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Slide certainly isn’t the type of game that I would usually choose to add to my collection. When reading the box I was honestly a little uninspired by the description that seemed to point toward a game based on mathematics and to be honest maths wasn’t really a favourite subject of mine. However there’s definitely something about the box that drew me in; the art is simple and the packaging exudes quality with a spot-varnish finish in places and splashes of vibrant colour. The box is robust and I particularly liked that the contents ‘slide’ from the box using the attached ribbon - nice touch.
Once opened, you are greeted by a basic leaflet containing short and simple instructions that are very easy to understand, a high-quality turn marker and a stack of square cards. The premise of Slide is remarkably simple - you shuffle the cards and deal 16 to each of the players to lay face down in a 4x4 grid before them. During a turn, players each choose a card from their grid and place it face down in a communal area at the centre of the playing space. Once each player has placed their card in the middle they are flipped and, starting with the active player and working clockwise, each takes a single card and slides it into their grid from the side before moving the active player marker onwards.
Once all cards have been flipped and played the game ends. Players remove any cards from their grid that are directly beside matching numbers. For the numerically dyslexic out there, fear not, each number is colourcoded so it’s easy at a glance to see where your pairs lie in order that you can remove them. The players finally count the value of the remaining cards and the lowest score wins.
Slide plays remarkably quickly. It can literally take 3 to 5 minutes if you’re working fast or around 8-10 minutes if you’re chatting or playing with younger children. This is a novelty for me. Most of my games take what can seem like an age just to set up! At first I didn’t know what I thought about having a game that played so quickly and where set up took only seconds. I was surprised to find that the quick playtime didn’t actually detract from the experience for me and I actually found in the end that it added value in the right environment. Slide is a game that you can pull from the shelf and get a couple of rounds of in 10 minutes between courses of a meal or while you’re waiting for a kettle to boil. But Is it good?
My first experience playing Slide was with my regular gaming group. It’s important to note that we’ve been playing very heavy games together for many years. Each of the players in the group are seasoned tabletop gamers and we have worked our way through many campaigns and countless gaming sessions where we have experienced lots of different game mechanics and game components over the years. In all honesty, with my gaming group, Slide felt a bit flat. The feedback from the group was that the game was too quick, that the cards weren’t of robust enough card stock to be long-lasting and could be prone to marking so that certain numbers may be recognisable. The wooden piece, whilst a nice touch, isn’t essential and nor is the high-quality box. My gaming group suggested that the expense dedicated to these non-essential elements of the game could’ve been better spent upgrading the cards. Fair comments. It was
even suggested that the cards could be replaced with acrylic tiles are similar like you would find in Azul, Bananagrams or Scrabble. Overall, the review score from the gamers was fairly low and Slide might not be the best game for such a group, especially not on game night.
Next, I played the game with my children that are 11 and 16. Whilst five years ago I think this would have been very well received, maybe they are just a little past the sweet spot in terms of age for playing the game. I actually think for children of 6 to 10 this would be a great game. It is fast enough that the children would not lose interest and it teaches some key concepts regarding thinking ahead, pushing your luck and basic strategy (for example taking a number that you know the person to your left needs and can use to match with something in the grid that is ideally positioned this round), not to mention that Slide involves the practice of rudimentary maths. Furthermore the colours are bold and the rules are simple - I definitely think this is a good game to have on the shelf if you have young children of your own or for when friends or relatives with younger children come to visit.
Finally, I played the game with a couple of friends that had came over for dinner. Although we have been friends for many years, these friends aren’t gamers. Well, they aren’t committed gamers. Although they may enjoy the odd game of Sushi Go when they come over and we inevitably play charades or Pictionary over the festive period, they are highly unlikely to join us for a more in-depth strategy game and certainly not anything that involves a campaign to play through over multiple sessions. I was truly shocked at how much Slide appealed to my friends and how keen they were to keep playing after the initial rounds. We probably ended up spending around 3/4 of an hour playing the game and chatting.
Once we finished, I asked what they thought and shared with them some of the thoughts of my Gaming group. I was very surprised at how different their opinions were. My non-gamer friends found the quality of the cards to be absolutely fine and really liked the wooden turn marker which they enjoyed sliding across the table to each other as the active player moved on. They particularly liked how quickly they could pick up the game in comparison to having to play for ages while I explained complicated rules - they loved that straight away they could see strategies and could try to trip-up the plans of those around them. If you have friends that aren’t heavy or committed gamers, Slide is certainly one to try with them.
In trying to rate Slide, I found this far more difficult than I initially thought. Although the fairly flimsy cards, the speed of play and the lack of any really deep or meaningful strategy is something that dedicated gamers may shy from, Slide is a very appealing option for more casual sessions after dinner with friends, with children or even on the go since it’s such a portable game. For such an affordable game, Slide is certainly something that you may want to consider adding to your collection or for picking up as a stocking filler or cheap gift for a younger relative.
