6 Nimmt! Jubilee Edition Review

6 Nimmt! Has been around for a long time. Longer than most seem to realise. Having several iterations and editions over the years (from Take 5, Slide 5, X Nimmt! Etc) and after reaching its 30th birthday, it was time for a celebration. And that Celebration takes the form of the Jubilee Edition.

So, what is so special about this version of 6 Nimmt!? Is the game for you? Is it worth upgrading from the standard edition? Why did nobody give you a jubilee celebration for your 30th birthday? I will answer these below. Well, most of those questions at least.

If you have stumbled onto this review without knowing what 6 Nimmt! is, (I am just going to type this without the exclamation from now or my word processer will get mad at me) then do not panic. It is an incredibly simple game that plays best with a group of players. You will have a hand of 10 cards all that have a unique number between 1 and 104. There will be 4 cards placed on the table under each other to set up 4 rows. Every player plays one card simultaneously. These cards are then arranged in ascending order. Then one by one, starting from the lowest, each card will join one of the rows that is closest in ascending order to what is on display.

For example, if a played card is a 62 and the 4 cards on the rows are 3, 97, 59 and 63 then it will slide into position next to the 59. When a card joins a row, then it then becomes the active card in the row. Everyone’s cards are placed in the rows like this in order, then if ever your card is the 6th card in the row, you have to collect the other 5 cards. They are placed in front of you. The card you placed then slides to the far left and becomes the active card for that row. After 10 rounds have passed and all cards have played, the player with the least bull symbols on their collected cards wins.

The rules are simple. The game plays quickly. It works great for a party or even a drinking game. The more you play it the more intricacies you will discover within its simplicity. There are even variants to delve into if the main game becomes a little stale.

I was a little bit confused at first that 6 Nimmt was celebrating a jubilee edition at the same time as Saboteur. This is because one is 20 years old and one is 30 years old. It turns out that a jubilee is just a term for any kind of anniversary celebration. Who knew. It is also an X-Men character, but that is neither here nor there.

In the box for the jubilee edition there are some extra goodies for those who are familiar with the original game. This is the cards needed to play 5 new variants of the base game. This also includes a way to play this game cooperatively. The thing that I love about this is that these variants were all created by fans of the game over the years. This is such a fantastic way to give back to the people who have enjoyed 6 Nimmt for so long. Making their own ways of playing the game official and giving them their own cards and rule sets. It reminds me of when commander first became popular in the world of Magic the Gathering. Commander was a unique way to play that became so popular that Wizards of the Coast actually started supporting it with cards that work best in commander and included it in tournaments.

This section will go over the new variants included in the game for those of you who are familiar with the base game and the variants already included in that.

Even/Odd: After set-up, place the even/odd card on the left of the card with the lowest value. Even side if it is even and odd side if it is odd. Cards of the specified value (odd or even) are the only ones that can be placed in that row. When the row is filled, the special card moves and the game continues.

Mountain Climbing: After set-up, place the mountain climbing card on the left of the fourth row showing the up arrow. Instead, cards being placed in ascending order, they are played in descending order for that row. After any row is filled and collected, the special card moves up by one row. When it reaches the top it is flipped over and moved back down the rows.

The Jumping Cow: After set-up, place the jumping cow card to the right of the card with the lowest number. Placing a card in the row with the jumping cow card sees the card moving to the row with the lowest number as its active card. This card does count as a card in the row, so it is possible to fill several rows instead of just one.

Flippin’ Digits: During set-up, everyone also gets a special flippin’ card that gets added to their hand of 10 number cards. This special card can be played alongside one of your number cards to flip its digits. For example, a 52 becomes a 25. The card is played as its flipped value but when it is placed in the row it becomes its original value again.

Beat the Buffalo: This is an entirely new way to play the game. This introduces a cooperative element to the game. It introduces a dummy character that you and any other players will be playing against that has access to special cards to make the game different each time you play.

Are the extra included variants worth upgrading to the newer edition if you already own the original? If you love this game then absolutely. The variants may be simple in design, but they add little sprinkles of interest to the game. If you own the game but don’t play it very often then I don’t think there is enough here that will make you want to pull it out any more than you already do. What I can say for certainty though is that I have had a lot of fun with the original and have no issue upgrading to this new edition. I also think that this edition is easily the go to choice for those looking to pick 6 Nimmt up for the first time.

I really like what Amigo is doing with the Jubilee editions of their games. This and the Jubilee Edition of Saboteur are like little swan songs developed for the gamers that love the products. Whilst I enjoy both of theses little card games, I do wish they had taken the time to update the artwork on both of them. Updated artwork would have done wonders to get the games in front of more gamers. This would have really made the celebration feel like something truly special.

I give special credit for the rulebook for 6 Nimmt’s Jubilee Edition rule book. Not only does it explain everything so well, but it also credits the individual people who created each of the new variants.

If you have been looking for a new party game for your group, your base edition of 6 Nimmt (or any of its many iterations over the years), or you just need a little game to add to your basket to round out your order a little; then you can not go wrong with 6 Nimmt! Jubilee Edition.