USD ($)
EUR (€)
Suspend
You could earn
1759 Victory Points
with this purchase
Related Products
Description
A family game of tricky hangs and steady hands! Try this hanging balance game and you'll be hooked! Suspend comes with 24 notched, rubber-tipped wire pieces to hang from a tabletop stand. Sound easy? Try adding another piece! Each time a bar is added, the balance shifts, the difficulty changes and the incredible midair sculpture transforms. Can you add all your game pieces without making it fall? This tricky game for 1-4 players is a test of steady nerves and steady hands.
Details
An exciting balance game for 1-4 players
Includes 24 game rods, wooden base, 4 frame rods, colored die and wooden connector.
Exciting to play as a group
An intriguing challenge when played alone
Develops hand-eye coordination, cognitive skills and interpersonal skills
Usually this is the section where I would write some sort of esoteric introduction to a game, put a spin on a game’s theme, build some atmosphere, or just downright write something stupid. All of this is done with you, as the reader in mind. My job here is to entertain, as well as to inform. But honestly, this game is about balancing metal sticks on each other. There is a limit, even for myself, to the amount of context that can be stretched.
That being said, there is a beauty in the small and snappy. And that reflects perfectly to Suspend itself.
“To Keep Your Balance, You Must Keep Moving” – Albert Einstein – The Legend
Suspend is a remarkably simple game. It can be played in less than 10 minutes. With that in mind, this might end up being the smallest review I have ever written for Zatu.
You start the game by setting up the frame in which you will be placing your metal sticks. Then you take turns in rolling a coloured dice and placing the represented coloured pole. It is that simple. If any other metal rods fall off the structure on your turn then you have to take them and add them to your supply. And of course, the aim of the game is to get rid of your supply of metal. There you go, there is a “How to Play” guide all bundled up inside a review for you too. At no extra cost!
Each of the rods have little divots in them. In order to place a rod, you must link one of the divots on the piece you are placing with any that are currently free on the built structure. I think. The rules are simply a couple of sentences long and are very open to interpretation. Other than that, there are no real rule or stipulations to follow (I think). Just be good at balancing!
“A Steady Hand Goes A Long Way” – Dan Hilton – The Real Legend
As much as Suspend is simple, there is plenty of reasons to recommend it. Dexterity games as a whole are the easiest ones to get people to play. They are by design, the most approachable. They offer intuitive game mechanics that anyone can understand and enjoy. This makes them easy for players of any age and skill level. Suspend may not be the most amazing dexterity game to have ever graced my battered tabletop. But hey, it brings smiles to every group I have played it with so far. And that is all you can ever truly hope for from a game.
I have played this game with my university friends, my family and with a friend who prefers big and heavy games. Everyone always comes out of it with a smile. I think this is because of how simple the game is and how quick the game can be played. Whilst I don’t have any young ones in my family, I can see it being easily accessible for them too. There is also a plastic version of Suspend for very young gamers. It also has pretty undeniable table presence.
“A Heavy Hand Brings It All Down” – Dan Hilton – Losing His Marbles
Not every game is perfect. In fact, I am yet to find one that is. Suspend comes with it a sprinkling of annoyances. But most of which are purely cosmetic and have no bearing on the gameplay. It comes in a plastic tube. Which simply looks absurd and can be hard to handle when packing the game away. There are also two colours that look very similar to each other that can be a bit of an annoyance.
The rule book also doubles as the cover sheet for the plastic tube. And whilst it is written in almost every language ever conceived, the rules don’t exactly describe the game very well. Luckily, it isn’t exactly a game that you need a degree in rocket science to understand.
The Verdict To End All Verdicts
Suspend is a small game. It is easy to play, approachable by anyone and plays in a crazily small amount of time. Even though it comes in a horrible, HORRIBLE plastic tube, it is impossible not to recommend this game. Especially if you are a fan of dexterity games, or in the market for a game to play with the family. Its also crazy cheap. The world could benefit from more cheap dexterity games. As long as they don’t all come in a plastic tube.
