Slapzi

Slapzi - A slapping game

Slapzi is from the makers of the dice game Tenzi. The box says Slapzi is a fast-matching, card slapping, everyone-laughing picture game. The box also says there are lots of ways to play, and you know how fun it is to read that! Sounds promising.

Inside the box are 120 picture cards and 65 clue cards. All cards measure 3.5" square. Each picture card shows two different objects, one front and one back, both different, of everyday items, like starfish, cupcake and bulldozer. Each clue card is printed with one clue, such as meant to go in your mouth, too heavy to lift and often found in water. The same clue is printed twice on each card, i guess so people sitting in different places around the table can all read it. The goal is to match picture cards to clue cards. For instance meant to go in your mouth could be paired with a picture of a cupcake and too heavy to lift can be paired with a bulldozer. Be the first to slap your picture card on the clue card to win it. Slapping games may be calming and organizing to those who seek deep pressure.

With that said, the instructions list multiple ways to play, so here goes: 


Original Slapzi

Object:
Be the first to get rid of all five of your picture cards.

Set up:
Deal five cards to each player. Each player places their five cards, face-up, in a line in front of them. Shuffle the clue cards and place them in a face-down pile in the middle of the players.

Play:
Any player flips over the top clue card. All players play at the same time and look over their picture cards, both front and back looking for an object that matches the clue. For instance if the clue is something round, pictures that could be played include basketball, moon or donut. The first person to slap one of their picture cards on the clue card just got rid of one of their cards. Now the next clue card is turned over and the process is repeated. Keep going until someone plays their last picture card and wins the game.

If a player slaps a picture card and the majority of players do not think it is a fit, that player has to take back his card and draw another picture card. You could also have one person, the mighty slapper, who does not play the game be the card turner and the final judge of any questionable matches. 

Either or Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards per turn, not just one.

Twisted Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards per turn. Players must find a picture card that matches one of the clue cards, but not both.

Super Slapzi - All of the clue cards are spread out face-down on the table. On "go", everyone works to play their five cards. If you turn over a clue card you do not have a match for, return the clue card to the face-down position and try another one. If you find a match, leave them both face-up. First to play all five picture cards wins the game.

Reverse Slapzi - Instead of being dealt five picture cards, players are dealt five clue cards and the picture cards are flipped over one at a time for matching.

Double Slapzi - Same as Slapzi but turn two clue cards. Players must be able to cover both cards first to win.

Opposite Slapzi - Same as Slapzi except play a picture card that does not match the clue card. For instance if the clue is something you can eat, you could play a teddy bear or an airplane.

Double Opposite Slapzi - Same as Slapzi and opposite Slapzi, but two clue cards are turned simultaneously and the same player must quickly play a picture card to cover each clue that does not match the clue card.

If you are interested in purchasing this item or just want more information, click on the image below.

Mathable

Mathable - Scrabble meets math

Math and Scrabble come together in Mathable, a unique game based on mathematical equations. Play Mathable to improve your math skills or play it because math is your thing. Or like me, play it because you like Scrabble.

If you're already a Scrabble fan (played with letters instead of numbers), you'll see the similarities in the game set up in the image above. A board, wooden tile racks, wooden tiles and a tile bag (not shown) make up the contents.

The board measures about 15" square. It has 196 squares, some white, some with math symbols (add, subtract, multiple, divide) and bonus squares that are marked with 2x and 3x. There are also four squares in the very middle of the game marked 1, 2, 3, 4, which is where you will start the game.

There are 106 wooden, numbered tiles and 2 blank replacement tiles. The blank tiles are not used in the games as they are in Scrabble. These will only come into play if you lose a tile and need a tile to replace it. Just write the number on one side of the tile with a permanent marker. There is one 0, seven tiles each of numbers 2 - 10 and one tile for each number between 11 and 90. Included is a dark cloth bag to keep the tiles in so that you can't see what numbers you are choosing. There are 4 wooden tile racks that will each hold seven tiles. 

The instruction booklet has 8 pages and tiny print and when I saw it I wondered what I had gotten myself into. It turns out the instructions are written in six different languages, so not to worry. Mathable comes in several different versions, including a card game and Mathable Jr., which I will be blogging about soon.

Let's play.

Object:
Be the player with the most points at the end of the game.

Set up:
Open the game board and place it on the table between the players. Give each player a tile rack. Place the tiles in the bag and mix them. Each player will draw out seven tiles and place them on his rack.

Play:
Players take turns. Tiles will be placed on the board in mathematical equations. An equation is completed by adding, subtracting, multiplying or dividing two adjacent numbers, putting a token with the result on an adjacent square in front of, behind, on top of or below, but never diagonally or in between. 

A player may place as many tiles as they can on the board in one turn. They do not have to be all in one place, they may place one here and one there, as long as they are finishing and/or making equations. To play a tile on a blue square with a math sign, you must be making an equation that corresponds to that symbol. (See the example in the image below of several different moves a player could make.) After playing as many tiles as they want from their rack, the player will draw tiles from the bag until they again have a total of seven on their rack. Their turn has ended.

Play continues around the board until all the tiles have been drawn and one player has used up all the tokens on their rack, or until no more equations can be made. The player with the highest score is the winner.


Scoring:

• The player will receive points for each tile that he plays during a turn.
• Play all seven tiles in a turn and receive an extra 50 points.
• Play a tile on a blue square (with a math sign) and immediately choose another tile from the bag, if desired.
• Play a tile on the 2x or 3x square and double or triple the tile amount for that tile.
• Play a tile that finishes more than one equation and score that tile amount for each equation it finishes.

Other rules:

• You may skip playing on the board and use your turn to exchange tiles on your rack for new tiles from the bag.
• You may correct another player's mistake only if it occurs on the turn that the tiles were played. If a player is caught making a mistake, he must take back the tile and his turn ends there. He will receive any points he made up until that move.
• You must subtract any points left on your tray from your game total once the game has ended. 

The instruction booklet gives an example of two players taking a turn. Each player places multiple tiles on each turn. The instructions recommend that you play out those two moves before playing a game so that you can better get an idea of how you will be playing. Yes, it may be confusing with all those numbers lying side by side on the board.

If you are interested in purchasing this game or just want more information, click on the image below.