Making it up as you go along
RUINS
Designer: John D. Clair | Publisher: Allplay
Climbing and shedding card games have a rich tradition. From Old Maid (in the West) through to Tichu and Scout, and even the mass market Uno, it’s proven to be a winning mechanism. Games revolve around playing (shedding) all of your cards by matching or beating the combination played by the previous player (climbing). As with trick-taking games, designers have come up with a huge array of bells and whistles to up the ante, and Ruins has a nice new take on the concept.
One caveat: it’s a new take as long as you haven’t played Custom Heroes, as it’s a reimplementation of that game. The important differences here will become apparent below, but overall, I’d say the changes (unless you loved the theme) are overwhelmingly positive. The treasure-hunting motif is just pasted on, but the artwork is pleasing, even if the icons are a little too small.