“Ok, campers, rise and shine, and don’t forget your booties cause it’s cold out there.”
Funko Games adds to its list of tabletop games based on popular film and TV franchises with Groundhog Day: The Game. Groundhog Day is a cooperative game for 2 to 6 players ages 10 and up. Working together without communicating, players attempt to build a perfect day by playing a series of 7 “Perfect” cards in ascending order, thereby breaking the cycle and winning the game.
Sounds easy, right?
That’s what we thought at first. In fact, due to a misreading of the rules, our initial play testing resulted in the game being way to easy. It’s funny how a half-dozen words can change everything. However, upon closer reading of the rules, the game turns out to be much more complex and complicated than originally thought.
Each “day” (round), players are dealt a number of cards as evenly distributed as possible. Without communicating, players must play 7 cards in ascending order. At the end of the “day”, the number of hearts on the cards are totaled. Any unused cards are returned and shuffled back into the deck. The groundhog moves forward, reducing the number of cards dealt the next “day”. On subsequent days, players play their 7 cards again. In addition to each day starting with fewer cards distributed among the players, each day’s total score must be higher than the day before.
Among the cards players are dealt are “Perfect” cards. At the start of the game, there are only 6 “Perfect” cards in play. Players must use “Unlock” cards to bring additional “Perfect” cards into the deck. Timing when to play “Unlock” and “Perfect” cards is tricky without communicating with your fellow players — play them too early and you might score too many points in a given day or exhaust the “Perfect” cards before you have enough in play to string together a “Perfect Day”, or run of 7 “Perfect” cards. Wait too long and you may run out of days or points to score.
Groundhog Day takes time to pick up and really learn the strategies to use to build the deck, unlock “Perfect” cards, and when to make a run at stringing together a “Perfect Day”. Changing out players adds another wrinkle, as each person must learn the game and players must learn one another’s playstyle, since all forms of communication except playing cards is forbidden once the game starts. As such, the game requires patience and rewards diligence, but know that younger or inexperienced players may frustrate more easily.
Right now, Groundhog Day is available on Amazon as both the stand alone game or as part of an Amazon-exclusive bundle that includes a flocked Punxsutawney Phil Funko Pop. Pick up the version that interests you and revisit Groundhog Day any time of the year.
Disclaimer: A copy of Groundhog Day: The Game was provided for review purposes.
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