Game Reviews: Mensa Mind Games®, year 2007

Equalz

• Replay Value (1-10): 5
• Fun Factor (1-10): 7
• Worth Buying (1-10): 4

This is a rummy game where the cards are of digits and the four basic mathematical operators: addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Parenthesis are free, and can even be used to represent implicit multiplication, while the subtraction symbol can also be used to represent unary minus. In other words, the designers of this game really did their homework, which is quite praiseworthy. A two-digit goal is generated each round, and you must form a valid expression that equals that goal as a "meld". Otherwise, the rules are pretty much like a standard rummy game (although the discard pile rule is one that is not found in most rummy games).

Well, I suppose each Mind Games is going to have the "game that thinks it can do a better rummy," and this was this year's contender. At least it is not a word rummy game, but strangely enough, it suffers the same problems that word rummy tends to have, which is that there are two types of cards (in this game, operators and digits; in word rummy, vowels and consonants) and if you have the right mix of both, you can usually manage something, while if you have way too much of one and not enough of another, drawing one card per turn is an astoundingly agonizing way to crawl out of it.

(Someday, one of these game designers will come up with the simple idea of fixing this problem, and I'll actually write a positive review of their rummy game here. Actually, I already have a few ideas that I think will work -- any publishers out there interested?)