Twenty-one, vingt-un, blackjack, pontoon… whatever variant you know, this is an undisputed classic of the gaming world.
(Before we go on, we hasten to add that we do not condone gambling in any shape or form but we totally understand how a lot of modern games have roots in games where gambling is strongly associated. Luck and randomness are key elements in many games today and that can not be disputed. I mean, we are CHANCE and Counters after all.)
Looking back, the root of all these games is likely of Spanish origin as in the early 1600s Miguel de Cervantes (writer of Don Quixote) referred to a game of veintiuna in a novella about two cheats and mentioned that the premise was to reach 21 points without going over.
In the mid-18th century in France there is mention of the game becoming popular and shortly after that references in North America and Britain are to be found. The game has changed over time and each variant adds complexity but at its core this is a game of probability, comparison and pushing your luck.
The main part of a turn in all its variants is the decision space of either taking another card to your hand or holding. If you take a card and go over 21 then you’re out of the round but if you are still under you can keep taking cards until you hold or go bust.
With such simple mechanics, how could this possibly be improved upon? Well, I guess we should show you…
The new push-your-luck game contender: Flip7
Firstly, this is no ordinary deck of cards. Gone is the simplicity of the modern deck and instead we have a shiny, shiny deck with a very specific distribution. The core part of the deck is a series of cards numbered from 0 to 12. There are 12 of the 12 cards, 11 of the 11 cards, 10 of the 10 cards… see what’s going on there? This continues until you reach 0 and this breaks the trend as there is a single 0 card, I mean it would be rude to have 0 of them… A spattering of modifier and action cards finish off the deck and we’ll talk more about them later.
To be the winner of a game of Flip7 you need to have the most points when scores go over 200 and you’ll keep a running total between rounds. In the game there is a handy QR code that takes you to their website which has printable scoring sheets and a web based scoring app too, now that’s thoughtful!
You’ll recognise the core mechanic as it’s basically ‘hold’ or ‘stay’ just like in Twenty-one but the mechanism for going bust is slightly different. If at any point in a round you flip over two number cards with the same number you are bust. So, why would you keep flipping cards? Well, if you manage to ‘Flip 7’ number cards over in a round then you get a 15 point bonus. Now, that’s very tempting. If you do hold then you will score the total of the number cards infront of you. More cards? More points!
So here is the cool bit, there are cards that increase your score but don’t increase your number card count… one of these is even a multiplier card! Lovely. On top of that there are also three action cards, two of these you play on other players and one you keep for yourself. The ‘Second Chance’ card is an extra life, when a duplicate number card comes up you discard it with that duplicate card and can keep going. The other two ‘Freeze’ an active player so they can no longer get cards this round or force them to ‘Flip 3’ out of turn order, dangerous. The bad news is the latter pair have to be played on an active player and if nobody else is left in the round then you have to play them on yourself!
So, there you have it, awesome push-your-luck with moments of intense risk and reward that will make your day or break it. It’s a nice and speedy game that normally lasts no longer than 20 minutes and it plays three or more players. In the rulebook it even mentions that with a single set of cards you can play with up to 18 people, now that’s a party game right there!
Try it at our cafes and try not to Flip the Table, just Flip7! (Not 7 tables, who are you? The Hulk?)