I’m always on the lookout for quick little card games that are easy to set up and engaging to play, so Trio, with just 36 cards and a simple premise of set collection, felt like a nice fit.
In Trio 3-6 players will put their wits and memory to the test in a race to collect trios of trios for 15-30 minutes.
Gameplay Overview:
There are two modes of play: simple or spicy! Players will decide in the beginning which mode they’re going to play. The game can also be played with or without teams. In the standard play, each player are dealt a number of cards determined by player count, and the remaining cards will be displayed face-down in the center of the table. In team play, all cards are dealt with none left in the center of the table. Players will then arrange the cards in their hand from lowest to highest and the game starts with the player who most recently ate an avocado (or, just choose randomly).
On your turn, you can reveal the lowest or highest card from any player’s hand (including your own) or flip a card in the middle of the table. You do this until you have either revealed three matching numbered cards, or one of the revealed cards does not match a previous one. If all cards match you take the set and place it in front of yourself, if they do not match, your turn ends, and play moves clockwise.
The first player/ team to collect three sets of three matching numbered cards, wins! (In the spicy variant the sets must be linked in order to win).
Gameplay Experience:
Trio is, indeed, a snappy game that is actually playable in the listed time on the box (but with more players may take a bit longer)! Turns are quick and the artwork is fun, making the game both easy to get to the table and appealing. I found the memory element not over-taxing, though it will reward players who are better at that over those who are not. The limitations of only being able to reveal lowest and highest cards makes for good strategic decisions. As the game unfolds and more and more information is revealed, there is an inevitable acceleration that prevents the game from running too long.
Both team play and free for all work well and are equally fun, and the game scales well for different numbers of players.
I love the art style and bright colors used in this game! The only downside here is that the beautiful gold number 7 cards (which will result in an insta-win for whoever can play all three!) are embossed, which means you can tell who gets them as you deal the cards. This is remedied by either sleeving the cards or shuffling the piles around before dealing them out (or, in my case, just forgetting who got what).
Final Thoughts:
As a quick and engaging filler, Trio delivers! We almost always played multiple games back-to-back. The artwork is fun, with the only downside being the embossed texture of the #7 cards.
Final score: 4 Stars – So fun you’ll want to play it in trios!
Hits:
• Excellent filler game
• Striking colors and art
• Fun for multiple plays
Misses:
• Embossed cards can give away information
• Could be frustrating if you have a bad memory
