Pigasus

Is it a pig? Is it a giraffe? Why not both? Pigasus is a game of mixing, matching and mind-scrambling effort. Here is my review on whether or not Pigasus is worth your time and money.

I was first introduced to Pigasus not that long ago at a board game cafe; I was looking for a short, fast-paced game that would be done and dusted by the time our table ran out… in ten minutes. I chanced upon this in the card section and gave it a go.

The game

I’m not sure what attracted me to this game, exactly. The box didn’t stand out particularly; if anything, I thought it looked a bit like one of those educational toy kits where you can “build your own mini weather observatory” or “learn about making electrical circuits”. Not that there’s anything wrong with those kits, it just wasn’t what I was looking for with eight minutes on the clock.

Despite the fact it looked like it had arrived fresh from the Science Museum gift shop, the strange animals that encircled the pig with flying wings on the cover somewhat intrigued me. Also, the twenty minutes gameplay time it boasted, plus my delusion that everything takes half the time it should, meant that this was the one for me.

On another note, even until this very moment, I still can’t decide if I think the art style is cool or ugly. No hate on Reinis Pētersons who designed it; he is clearly a very talented artist with an extensive portfolio, but: is it to my taste? I’m not sure. I think my main issue with it is that the cards are quite simplistic: each card has an animal on a white background, and the back of them, also on white, has the same design as the front of the box. Visually, I find this game not that exciting, although it did grow on me the more I played.

The box contains a deck of cards with various animal combinations, an instruction booklet and the most unique item- a rubber duck-style pigasus.

Gameplay

Think glorified snap. Players take it in turn to place a card down somewhere on the table, revealing some strange mix of animals. You keep going until two cards reveal each part of the same two animals; for example, a pig-shark (a pig in the shape of a shark) and a shark-pig (a shark in the shape of a pig). Now, this is where the rubber pigasus comes in. The first player to notice the match must grab the pigasus, therefore removing those cards from the table and banking them as points. A misgrab results in your previously won matches being taken away from you. The game goes on like this until the deck is gone and the winner is crowned. Is there a tie? Not a problem. At the start, you set a recommended number of sixteen cards to one side, on the off chance that two or more players made the same number of matches.

That’s all there is to it. A super simple premise with just enough novelty to spark the interest of those not looking to get bogged down in something profound, or say, those with only seven minutes left on a table at a board game cafe. Timing wise, my inability to understand the movement of minutes (and, more realistically, the fast-paced nature of the game) succeeded once more; one game lasted just over five minutes, and we were out the door with thirty seconds to spare.

But… Is it fun?

I initially had quite low expectations for this game; maybe it was the unique art style, or the fact that on a surface level, it seemed like this could just as easily be played with a deck of cards. But the more I played, the more entertaining it became.

To begin, it took more brain power than expected to find matches. Not being familiar with what constitutes a match, it took us quite a while to find them, and to be honest, the first ten or so cards were met with blank stares. Eventually we started recognising some of the shapes, and it slowly (actually quite quickly, but not when you’re in a rush) became easier to spot matches. Once we had resolved a few debates on whether or not that snail was in the shape of an elephant or a gorilla- on reflection, they aren’t that similar, but it took me an embarrassing amount of time to get to grips with it- we were on fire, matching, grabbing and sliding cards left right and centre.

If we had time, we would have definitelyplayed more rounds. The game is snappy (if you’ll pardon the pun) and a bit of no-frills fun. Just match the silly creature to its friend and fast, because once you get the hang of it, so does everyone else. I have since then got my hands on another copy of Pigasus. Effectively creating a sense of good-spirited competition, it lived up to what I remember; that being said, I would imagine there comes a point where you learn the animals and their shapes too well, and it stops being quite as good.

I once had this obscure old card game called Wanted! which was similar to Pigasus in that there was a deck of cards with mismatched characters; this time, people to their professions. When the right person in the right profession came along, it would trigger some kind of response, like grabbing the offending card or putting your hands in the air, and it was my favourite game. The only problem was, no one wanted to play it with me, because I had learnt what the matches looked like and what response to give so well that no one else stood a chance. I could see this happening with Pigasus. Once you know exactly what you’re looking for, it could soon stop being just a bit of fun and more of a predictable routine. But hey, the rubber pig with wings is fun.

Summary

Pigasus is certainly a game with charm and works great for the odd game here and there. With a short playtime and suitable for kids and adults alike, it would fit in well in any Games Night- unless its participants don’t like to rely on their reflexes. Pigasus is slightly gimmicky and although I am mildly concerned for its longevity as far as card games go, it still makes for a fun, silly and fast-paced few minutes.