If your group has caught the trick-taking bug that has swept board gaming over the past few years, here is a fresh one to hunt down. Trick to the Future is a small-box trick-taker from Taiki Shinzawa, and its clever hook is time travel. You spend fuel to bend the timeline, and one jump too many leaves you stranded.
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Start organising for freeEvery trick you win counts as a successful jump through time and scores you points, with bonus points for the spent fuel rods you leave behind. The catch is the fuel itself. Spend it to change the value of a card and swing a trick your way, but if you finish a round having won more tricks than you have unspent fuel left, you are lost in time and score nothing. It is a lovely bit of tension, because winning too greedily is how you strand yourself. Three rounds in, the traveller with the most points takes it.
Shinzawa is one of the most inventive designers working in trick-taking today. He is the mind behind Luz, where you can see everyone's cards but your own, and the climbing game Maskmen, so a Shinzawa release tends to try something the genre has not done before. Published by GameHead, Trick to the Future is a quick game for two to five players, available now in a small box for around $20.
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Set up your group for freeTrick-takers are the perfect filler for a game night, quick to teach, easy to slot between heavier games and endlessly replayable. If you are after more people to shuffle through a hand with, round up a local game night. This one looks set to earn a spot in the rotation.
Sources: GameHead | Don't Eat the Meeples | BoardGameGeek
