Game Review: NOW!

Real-time games may not be the first thing that gets me excited in gaming, but every now and then one comes along that I really enjoy. Today we are going to look at one of those and talk about why it works for me and how it could for you as well!

NOW! Is published by Scorpion Masque and Randolph Games. It plays 3-8 players in 15 mins.

Overview:

In NOW!, players compete in real-time to get the most target cards compared to their opponents. Balance out the types you gain so your points can be positive overall. The player with the most points wins!

Gamplay:

There are 8 decks of cards, numbered between 1-128 all with a different player color. Players will take one colored deck per person and then take all of the target cards and shuffle them with the refresh card in the middle.

Each player takes their deck and shuffles it, holding it in their palm with the cards facing out. The card you can see in your hand is called the active card and the rest of the deck is behind that card in your hand.

In each round players will reveal three target cards. All players then start simultaneously in the action phase. During the action phase you can keep your active card as your choice or discard it to see the next card in your deck. You may continue to discard down until you chose to stop and keep the card that you think will score the best for you. When you decide to keep your card you shout NOW! Loudly and turn your hand face-down. Once there is only one remaining player they must keep that current card or they may discard one single card more and keep that one.

Each player reveals their cards and the player who is closest without going over wins that target card. You must collect them when you win them. Non-collected cards stay on the table and the next round starts.

When the refresh card comes up in the target deck the game is immediately paused and all discarded cards are reshuffled into the player’s deck. You can win the refresh card if you are exactly right in your active card matching the target card and no one else is perfect with their match.

The final round is when the last three target cards come up. At the end of that round you add up all of your red marks and blue marks and hen subtract them to get your score. The player with the most points wins!

Impressions:

I love card games and they are by far my most played type of game. With NOW! I have found a new style of card game that I really enjoyed: real time speed play. This game makes you really pay attention to not only what is in your hand but what the size of your deck is and how much you are willing to keep discarding down your deck. Make too many discards, you start to run out of options and have less play with changing your hand as you move forward.

The game was a great convention game for us and one that we wanted to try out with a few different players. Each person really enjoyed the game and especially in that setting it helped to learn and play quickly for us all.

For a card based game this one has some depth and fun that will keep it in my collection for the long-term for sure. So make sure to check out NOW! For your next game night!