Spree! (Classic Edition)
From: Cheapass Games
Reviewed by: Ron McClung
Spree! (Classic Edition) is a new Board Game from Cheapass Games.
There is nothing like a cool game that costs less than $5. Cheapass specializes in these games. One of those games, Spree!, is a pretty cool little game.
From the front cover : “It’s a little like shopping”
In a small white envelope, in true Cheapass fashion, you are given a rulebook and four cardstock game boards that fit together to make a mall (complete with stores) containing playing card symbols and numbers. You supply the game pieces and two standard playing card decks (which are shuffled together). The concept of the game is you are a group of people robbing a mall. It is a mad race to see who can fill their car first. It is a competition and it can get nasty, so everyone is armed. Everyone has a car outside the mall and a shopping cart or wagon to fill full of stuff. The board when put together is a mall that contains stores. Inside the stores are symbols representing playing cards in individual squares. These represent products in the store that players shop for.
Game setup is fairly simple. Everyone gets a hand of five cards. In randomly determined order, each player places their car somewhere outside the mall in designated parking spaces. There is a certain strategy to where you place your car, based on the card hand you start with. Play starts with the last character to place.
A game turn entails replenishing your cards at the start of your turn and performing three actions in between – Move, Shop, and Shoot. Movement is determined via dice, and you can move any, all, or none of the value. You Shop by playing cards based on how you move your pawn. You gain a card for every card symbol you move through that matches what you have in your hand. Once you pass over the card symbol and play the card, it is considered to be in your shopping cart or wagon.
Shooting is also simple and pretty ingenious. It uses one die, the range to target, and a simple resolution system – if you roll the range or more, you hit and if you do not, you miss. So basically all weapons have range 6. Hit players are incapacitated and the successful attacker gains a turn. If the attacker misses, he is incapacitated. Any incapacitated player can not play cards that turn.
Players can also steal from each other. You do this like shopping by moving through the characters space, but you don’t have to match the suit. All you have to do is match the value. This card is discarded and the target cards or cards that match in value go into your cart. This turns the game into a particular nasty one. There are some special cards that effect movement and defend against stealing which really add variety. The Ace has several functions that players would find handy.
The Car is the place you store your items. Once they are in the Car, they are safe from stealing. Once you reach your car, you unload your cart and tally your score, discarding the cards. You will probably do this multiple times until someone reaches the predefined limit. Suggested limits are presented based on number of players.
In conclusion, this is a fun little game with lots of potential. I was already picturing ways to expand this and make it even more fun, like characters with special abilities, etc. It’s fast paced and easy to play. Very cool little game.
For more details on Cheapass Games and their new Board Game “Spree! (Classic Edition)” check them out at their website http://www.cheapass.com, and at all of your local game stores.
Spree! (Classic Edition)
From:Cheapass Games
Type of Game:Board Game
Written by:James Ernest
Game Design by:James Ernest
Developed by:James Ernest
Cover and Additonal Art by:Phil Foglio
Number of Pages:4
Game Components Included:Spree! (Classic Edition) boards and rule book
Game Components NotIncluded:pawns for the players and their cars, 2 six-sided dice, two standard poker decks of cards with jokers, and a way to keep score
Retail Price:$ 3.50 (US)
Number of Players:3-8
Play Time:1 hour
Item Number:CAG 005
Website:www.cheapass,com
Reviewed by: Ron McClung