EXCERPTS FROM THE SPRING 1999 GA REPORT

APPLES AND ORANGES (Out of the Box Games; $19.95)

   The slightly off-center humor of Out of the Box Games demonstrated in their first release Bosworth (Fall 1998 GA REPORT), re-emerges in their new offering, Apples and Oranges, an adult/family/party game that, truly, everybody can play.... For 4 to 10 players, this is a game that can be explained in minutes and takes less than an hour to play.

   All players begin with a hand of seven Apples cards. Apple cards feature the name of a person, place, thing or event. The leader of the round (called the "Judge") pulls out an Orange card (featuring the characteristic of a person, place, thing or event), reads it out loud and places it, face up, on the table. For example, you might draw the characteristic "Brilliant". Then the fun begins!

   The other players scan their hands and place one of their Apple cards, face down, on the table. The Judge then scoops up the Apple cards, shuffles them, and reads off ach one. This could result in cards such as Albert Einstein (who certainly was brilliant) to Diamonds (which have their own type of brilliance). Also, if you don't have a card that seems to fit, just throw out anything and go for the weird (like "Hangnails")! The Judge, and only the Judge, decides which Apple cad best matches the exposed Orange card. (And sometimes, weird wins!) The player who played the chosen Apple card gets the Orange card as his reward. All played Apples are discarded and hands are replenished by picking a new Apple card. The player to the left of the Judge becomes the new Judge for the next round.

   Play continues until one player has won the needed number of Orange cards (from 4 to 10 depending on how many players) to claim victory.

   The game plays quickly - helped immensely the by the rule that the last player putting down a card must take it back. You won't win any Oranges that way! The strange associations and wacky juxtapositions that result create a constant barrage of laughs! Having one Judge decide what's best avoids arguments and time... John Kovalic's delightful artwork helps capture the fun and frenetic spirit of the game.

   The idea behind Apples and Oranges is so simple that you wonder why it hasn't been done before. but it's done now. Apples and Oranges is an effort that certainly bears fruit as one of the best new family/adult/party games around. - - - - - - - - - - - - - Herb Levy

(Editor's Note: This game, identical in play, was later released as Apples to Apples.)

FROM "POINT OF VIEW":

SETTLERS OF CATAN CARD GAME (Mayfair Games; $20)

   Klaus Teuber created a phenomenon in Europe a couple of years ago with his board game, The Settlers of Catan (Fall 1996 GA REPORT), and has outdone himself in designing a derivative card game of the same name for two players. The game comes with only a deck of square cards, two tokens and two dice. These minimal pieces provide a wonderful, albeit sometimes lengthy, experience in building a region of settlements and cities, replete with opportunities to advance your cause and hinder your opponent. The balance of tactics and strategy affords difficult decisions; good planning is thwarted only by a rare run of bad luck.

   Players begin with two settlements connected by a road card. At the corner of each settlement card, a resource card is laid and the centermost of those resources are shared by the two settlements. The players also begin with three Action cards, chosen from five stacks. The object of the game is to accumulate 12 Victory Points. (The only "knock" is that the game can take two hours, perhaps  a stretch for some games. The simple solution...is to play to a lesser 10 Victory Point total).

   You begin with 2 VPs, 1 for each of your settlements. More are available, for the most part, by building additional settlements (1 VP each) and Cities (2 VPs each). You will also wind up playing various building in your settlements and Cities and some of them will aid in commerce. The player with the most Windmills scores the Windmill token which is worth 1 VP. Knights are also available to populate the settlements and Cities and the player with the most powerful Knights receives the Knight token, also worth 1 VP. Ownership of the Windmill token also affords another advantage, depending on the roll of the dice at the beginning of each turn...One die is an event die and the other is standard D6. Some of the event die possibilities include choosing an event from an event card deck, a reward for the winner of a knight tournament and an attack by thieves.

   The basic building mechanic... you must spend resources to build up your province. The resources are Lumber, Brick, Ore, Sheep and Wheat.... Each resource card is marked with a different die face and the four sides show 0, 1, 2, or 3 of the resource. At the start, all are placed so that the "0" is facing down to show you have no resource of that kind available yet. When the dice are rolled at the beginning of each players' turn, the number of the resource corresponding to the number of the standard D6 is "spun" to the next higher number. In effect, the player has gained a resource. In short order...the game goes into high gear.

   The action can get pretty intense...you can see your progress on the table and it's a great feeling when carefully laid plans work out. There are all sorts of "neat" things to do, like building Libraries or Abbeys which enable you to hold an extra card (a great advantage). Or you might plan to build both a Grain Mill and a Grain Fleet. The Grain Mill doubles the produce of Grain from neighboring farmland and the fleet allows trading two Grain for any resource. That sure speeds up the process! You might also hire the Arsonist to burn down your opponent's building or hire the Black Knight to defeat one of his Knights in battle. The options are far reaching and the game never plays the same way twice.

   If you're looking for a "full" two player gaming experience, The Settlers of Catan Card Game is a great choice. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Al Newman