Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Review: Life is Life

Life is life
Players: 3 – 5
Publisher: White Goblin Games
Year: 2016

Life is precious and as the ship is sinking, limited spaces are available on the lifeboats. As everyone wants to save themselves, it’s a mad dash to safety.

The cat and the sheep.
 The aim of this game is to acquire as much points as possible. This can be accomplished by getting the majority of any kind of animal in play. Different animals are worth different points. If you have the most mice, you gain 3 points, but if you have the most giraffes you get 9 points. The points also indicate how many cards of a type are available. So in the case of the mouse, there’s 3, but in the case of the giraffe, there’s 9.

The game consists of 60 cards and each player is given 10 cards, as well as 5 lives. In the middle of the table there is a row with 1 – 2 – 3 – 4 cards. Each turn, a player can swap his or her cards with the row in the middle, after which the next player takes their turn. So if you decide to take the row of 2 cards, you also need to replace them with 2 of your own cards. If you decide to trade with the row of 4, you also need to replace them with 4 of your own cards.

A player can also knock, to signal the end of the round and all other players take one more turn and the points are tallied. Whoever has the majority of a certain type of animal, wins the mentioned points. The player with the most points loses no lives, the player with the least points loses two lives and those in between lose one life. The game continues until there’s one winner left.
The mole and the giraffe.
Alternatively, a player can collect all the five pigs, five rabbits or the four cats in order to force an immediate end to the round, where all other players lose a life. As soon as this is resolves, the cards are shuffled and a new round starts.

The game is fun, fast and easy to play. It’s portable and the artwork makes it suitable for a younger audience as well. You need a bit of luck, but that adds to the flair of the game. Of course, the size also comes with a disadvantage, as the game isn’t complex and might not be as challenging as some other games. Then again, with the younger audience kept in mind, it’s justified.  

Most outstanding feature?
While it’s a light and simple cardgame, the bright artwork really helps. The unfortunate animals are adorable and add some comical relief to this game. Overall, I can certainly recommend this game!