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I often have to make snap judgements about games I'm offered to review. There is no science to this and I'm sure I have turned down some really good games. Quirk! is a game I almost turned down. I was super busy at the time and not sure I would get it played. I showed my son the video and he said he wanted to try it, and so it came to pass that I avoided missing out on a great family game.
Quirk!
Designed by one person studio Emma May, it's easy to see Quirk's rough edges, though the individual art work is great the cards and graphic design is sparse, especially compared with other card games. The first version rules had some crucial elements missing. However, what Quirk! lacks in polish, it more than makes up for with it's charm.
Quirk is a simple game of set collection using the Go Fish idea. In your hand you will have green cards with various animals and such drawn on them. You are looking to collect all three of each set which are then placed on the table as a quirk, the player with the most quirks wins. However you can only ask for a card if you have at least one copy in your hand, which of course reveals vital information to everyone else.
The quirk of the game is that to ask for a card you must act it out. This simple process makes it a game that has clicked with families and child 100% of the time I have tried it. You quickly settle into your own subconsciously agreed impressions which makes it extra hilarious when a new player joins who does their own impressions which confuse and impress in equal measure.
Added to the green quirk cards are red cards that can be used to steal quirks, orange cards which can block a steal attempt and blue cards which can be used to skip someone's go - very handy when you are worried they just picked up the card you need!
Quirky!
Quirk! quickly became one of my family's most played games, only recently dropping down a spot to the soloable NMBR 9. Some critics will tell you the game is too lucky and to that I say that my son consistently wins this game. I mean seriously - it's ridiculous. I'd love to claim that I was letting him win, but I'm not and these aren't close affairs either - he destroys me on a regular basis.
While Quirk claims a 2-6 player count, it's probably more accurate to say 3-6, as at two players there is less memory aspect to it and no choice. At three players it's good enough to be the most played game for my family by a long way, and it shines when you add more players.
Games are meant to be fun, it's sometimes easy to forget that in this miniature laden, stretch goal improved, plastic haven we call modern board games. And while there is absolutely nothing wrong with shiny games, there does need to be a game underneath all the bells and whistles. In terms of fun factor Quirk! is a real winner and worth picking up for any family.
