Image Courtesy of BigWoo
This review continues my series of detailed reviews that attempt to be part review, part resource for anyone not totally familiar with the game. For this reason I expect readers to skip to the sections that are of most interest.
If you liked the review please thumb the top of the article so others have a better chance of seeing it and I know you stopped by. If you thumb the bottom as well, I consider that a bonus. Thanks for reading.
Summary
Game Type – Card Game
Play Time: 45-60 minutes
Number of Players: 4 Players
Mechanics – Ladder Climbing, Hand Management, Team Play, Trick Taking
Difficulty – Moderate (Rules cause difficulties and takes many plays to do well)
Components – Very Good
Artists – <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>, <PERSON>
Release – 1991
Designer – <PERSON> -(All things <PERSON>, Cosmic Eidex, Kremlin)
Overview and Theme
Few games can really attain the title of 'classic'. To gain this honour a game generally has to define a new genre, be a worldwide best seller or be around for a very long time. For all the plaudits Gloomhavenhas received over the past few years, it cannot lay claim to this standard...at least not yet. Tichu however holds its head high when described as a 'classic' and is held in equally high regards by gamers all around the world.
For that reason I almost feel the need to pay reverence to this title. That pressure is felt even more when I look back on one of my early reviews (2007) that pretty much got the very nature of the game so wrong (from a definition sense anyway). I was suitably schooled for referring to the game as a trick-taking game and it reminds me of my humble beginnings.
Tichu is loved by many all around the world (103,000 plays on BGG is huge for a pure card game and only just bests it with 114K plays). Whilst games like and have five to six times this number of plays, I suspect that many Tichu players would not be regular BGG users or record their plays when compared to those titles (app plays would also be a feature for those other games). 470
Tichu can also be found in as many editions and customised forms as there are strategic decisions to be had within a single game.
Tichu is best defined as a 'ladder climbing' game. That means that whilst cards are played to a single set of cards within a round (which could loosely be called tricks) the defining principal is that the players are restricted to following the type of lead made (only a 3-of-a-kind can be played on another 3-of-a-kind and it must be higher in value to what has been played previously). This is just one example. In addition Tichu is also a 'shedding' game. This term refers to the fact that the players are trying to get rid of the cards in their hand, preferably before anyone else can achieve the same feat.
In relation to Trick Taking, Ladder Climbing follows the same principal as following suit, except suit is replaced by following the lead type (single card, straight of a given length, full house, pair etc).
Beyond all that Tichu is, I think, the ultimate team (pairs game) in tabletop gaming (at least in relation to card play). I don't think anything else comes close. Other releases have tried to play with the Tichu formula, some have tried to replicate its core at different player counts, but none have captured the lightning in a bottle that is Tichu. The game is approaching its 30th anniversary in 2021, although some will point out that its design as we know it leans heavily on several games played in China.
If you are not familiar with Tichu...you are in for a treat. If you are then please have a pleasant read and make sure I get it right. My plan here is not to just outline the game but to try and convey the strategic depth of the game and what makes it so enjoyable to play.
Despite its popularity I wouldn't be surprised if a number of readers are not familiar with it.
Let me use my esp skills...play the Dragon now...now damn you partner!
The Components
Tichu can be found around the world with all sorts of Publisher and Distributor names on the box lid. It comes in many forms from standard cardboard offerings to metal tins and collector edition tins.
For this section I will be simply covering the common elements of the game and my personal copy is the classic \ tuck-box edition. 755