Lunch Money: Sticks & Stones Expansion Review

Now for a quick little review of a small card game expansion, let's talk about Lunch Money: Sticks & Stones.

As many of your should know (if you read my Lunch Money Review), I really enjoy Lunch Money - probably way more than anybody else, and definitely way more than I should. Because of this, I bought the Sticks and Stones expansion; but, also because I like the base game so much, I didn't bother incorporating the new cards in until recently. And, lo and behold, they added enough to the game that I should write about them. Instead of talking about pros and cons like normal, I will highlight some of the new cards (this is really all that changed) and tell you what I think of them.

Abandonment: this is probably the best addition to the set. In the original game when your opponent had Humiliations in their hand, there was nothing you could do about it but sit there and be sad while waiting for them to slaughter you. Now, you can play Abandonment and force them to discard their entire hand (and it can't be Humiliated). Definitely a nice addition to the game.

Backlash (which looks like "Backlask" in my set): this card is also awesome. It is a new defense card similar to Dodge/Block, but instead of canceling the damage, it reverses it and does it to the person who played the attack cards. This card is incredibly powerful, but aren't the powerful cards the ones that make the game fun? Another wonderful addition.

Tantrum: Deals 5 different attacks of power 1. Very fun... when played on others.  Much less fun when played against you.

Hippie: Name an opponent to be a "hippie" which lets all the other players attack them immediately - great in big games, pointless once it is down to 2-players.

Faster: Plays alongside a block/dodge to work for all the blocks and dodges needed that turn. This card is very important because of the addition of Tantrum and Hippie.

Imaginary Friend: After resolving your first attack, get a free basic attack. Sweet! what's not to like?

Hide: Immediately play as many first aids as you want and then sit out a round where nobody can attack you - this is incredibly useful, especially in big games.  Of course your friends might call you a wimp (or something more vulgar) - but that's only if they get into the trash talking spirit of the game

Spank: Power 2 special attack that can only be played after a grab. This card seems really useless to me, and is by far my least favorite card from the set.

There are also other new cards including basic attacks, Wedgy, Chunk, Nuts, Time Out, Weird, 2-fer, and probably some others. The main downside to the expansion (which is also the main downside to the base game) is that you have to just learn what all the new cards do - there's no iconography or any other way of knowing what a certain card does other than looking it up in the rules repeatedly until you memorize it.

Overall, I give Sticks and Stones an 8.5/10 as an expansion. I obviously do not think that it is better than Lunch Money, because you can't even play it without Lunch Money. However, now that I have started playing with it, I think that I will keep Sticks and Stones mixed in with my Lunch Money set and keep beating the snot out of my friends in glorious new ways!

Gloom Review

A "sad" little game that I got to play was Gloom.  (Yes, I like puns, and I think it is important to share them with the world.)

In Gloom, each player controls a family of soon-to-be miserable people. The object of the game is to make your family as miserable as possible... and then to kill them. Each turn consists of playing 0-2 cards and then redrawing your hand back up to 5 (if it was less than 5). The cards that you play can be on any character in play that is still alive - whether they belong to you or another player (but only the first card played can kill a character). Once one player has killed off all of the members of their family, the game is over, and the person with the most miserable family (only counting the dead family members) is the winner.

Gloom's first pro is its portability and ease of play. It is a small card game that can be explained in about 5 minutes or less (if you read the previous paragraph, you know most of the rules). Because of this, it makes it a good filler game for whenever you have a little extra time, wherever you may wind up (at an airport?).

The next pro to Gloom is in the transparent, stacking cards. I have seen this type of card elsewhere (in Hecatomb), but it is done differently and with less confusion in Gloom. Each of the cards is transparent, and there are 1-3 different modifiers on most cards. The modifier cards are placed on top of a character (and each other), and whichever modifiers are visible once the new card is played are the ones in effect. Therefore, if your opponent has a -30 on one of his characters in the middle spot, you can bring joy to his family member by placing a +10 on top of him. If this covered the -30, the +10 would replace the -30.

The final pro to Gloom is that the flavor text is quite amusing. I haven't read all of it, but the creators seemed to put some thought into the names of the cards as well as the characters. For example, the family that I played was a group of failed circus freaks such as the "Bearded Man".

The first con to Gloom is pretty obvious - not everyone will want to play a game about making people miserable and then killing them. More specifically, many people will not want to teach their children a game like this (of course, not everyone is this way, as my friends taught this game to their children at age 8). This has nothing to do with gameplay, but you should be aware of it when deciding whether you want to buy the game.

The next con is that the game isn't really all that complicated, and so it can become fairly repetitive. Every round will consist of doing very similar things - making your family miserable, bringing joy to others, or killing off characters. Because of this, it is important to not take this game seriously. It should be played as a conversation piece more than as a game itself. It can be fun, but it will not keep your mind very engaged.

Overall, I give Gloom a 7.0/10. It is a good little game, but I have several other card games that I prefer (like Lunch Money).  If a friend brings Gloom with them and wants to play it, I will probably be willing, but I don't anticipate seeking it out.

If Gloom sounds interesting, you might also check out Jab: Real time boxing, For Sale, and Dixit.

Lunch Money Review

For a less complicated little card game, I will do a review of Lunch Money.

In Lunch Money, each player takes on the role of a student at a generic school, and they are fighting each other for their lunch money (hence the name). Each player starts with a certain amount of life, and from there all of the players attack each other trying to knock each other out. You can use punches, kicks, weapons, special attacks, etc., as well as being able to block, dodge, disarm, heal, and the ultimate - humiliate your opponent.

One thing in its favor it that the game system of Lunch Money works very well - though it can be argued that the Humiliate card is a bit too overpowered.  Another positive is that the game is small and easy to carry around, but also very enjoyable and so it is a good choice when you have a little bit of extra time. Please realize that the game is not especially complicated, and so don't go into it looking for an in-depth strategy game. However, if you look at the game as an excuse to be able to trash talk all of your friends, you will have a great time with the game!  (You've got to love a game that causes you to regularly tell your one of your friends "I'll pimp slap you.")

Overall, I give Lunch Money an 8.0/10. I really enjoy this game, though some of the material on the cards (specifically Humiliation) can be offensive (and quickly fixed with a sharpie). Also, if you are looking for a quicker game, you can remove the number of "First Aids" from the deck (these are the cards that let you heal - the game normally has 8 in the deck, and I normally play it with 2), and this will cause the damage you do to your opponents to stick a little bit better.