When it comes to game designers, you’d be hard pressed to find one with a bigger catalog of games than Dr. Reiner Knizia. I think his offering eclipses 700 games by now, with many award-winning titles in that group.
While most of his games are not going to be thematic experiences, they are usually filled with clever and balanced mechanics. It’s with that in mind that we are going to take a look at Penguin Party. First published way back in 2008, this quick playing card game is back on our tables thanks to a new edition from 25th Century Games.
Gameplay Overview:
To play a round of Penguin Party, the cards are evenly dealt out to the players. The deck consists of 36 penguin cards: 8 green and 7 each of red, blue, yellow, and purple. On a player’s turn, they must play one card to the communal tableau.
The cards are played into a pyramid, with the bottom layer of the pyramid allowed to have 8 cards. On a player’s turn, they can either play any card into the bottom row of the pyramid (if there is still room) or play on a higher level if there are two supporting cards, and at least one of the supporting cards matches their card’s color.
If a player can’t play a card on their turn, they are out for the round and get negative points equal to the number of cards left in their hand. If a player manages to play all their cards, they can discard two negative point tokens.
The game ends after a number of rounds equal to the player count. Whoever has the fewest negative points is the winner.
Game Experience:
The old adage “you can’t just a book by its cover” can sometimes apply to board games. Well, many times, I guess, if you are into Euro games. I wasn’t expecting much from Penguin Party when it arrived on my doorstep, but Knizia’s pedigree, combined with the very light gameplay, convinced me to give it a try.
And you know what, it’s actually pretty great. Penguin Party is one of Knizia’s hidden gems, and more people should give this one a try. While the rules are really light, there is some underlying cleverness hidden in these colorful cards. And it’s accessible nature makes it really easy to get to the table.
There are only 5 different colors of cards, but how many of each you get dealt can drive your strategy. There was a game where I was only dealt 1 red card, so I knew the other players had the rest of them. My goal that round was to fill out the bottom row of the pyramid as quickly as possible to block any red plays further up. And it worked. The other two players got stuck with a lot of red cards, and I was able to go out.
But you also don’t have to play as mean as that. You can just concentrate on playing your colors as quickly as you can. I’ve played this game both with my parents and also my kids (ages 7) and everyone has had a great time. The game is text-free, with just color matching, so it can be played with just about anyone.
I will say that while the game plays fine with any of the player count, with my ideal range being 3-4 players. At 5-6 it can get a bit chaotic as you have a lot less control over the pyramid. At 2 players, it’s a bit more strategic, but the board space is a bit too open for my tastes and things can feel a little easy.
Final Thoughts:
Penguin Party is a great game. It’s got a quick flow to it where you just play a card, and the next player goes. There isn’t really too much thinking that will slow the game down, so turns are snappy and rounds go by quickly. Yet behind the cute penguin artwork is a sneaky amount of depth, as you can get as mean or tactical as you want with your card play. This one can be enjoyed by just about anyone, and it is absolutely worth checking out.
Final Score: 4 stars – A fun filler game that’s both easy to get to the table and snappy to play.
Hits:
• Can be enjoyed with just about anyone
• Quick turns, fast gameplay
• Cute penguin art
Misses:
• Really shines only at 3-4 players.
