to both players if being helped).  If you roll a 5 or 6, you run away, and nothing happens.  However, if you do not, you must apply the Bad Stuff effect from the monster card.  If you Die, however, you lose all equipment.  Your level, race, and class cards, as well as any curses still in effect, stay.  Your hand is then revealed, and the highest level character (roll to determine ties), takes one card, then the second highest, until all players obtain one card.  Any left are discarded.  Dead characters cannot gain levels, cards, or win the game.  Once the next player begins their turn, you are allowed to help (think of it as a new character with the previous level, class, and race) and receive new cards.  On your next turn, you draw four door and four treasure cards, and play resumes.

SELLING, TRADING, CHARITY:  You can sell your treasure cards (each has a value).  If you sell a total of 1000 gold, you are allowed to go up a level (this cannot be the winning level).  During your turn, you can also trade any of your treasure with any other players treasure.  Each player is limited to five cards in their hand at the end of their turn.  If you have more that you cannot or don't play, give the excess cards to the player with the lowest Level. If players are tied for lowest, divide the cards as evenly as possible.  However, If you are the lowest or are tied for lowest, they are just discarded.

SPECIAL RULES:  This is where the game gets crazy;

• Cheat: This card allows you to play any equipment regardless of any other equipment or restriction (that's right, three weapon wielding is possible)
• Half-breed/Super Munchkin: The half breed allows you to either ignore any negatives against your race (any creatures that get bonuses or weapon restriction from your race), or give you a second race.  The same effect applies for Super Munchkin to classes
• Product rules:  Some of Steve Jackson's products give you an additional effect, such as the Munchkin Bobblehead allows you to re-roll one dice roll if it's in the room.  The game manual itself has links to more rules, go check them out!

CONCLUSION:  Hoo boy, this post took up almost as much time as one of these games.  Seriously, though, the games can last anywhere from 15 minutes to 2+ hours (and yes, there's a card out there which allows you to end the game if that's the case).  The big thing about this game is that it's very house rules enforced.  There's even a rule that says to argue about the rules, and the owner has the last say.  The cards themselves are crazy (when was the last time you saw a dwarf with an eleven foot pole fighting a giant bunny).  If you're in the mood for a tabletop RPG, but don't have the time or energy to host it, try this game out.  Simple, regardless of the wall of text seems to say.  Not to mention there's about a few hundred versions to try out.  My favorites are C'thulhu Munchkin and Adventure Time Munchkin.