GAME REVIEWS
Casual Game Insider|Summer 2023
This little card game takes only a couple of minutes to teach, but is surprisingly engaging and full of fun.
Naomi Laeuchli
GAME REVIEWS

The back of each card shows three colors, indicating what color of mantis could be on the front of the card. There are seven different possible colors. Each player starts the game with four mantis cards face-up in front of them. Matching mantis cards are kept in a column together. The deck is placed facedown in the center of the table.

On your turn, you decide to attempt to score or to steal. When you try to score, you draw the top card of the draw pile and place it face-up in your display. If the color of its mantis matches at least one card already in your display, move all your cards of that color to your score pile face-down. If it does not match, simply leave your new card in your display.

When trying to steal, you choose another player, take the top card of the draw pile, and place it face-up in their display. If it matches the color of at least one card in their display, you move all cards they have of that color to your own display. If it does not match, they get to keep the new card. The first player to get 10 or more cards in their score pile wins the game.

Mantis deals with the element of luck perfectly. Yes, you're guessing with each card you draw, but the game gives you information about which of three colors each card might be, and you can even track odds if you want to try to remember what cards have already been scored and keep an eye on what is out on the table. As the game progresses, players get closer to that win condition, groups of cards in their displays grow larger, and the suspense also increases, giving the game a great sense of progression.

This game is so easy to teach, has such fast turns and great player interaction, and is full of those moments of cheers when your gamble pays off, or groans when it doesn't. It's quite light, and you're not going to find lots of strategic choices here, but that's what makes it such a great, relaxing experience and the perfect casual fit.

Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Summer 2023-Ausgabe von Casual Game Insider.

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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der Summer 2023-Ausgabe von Casual Game Insider.

Starten Sie Ihre 7-tägige kostenlose Testversion von Magzter GOLD, um auf Tausende kuratierte Premium-Storys sowie über 8.000 Zeitschriften und Zeitungen zuzugreifen.

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