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Coloretto
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Description
Coloretto, like many traditional card games, revolves around set collection. Here, two to five players are each attempting to gather chameleons of varying, vivid colours. The more, say, blue chameleons you've collected come the end of the game, the more points you'll earn.
On your turn, you either flip over the top card and add it to a row (there are as many rows as there are players, and each row can hold up to three cards each). Or, you claim an entire row of cards for yourself, upon which your participation in the round is over, until all players have claimed one row each.
There are two superb twists in Coloretto. First: all of your collected cards sit face-up in front of you, so what you're collecting is public knowledge. And second: despite there being seven different colours of camouflage-loving lizards available, you're only allowed to score three different types. Any additional sets that you've inadvertently acquired will be added up as negative points against your score come the end.
This leads to superb player interaction. When the top card is flipped, the active player scans the table for who might be collecting that colour. Then, wearing a sly grin, they'll place it in a row alongside colours that's the most inconvenient for everyone else. This could, of course, come back around to bite them in the backside, because there is an element of push-your-luck here, too. They themselves might be forced to pick up that unattractive row of cards, if everyone else opts to claim the other rows, first.
Coloretto was designed by Michael Schacht, and this was the start of his -etto series of games. Zooloretto, Aquaretto and Zooloretto: The Dice Game are all variants of the mechanisms on show in Coloretto (placing animals into communal sets and then picking which group to claim). Coloretto summarises this technique at its purest - it's
the easiest to explain; you'll be up and playing within two to three minutes of taking it out of the box.
A game of Coloretto lasts for about 15-20 minutes, fitting into that magical 'let's play that again' category. There are two different ways to score for variety, both of which forces players to adapt their strategies. Does it reward the cautious, or the gambler within? Only you can make that judgement call...
Player Count: 2-5
Time: 15-20 Minutes
Age: 8+
Karma, Karma, Karma, Karma, Karma Chameleon
Coloretto is one of the simplest card games outside of Uno. But unlike the famous trick taking game, here it is all about set collecting brightly coloured lizards. What makes this game so simple is you only ever have two options. One, you can flip a card and place it in one of the pre designated ‘place holders’. Two, you take one of the afore mentioned place holders and any cards already stacked there. Easy! To setup the game you merely place one place holder card per player, shuffle the deck of colourful chameleons and add the “Last Round” card on the bottom section. Drawing of this card will trigger the end of the game. In the deck you have seven suits plus a few wild cards. You will also get a handful of “+2” cards for end game scoring, which I will get to soon. Designer, Michael Schacht has created a really tight game which can be taught in two minutes offers more thought and bite than may first appear.
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
The main purpose of the game is to get as many points as possible and there are only two ways to score points but one major one to lose them too. Once the “Last Round” card is drawn, that final round is played through to the end and scoring will commence. You will only score for three of the colours you have managed to collect and all wild cards must be assigned to one of the stacks before scoring. There is a handy little score card that tells you what each amount of cards is work. For example, 1 may only be worth 1 but 2 is worth 3 and 3 worth 6 right up to 6+ which will get you a whopping 21 points.
This is all very exciting, however the twist here is that any other colours you have will lose you points instead. So you have to be vary careful not to collect past those three suits. This of course is impossible, as cards and stacks will lumber you with colours you don’t want as the compromise of collecting the ones you are focussed on. This is where the real tension of the game comes into play.
When you flip cards and add them to place holders you want to make sure you are creating stacks that are appealing to you and not other players. With everyone’s cards on show you are always aware of who is collecting what and so being tactical in your placement is where the game is at. You also have to be careful not to make any one stack so appealing that another player will pick it up before you have a chance to nab it on your next turn. Another great dynamic is the lack of card counting. Despite knowing how many of each colour chameleon are in the deck, the placement of the last round card near the bottom, means that there will always be cards that never come into play.
Invisible Touch
For those who have a grasp on the game, there is an alternate version which scores very differently. This ‘grey’ scoring track, also available on handy score cards for everyone, makes the game much harder. The most you can score is 8 points per colour but this is for 3 cards. After that the points start to go down again with 6+ only getting you 5. This makes for a much tighter fight for colours and offers opportunities to make your opponents take cards that will lower their points for their three main chosen colours. There is also a two player variant that takes two suits out of the deck and creates variable place holders. Sadly this doesn’t create nearly the tension and interest that a 3+ player game does.
Coloretto is simple fun and a great filler game that suits any age. However, it also adds a little more depth for those who want a little more bite.
Zatu Score
You might like
- Fast paced
- Easy to learn
- Colourful table presence
Might not like
- Very simple
- Doesnt play well at two players
- Better at the higher player count