One part Hearts, two parts Clue, this card game is the best of both worlds. Can you figure out who has the lowest scoring hand, when nobody can even look at their own cards? Cabo is a great first offering from small publisher Eventide Games. It hits the sweet spot of mass appeal by merging family friendly yet offbeat art with rules that are deep enough to provide a mental challenge. This is not a kids game, but it sure looks like one.
Overview: One part Hearts, two parts Clue, this card game is the best of both worlds. Can you figure out who has the lowest scoring hand, when nobody can even look at their own cards?
Players: 2-5, expandable to 6+ with extra decks.
Ages: 8 and up.
Playing Time: 30+ minutes
Rating: Cabo is a great first offering from small publisher Eventide Games. It hits the sweet spot of mass appeal by merging family friendly yet offbeat art with rules that are deep enough to provide a mental challenge. This is not a kids game, but it sure looks like one.
Who Will Like It: Fans of deduction board games such as Clue or Mystery Express, who are looking for an on-the-go substitute. Families that are into card games and looking to introduce the concepts of logic and reasoning via play.
Gameplay: Games of Cabo are played over the course of several rounds where players will try to minimize the value of their 4-card hand. Following each round, the losers will receive penalty points based on the cards left in their hands. Once a player hits 100 penalty points, the player with the lowest score wins the game. The catch is that players only get to look at two of their four cards, and then must keep them face down for the rest of the round. No peeking!
During any turn, a player has the choice of the following three actions:
Draw a card from the deck. The card can be used or discarded. Sometimes, “choice” cards will be drawn, which can be immediately discarded to peek at a card or swap cards with another player.
Draw the top card from the discard pile. The card can replace any of the four cards in your hand, which in turn must be discarded.
Call “Cabo”. If a player thinks that they have the lowest scoring hand, they can call “Cabo” to end the round. There is a penalty for performing this action if you do not actually have the lowest hand.
In the process of swapping or discarding cards, matching cards can always be treated as a single card, allowing an avenue for players to trash high-point combos using 2-for-1 or 3-for-1 moves. You can even force these combos onto other players if you draw a swap card. There’s also some opportunity to “shoot the moon”. Any player who ends a round with two 12s and both 13s (a very risky feat) will receive 0 points while all other players receive 50. Also, if the player who causes the game to ends can finish with exactly 100 points, their score will be reduced to 50 points.
Components: With 52 total cards, Cabo is packaged in a standard card deck case, meaning this game is easy to toss in your pocket and bring along for some spontaneous play. One of the selling points of this game is the beautifully illustrated cards from Adam Peele. Don’t believe your eyes, you are not playing Dixit, but to draw such a comparison is surely a compliment.
Conclusion: The whole game is really based around the fact that you don’t know all of the cards in your own hand. However, you can try to deduce how others are doing based on the moves they make and the cards they take. For example, the value of the top card in the discard pile is completely relative to your current situation, so if you see other players valuing them more than you, it may be time to call “Cabo!” This one little mechanic makes the game a whole lot of fun.
Cabo is the sort of game that could be played with a modified deck of traditional cards, but if you went that route, you’d be missing out on all of the quirky fun. The game retails for $8.99 and is available for purchase online at the Eventide website. When compared to the heavy hitters of the card game industry Munchkin ($20), Fluxx ($16) or booster packs of any collectible card game (two month’s pay), this game sits in a great low-budget sweet spot.
Disclaimer: GeekDad received a review copy of this game