I love games that fit in my pocket. Small boxes of fun that I can take out and about. And Squire for Hire is exactly that; a pick it up, pocket it, and play anywhere type game!
A fellow blogger has already given their thoughts on their experiences, but how do you play the super inventory management game, Squire for Hire? Well, I am here to give you a brief run-down so that you (and a fellow gamer if you’re in the mood to share!) can hit the table running if you decide to dive in!
Set Up
As with almost all micro games, set up is a breeze!
Unwrap the cards and separate the Squire cards from the 18 double sided Story/Loot cards. There are 4 unique Squires in the base set, and each one has a special ability. Usually this relates to how “junk” is valued at the end of the game, and they award bonus points for being able to pair specific items when placing them in your bag.
For example, GUST focuses on weapons. He boosts points for placing swords and bows adjacently, and increases the size of your weapon Loot (which helps when deciding if you can complete a Story without “using” an item – see more below). GUST also turns skulls (which would normally be junk) into point scoring items at end game.
Once both players have been given a random Squire, deal 2 Loot cards to each, placing the remaining cards Story side up in a deck in the centre. Choose one from the 2 dealt – that is the beginning of your own bag – then shuffle the discarded ones back into the deck. Flip over the top two cards of the Story deck to show the Loot side and place one either side of the Story deck.
Load Up
Each round, players will take it in turns to look at the Story on the top of the deck. On your turn, you can decide if you want to complete the Quest/Encounter/Dungeon by either (a) having the required amount and type of Loot in your bag already, or (b) by covering up the specific item shown on the Story card with an item shown on one of the two cards available (this is called “use an item”).
You can cover up more than just the specific item required. And this new card must be placed so that one item on your original card is completely covered by an item on your new card. The item you cover up can’t be “junk” like skulls, apple cores, glasses etc (although you can cover these up too). If you get in a muddle between Loot and Junk, the rules list them out. Junk is basically anything in a shaded box.
As each card is divided into squares, it’s easiest to count the number of squares each item takes up and then make sure your new item goes over the required amount of squares taken up by the item to be covered.
Note that if you already have the required amount of loot to complete that Story card in your bag, you can pick either one of the two cards and place it anywhere. But you must still completely cover at least one complete item or junk in your bag with an item shown on the new card.
Handy Hint: don’t forget to check your Squire card as they boost the “value” of specific items as well as tell you the bonus points you’ll achieve if you can place adjacent pairs of specific items together (or even collect certain junk items)!
If you can’t complete the Story (or you don’t want to), you must pass, and that Story card is flipped over to the Loot side. Then you choose to which of the two piles it will be added (covering up the Loot card underneath if any). Note that if you don’t or can’t complete a Dungeon Story, your opponent gets a chance to complete it. But if neither player can or wants to, it gets flipped in the usual way and added to whichever pile you decide.
When the Story deck runs out, take back the two piles and shuffle them to form a new deck and continue to play. When only 3 cards remain, flip one as the final story and place the other two either side. If only one card is left and it’s your turn, you can take it for free and just add it to your bag.
Then it’s scoring time! Each visible item (weapon, armour, magic, valuable or potion) in your bag scores one point and each junk item is a minus point. Double points are awarded for adjacent pairs (no diagonals allowed), and check your Squire for point scoring combos as they enhance and modify the value of specific items based on their special ability!
Solo Squires
The solo rules for Squire for Hire are exactly the same – each turn you decide if you are going to complete the Story and add items to your bag, covering up items and junk already lurking in there! The only difference is that the winning condition for the solo game is that you must achieve a minimum score of 25 points in order to be hired as a Squire!
I hope this helps your first go at Squire for Hire!
Zatu Score
You might like
- Cheap dexterity game
- Great for pretty much any group
- Super-fast game play time
- Great table presence
Might not like
- 2 colours look very similar
- Comes in a plastic tube
- Mainly plays either 2 or 4 players