There are a lot of good card games in this world but what if we take a look at one that literally leaves the planet and blasts off into outer space? Today we will review a game that just does that and see if it’s one that will find its way to land on our shelves!
3-2-1 Countdown is a game published and designed by Grandpa Beck’s Games. It plans 2-8 players in 30-45 mins.
Overview:
In 3-2-1 Countdown your goal is to reduce the value of all cards in your hand to five or less and declare the end of the round to try and have the least points in hand. Highest score after 5 rounds wins!
Gameplay:
The deck is 110 cards with numbers ranging from 0 to 10. Players will shuffle and deal out a hand to all players and place the remaining cards face down in the center with a single card face up to each side as the discard piles.
The game plays over five rounds. On your turn you may either discard at least one card into either discard pile or multiple cards if they are the same number. Then you draw a card from either discard pile or risk it and draw from the top of the deck.
The round will end in one of two ways. Either a player at the start of their turn will have five or less points and declare “countdown” or they have all the same number left in their hand and declare “blastoff”. In both cases the round ends.
At the end of the round players will show and compare the value on all their cards. The lowest score gets 3 points, next 2 and third lowest gets 1. A bonus point is given for the player that gets the countdown call correct otherwise they score no points.
The player with the highest score after 5 rounds wins. In a tie play one more round with just the tied players and then declare a winner!
Impressions:
I love card games and I have really enjoyed all the games from Grandpa Beck’s Games that I have played and discovered. This new one is absolutely on par with all of their other games and follows a simple but effective formula: make a game that’s easy to learn, easy to play and a ton of fun!
This game will be an easy learn and teach for all levels of gameplay, from the casual gamer to the family member who occasionally will jump in on a holiday to the hardcore gamer. I have played this at family dinner and after a heavy euro to wind down the night. We really enjoyed it and found the pace and speed to be just right.
I love a push your luck game with card draws and this one fits in that arena as well. I can’t wait to get it out to some of my board game friends and play it in bigger groups since it goes up to 8 players. There are a not a lot of games that play well with 2 all the way up to 8 players so add this one to games you keep with you at all times ready to play!
Overall 3-2-1 Countdown is a staple game that we have had a “blast” playing and will be playing much more in the near future. So find a way to make this a staple in your collection and add it to your next game night!
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