What do you get when you mix Connect 4, Tic-Tac-Toe, and Rummy?
Written: Feb 04 '05 (Updated Feb 05 '05)
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Durability: |
 |
|
|
Pros: Easy to Learn; Great family game; challenging every time you play
Cons: Wow – It can be very addictive
The Bottom Line: With full confidence that anyone who plays will enjoy this game I recommend that you run to you local Target (or any such store) and pick up Sequence.
|
|
|
| LaurenMarie's Full Review: Sequence Game |
What do you get when you mix Connect 4 Tic-Tac-Toe and Rummy?
A very Addicting Game!
If you know me, you should know I hate the five star system. It is too generic and not at all explanatory. Someone might as well just say "Woo Hoo!" or "Boo" because that is about all a five tiered rating scale can offer.
So, in being the free thinker that I am I have broken down my rating system for all of you who may stumble upon this review:
Game Set Up: 9 out of 10
Game Play (Ease): 9 out of 10
Game Play (Challenge): 8 out of 10
Game Play (Fun): 9 out of 10
Overall Game: 10 out of 10
For a Total Score of: 45 out of 50
Four and a half stars, which rounds up to Five Stars
Game (Set Up): 8 out of 10
Setting up this game couldn't be easier. The only reason that I gave it a 9 instead of a 10 is because the board is very mundane looking.
Being a marketing person I truly believe in things having aesthetic qualities to them. This game board with all of its humble simplicity certainly leaves me wanting.
Sequence comes with a deck of 104 cards that all correspond to spots on the board, 135 Chips (50 green, 50 blue and 35 red) and a Game Board.
You can either play 1 on 1 or in a team format, depending on your preference and the amount of people that need to play.
Next step is placing the board on a playing surface (it doesn't get much easier than this ladies and gents)
The board has 100 spots on it. Each spot is a small picture of a playing card. Each playing card in the deck provided is represented twice on the game board. Everyone chooses a color chip and someone shuffles and deals the cards.
The number of cards varies depending on how many people are playing. One person can have as few as 3 cards or as many as 7.
Then you let the game begin...
Game Play (Ease): 9 out of 10
Well now that everything is set up, you should be up and running. Each player going in a clockwise rotation selects one of their cards and places it face up in the discard pile so that everyone can see which card has been chosen, that way no one can be a cheaty-face.
When you place your card in the discard pile you take one of your chips and place it on one of the matching spots on the board. Remember: each card appears twice on the board, so make sure you are putting the chip in the spot that most benefits you!
There may come a time when you look in your hand and you have a Jack and - GASP! - There aren't any Jacks pictured on the board!!! Don't worry - you got lucky.
There are 8 Jacks in the deck, and you want to get them. If you get one of the two-eyed Jacks you have a wild card and can recklessly put a chip wherever you so choose (on the board.) If you have a one-eyed Jack it means that you can be rude and remove one of your opponents chips.
The fundamentals of the game are as simple as just listed.
The game is made for ages 7 and up, and that caused the 9 again instead of 10. I rated it as such simply because I've played this game with several 7-year-olds and while they like the game, all of them have at several points confused the suits of the cards, and forgotten that the cards appear twice on the game board. If they had listed the playing age as 9 or 10 and up, then I would have given the ease of play 10 points without a second thought.
Game Play (The Challenge) 8 out of 10
So I've told you all about the game but I still haven't told you how to win. Imagine Connect 4 - The only difference is that this is Connect 5.
The entire point of play is to obtain two Sequences.
A "Sequence" is when you get 5 of your chips in a row, which can be challenging with your opponents trying to block you or remove your chips whenever they can.
Rest assured though, once you get a sequence it can not be undone before you get your second sequence by someone removing a chip. Let this also serve as a friendly reminder to all those people with a one-eyed Jack - Remove your opponents chips BEFORE they get a Sequence
Now the reason I gave this portion an 8 out of 10 is because while much of the game is skill and strategy, there is still a certain element of luck provided by only being able to place chips places that match a card you happened to get. Chess for example is 100% reliant on your skill. You have the same pieces which move the same way every single time so if you lose its because of you, where in Sequence even when you play a great game you can still lose to someone with a good draw.
Game Play (Fun): 9 out of 10
On the grand scale of fun, this is not a "Party" game that is filled with innuendos, laughing, and such other crazy antics, but it is a completely addictive Family game.
If I play one game of Sequence you can pretty much assume I am going to play 10 games.
The game play is challenging, quick and you are always ready for "one more" game - in my book that makes the game pretty darn fun.
Overall Game: 10 out of 10
I would recommend this game to anyone. Everyone I know who owns or has played this game loves it.
The game box reads "It's Fun. It's Challenging. It's Exciting. It's Sequence." and when you've played it completely makes sense.
I have to admit, when this game was first brought to my home by a friend I didn't play it because it looked boring. As a matter of fact - the first 10 or 20 times it was brought to my house by people insisting it was a "barrel of monkeys," I still wouldn't play it - and I and love games. The game just looked like a bad 1980's game. After I played I fell in love with Sequence.
With full confidence that anyone who plays will enjoy this game I recommend that you run to you local Target (or any such store) and pick up Sequence for just $14.99.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 14.99
Type of Toy: Game
Age Range of Child: Whole Family
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
LaurenMarie
|
|
Location: Virginia
Reviews written: 64
Trusted by: 175 members
About Me:
I don't do repeat performances. I don't do repeat performances.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.