PLAYED FOR YOU

I Spy Fish

Pairs of cards – different, yet the same

48 playing cards or, to be more exact, 24 pairs of oversized cards are used to play three different kinds of games. The games themselves are well-loved standard classics, the kick of the games is based on the cards.

The cards depict real items in slightly alienated surroundings, and the most important factor is that the two cards of a pair are not identical. The two cards of a pair show the same central image that sometimes is depicted in different perspectives, or in different poses, or as a mirror image, or sometimes also in different sizes in relation to the respective surroundings. Both cards show the central motive in totally different surroundings and all central items depicted are part of a child’s daily environment – usually toys, a doll, a plastic duck, or a pet animal or items of daily life, like a chair or telephone. The game that gives the name to the collection, I Spy Fish, is a version of Happy Families: You start with seven cards, the remaining cards are heaped face-down on the table to form a “pool” in which you can fish for cards. You ask another player for a card to make up a pair with one that you hold. If you get the card, you can ask again; if not, you take any card from the table. If you can make up the intended pair you can discard it. In Schnapp all players try to collect pairs of cards from the pool on the table as fast as they can, and in Memo you play according to the familiar standard rules, you turn up two cards and try to find pairs.

A pretty game – yes, it uses standard mechanisms, but with a kick, due to the marvelous images. A challenge for memory and pattern recognition!

Players: 1-6

Age: 5+

Time: 15+

Designer: not named

Artist: Scholastic, Carletto

Price: ca. 9 Euro

Publisher: Gamefactory 2013

Web: www.gamefactory.ch

Genre: Card games

Users: For children

Special: 1 player

Version: multi

Rules: de fr it

In-game text: no

Comments:

Part of the I Spy series

Marvelous illustrations

Nicely varied standard mechanisms

Good for memorizing and pattern recognition

Compares to:

Memo, Happy Families and other I Spy games

Other editions:

Currently none

Chance (pink): 1

Tactic (turquoise): 0

Strategy (blue): 0

Creativity (dark blue): 0

Knowledge (yellow): 0

Memory (orange): 2

Communication (red): 0

Interaction (brown): 2

Dexterity (green): 0

Action (dark green): 1