Meet Me at the Table: December Game-a-Day Challenge - Day 14: BraveRats

BraveRats (2011)

What sold me on this game was the fact that the rats were Scottish. My husband and I have such an affinity for Scotland after having lived there for 3 years that this felt like the perfect little special game for my husband's stocking.

Designed by Seiji Kanai, who is also responsible for bringing us Love Letters, BraveRats is a 2 player only game of dueling cards. The winner is the first person to win 4 rounds. Quick, fast, and fun! There are red rats and blue rats that are tribes. You lay your cards facedown and then reveal, following the instructions on the cards. Unlike 12 Days, which is also focuses on dueling cards, in BraveRats you want to have the higher card in order to win instead of the lowest card.

We played several rounds, just the two of us, and it played quick and fast. There isn't a great deal of strategy involved, as the game functions one some assumed knowledge of the cards in the other person's hand and trying to play to your advantage. It can get pretty funny when you play the same card over and over again. Probably an overly romantic sign that you weren't meant to be together.

A great little game to have on your shelf, especially for a quick break fro, those heavier games that tape all your brain cells. Plus you can do everything with an adorable Scottish brogue. Boy did it make us miss Scotland... and that was just the concept, not even the game itself. Good times!