An easy 2 player card game. (Lost Cities)

Member Name: Odinsday

Product:	Lost Cities
Date:	04/09/00 (198 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Simple rules, lots of strategy and interactions.

Disadvantages: Scoring takes time to get used to, slightly overpriced.

Two player card games are hard to do. Either because the game is just a rehash of an old idea and could easily be played with a normal deck of cards, or becuase you end up getting complicated and mired in rules (see Magic: The Gathering and other Collectible Games).

Lost Cities by the prolific German Games designer, Reiner Knizia, gets over both these. Games take around 10 minutes, it's simple, but there's enough strategy to make you come back for more.

Each player is trying to complete expeditions to five lost cities. These expeditions are represtned by 5 suits of 12 cards, well illustrated and easy to understand. each suit has 9 numbered cards (2-10) and 3 investment cards. Play is as follows:

Play a card to either an expedition or a discard pile. Draw a card from either a discard pile or from the deck.

Each suit has it's own discard pile. Cards can only be played onto a lower card of the same suit. Investmenet cards can only be played before any numbered card has been played.

Once the deck runs dry, you tot up the score, which does need a pen and paper, but isn't too complex once you've done a couple of times. Add up the numbers in suit you've played, subtract 20, and multiply by the number of investment cards you've played plus one. Thus only playign a couple of card in a suit can result in losing points, but a well invested expedition which goes through many places (cards) scores well.

Thats it. The interaction comes as you decide when to start the expedition, which cards to discard and how to keep your opponent behind you. Both players can play the same expedition if they wish causing much frustration as they get ahead of you.

The scoring is the only drawback, as it does take a little getting used to. Otherwise, you cna keep playing to your hearts content and see whose the best after 1 or a hundred hands.

Summary: