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Gamewright (the creators of Zeus on the loose) never cease to amaze me with the quality games they bring to the marketplace. I’m starting to build quite a collection of their products now and Zeus on the Loose is another wonderful game.
Zeus on the Loose is a card game where players aim to control Zeus at the end of a round. The creators note the game is to sharpen strategic thinking and build on addition and subtraction skills. It is a game that is definitely suitable for all, but really would help primary skill children work on their mental arithmetic abilities.
Zeus - King of the Gods
As noted before. The aim is to be in control of Zeus at the end of the round. For the player that does this they gain a letter. The aim is to spell Zeus. So if you win your first round, you get the Z, the 3rd round would be a U. This is a little over complicated for me. You could just say first to win 4 rounds and score 1, 2, 3, 4.
The game is for 2-5 players. Each player is dealt 4 cards to make their hand up. The game notes the player whose name is closest to Z starts and away you go. There is a little Zeus mini that starts in the middle of the table. This is what you want to be holding at the end of the round to gain the letter.
Each round is played up to 100. Cards have either the numbers 1 through to 10 printed on them or they are a God card (another greek god). Players on their turn play a card and then draw a card back up to a hand of 4. You have to keep count from here as you add on the go. The God cards have special abilities that will change where the round is at.
Players can make sneak plays. If a 4 has been played, someone with a 4 can play out of turn on top of this if it works for them, plus, they instantly take Zeus.
At the end, if you play the card that crosses 100 on the score, the round ends and whoever has Zeus scores a point. If you land perfectly on 100, the round ends and the player who did this steals loose and they score. If the draw pile runs out, the round ends and the player with Zeus wins the round. Note, if you play a matching number card that exceeds 100, you steal Zeus and win the round.
I’m not going to spoil and relay the 8 different god abilities, just know in classic Gamewright style they make a splendid mess of things and really mix the game up. They’re awesome.
Climbing Olympus.
This game is so much fun and is great for families. I’m so impressed with it. The art work is also right on point and everything you would expect from Gamewright. It’s vibrant and colourful and the little Zeus mini is also pretty cool. He will also get passed around a lot. Zeus changes hands many times every round so you need to be on the ball with your strategy and how you will be the player at the end holding on to him to score the round win.
There’s also flexibility in the game depending on how many players you have and how long you want to go for. You can increase or decrease the amount of rounds needed to win depending on how long a game you want to make it. This has been fun to try out. So you may lose the round but you have not lost the game, simply reset and go again.
It’s another game that will regularly slip into our holiday games. It needs minimal space to play making it a great choice to have whilst away from home. Gamewright are excellent at creating games for travelling with and have successfully done it again here.
Who might not appreciate this?
If a player isn’t quick with their maths they may find this one a touch frustrating. It is a fast paced game and you have to be thinking ahead on the score also on what could be your best interest here. You don’t want to play a card that opens up the way for one of your opponents to steal a round and a score. So, this could frustrate someone.
Equally, if you are someone who doesn’t appreciate a game significantly changing on the play of a single card because it ruins your strategy, it may not be for you. If you are a serious and heavy gamer that likes control and detailed strategy, the flipping and flopping might frustrate you. This is not a serious game, but a very light game to share a lot of laughs over.
Final Thought.
Gamewright has another classic on offer here. Zeus on the loose is simple, fast and a lot of fun in a short time period. Perfect for families looking to game together.
