Zigity - The Card Game For Craniacs. (Re:creation Cranium Zigity)

Member Name: SRowlands

Product:	Re:creation Cranium Zigity
Date:	06/02/06 (952 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, easy and great fun to play

Disadvantages: Absolutely none

Zigity is the new card game from the team who brought you the massively popular board game Cranium.

Cranium is a great game, but has two disadvantages - you need at least four people to play it and, whilst it is not huge, it is not exactly a "portable game".
Partly in response to this, and the success of its predessor, the creators came up with "Zigity".

Zigity takes elements from the original board game, and merges them with card games such as ''Uno'' and ''Whot".



At the start of play, each player is dealt seven cards - the aim of the game being to get rid of all of your cards. This is done by playing one, or a combination of your cards, based upon the characters and challenges of the original game.

The cards are what's known as "invisible cards" - that is the cards are made of clear transparent plastic with solid patterns over the symbols so the other players cannot see what cards you hold.
There are many different cards and challenges, as follows…


Word Worm -

If the play card is a yellow 'Word Worm' card, you need to look at the letters on your cards. Using these, you must make a word - incorporating the letter on the play card. The word must be at least three letters long, and general word game rules apply.

Data Head -

Should the play card be a red 'Data Head', the numbers printed on the cards become the focus of play. By using the number on the play card, you need to select any of your own cards to make a total of eleven. So, for example, if the play card had a number ''4" on it, you could play a ''5" and a ''2", or 2 x ''2" and 3 x ''1".

Creative Cat -

Each card also has part of a 3- piece jigsaw printed on it. When a blue ''Creative Cat" card is played, you simply need to complete the jigsaw.

Star Performer -

As well as the number, the letter and the jigsaw piece, other is also a picture of a musical instrument on each card. When the green "Star Performer" is in play, you can lay any cards in your hand that bear the same musical instrument.

Free Card –

This is, in effect, a “Wild Card”. In Word Worm, it can be used as any letter, as in Data Head any number, any piece of the jigsaw in Creative Cat and any instrument in Star Performer. You can play as many of these in one go as you wish.

Draw 2/3 -

These cards force the next player to pick up two or three cards respectively. However, if they too have one of these cards, they can play it, and the number of cards the next player has to pick up accumulates. So, for example, if I was to lay a “Draw 3”, the next player would have to either pick up three cards, or if they had a “Draw 3”, the next player would have to draw six… and so on. The cards must match, so you can’t lay a “Draw 2” onto a “Draw 3”.

Bounce -

This is another very useful card. This “bounces” play in the opposite direction, and can be used at any time – including after a “Draw” card. So, if a player gave you a “Draw 3”, you could bounce play back in the opposite direction and they would have to pick up three cards !

Dodge –

Similar to the above “Dodge” card, but this one simply dodges your go, and play passes onto the next player.


Tactics –

As mentioned above, the aim of the game is to get rid of all of your cards, and there are various tactics you can use to improve your chances (or lower other players chances !).
Firstly, consider what play you make, and how it will affect the next player’s go. For example, I know that if I played a “Creative Cat” card last, the maximum number of cards that he / she would be able to play would be two (to complete the jigsaw). Also, if they only have one card left, they would not be able to complete the jigsaw so, in turn, would have to pick up a card. Simarily, if they only had one card left, you could play a “Word Worm” card, as you need to make at least a three letter word.
If you are putting down a word, consider what order you’re going to lay the cards – (they do not need to be played in order !). If you can, leave a harder letter on top – e.g. an “S” is far easier to use in a word than a “P”.
When playing cards, try and use as many as possible. In the “Data Head” game for example, you may be able to total “11” by playing just two cards – but see if you can get rid of four or five cards !
When laying the “Draw” cards, it’s a good idea (depending on how many people are playing) to have a back-up card. This could be on the form of either another Draw card or a “Bounce” or “Dodge” card. This helps if the Draw comes back around to you – you might have to draw 12 or 15 cards by then !!

What makes this game so much fun is that the fewer cards you have, the harder it is to win ! If, for example, you've only got one play card left, you simply can't play on the Word Worm or Creative Cat rounds, as you need at least two other cards. To get out on a Data Head, your options are extremely limited - there needs to be a "5" or "6" on the play card, and you must have the opposite number on your card.
In a game last night, the two players each got down to one or two cards on many occasions, however it took about an extra twenty minutes until someone went onto win the round !


Scoring –

One critism of the game I have is that the instructions do not mention any scoring system. The game was designed to be played as single, one-off games. However, I prefer the more competitive gameplay based over a number of games, so I have come up with the following suggestions…

a) Simply keep track of how many games you win and, for example, the first player to win 5 or 10 games is the ultimate champion.

OR

b) Score cards left in your hand after a player has got rid of all of their cards. This can be done in the following way…
Each normal “play” card has a number printed on it for the “Data Head” game. Total the number of these points, then add the following…

10 Points for each “Draw”, “Bounce” and “Dodge” card.
20 Points for each “Free” card.

Keep a running total, then after a specified number of rounds, the player with the lowest score is the winner.


Overall Opinion –

I have had this game now for about two months (at the time of writing this review), and have played it on many occasions and with many different groups of people – from friends and family to work colleagues. The age range also varied enormously, from my 10 year old cousins to my elderly relatives. Indeed, there is no reason why parents couldn’t play this with even younger children, as it could help them learn spelling and addition skills. Everyone found the game most enjoyable.
The game is learnt very quickly – with brand new players, it is probably best to play a practice round with all cards face up. After this, the rules should be familiar with everyone.
The length of each round varies, but is normally around five minutes – although in one game the very first player managed to get an 8-Letter word, so won instantly !!

What I really like about this game is that it is so portable. The cards come in a colourful metal tin slightly bigger than a standard pack of playing cards, so it can be easily carried around, or left in a locker or glove compartment.
As I mentioned at the start of this review, the cards themselves are made of a transparent plastic. I have used these on many occasions, and the cards are still like new ! They seem to be very hard wearing, and should bring many years of entertainment before they need replacing.
The other great thing about this game is the price ! I purchased this from Virgin Megastore for £7.99 – which seems to be the standard price in most places. When compared to most board games these days, this is relatively cheap for such a good game.

It is hard to find fault with this game, as it really is so good. My only critism (as mentioned above) is the lack of official scoring. I have overcome this by making up some scoring rules, however you might have thought that the makers would have considered this when designing the game.

As an already keen Cranium player, I could relate to the characters and challenges on the play cards, however there is certainly no benefit or necessity to have played the board game. Indeed, a Zigity player may go on to play the board game, and they too would them be familiar with the basic challenges and characters.

I would recommend this game to everyone – but especially to all you “Cranium” fans out there… this would be a great addition to your games collection !!!

For further information, check out www.playcranium.com.

Summary: A fun card game for all the family, based upon the Cranium boardgame.