Review - Nay Jay!

Players: 1-3 (base game) and add expansions to have up to 6 players
Playing Time: 20 Minutes
Age: 8+ (younger players are possible...fairly easy concept to grasp)
Suggested Retail: $19.99 for base game and $9.99 for expansion

Nay Jay! is a new card game from a new game company located in my hometown of Springville, Utah - Brand New Games.  Nay Jay! is a FAST card game that combines elements of Nertz, Speed, and Ligretto (aka Dutch Blitz).  I recently had the opportunity to play Nay Jay! at SaltCON, a small gaming convention in Salt Lake City.

The Goal:

Play more cards than any other player.

The Setup:

Each player has a deck of 63 cards, numbered 1 to 10, each with a different color back.  Start the game by shuffling your deck and dealing 20 cards face down in a pile.  Flip 1 more card face up on top of this pile.  This pile becomes your draw pile.  Then deal 4 more cards face up in a row so you have 5 cards face up.  The remaining cards are your flip pile.

The Play:

The game starts any 1 cards that are visible get moved to the center of the table.  Any time you remove one of the face up cards in the row in front of you, take the top card from the draw pile to replace it and flip over the top card on the draw pile to replace it. You then play cards on any pile that is one higher or one lower than the card that is currently showing on the pile...but it MUST be the same color  For example, if a yellow 2 is showing on a pile, y ou can play a yellow one or yellow 3 on it.  If you cannot play from the row of cards in front of you, then start flipping cards from your flip pile one at a time, playing any card that is on top...no digging through your flip pile.


Round End and Scoring:

When a player plays all 21 cards from their draw pile, the round ends.  All players sort through the cards played in the center of the table and counts how many cards of their color were played.  Cards played score 1 point each and any cards left in your draw pile scores -2 points each.  Play 6 rounds and person with highest score wins!


Review:

I really enjoy fast card games - Blink, Qwitch, Speed, etc.  I really like this game.  I have not played Ligretto yet, so I cannot compare the two.  It is not a deep game, but it is easy to play and teach.  There were a couple of kids that stayed at the table all day...it appeared to be their favorite.  I give this one 7 out of 10.  I liked enough to place an order on the spot for my eBay store.

You can buy Nay Jay! in my eBay store (www.howlingfungames.com) or in our Amazon Store or by contacting me directly.