LogFAQs > #897655127

36. Ghost Blitz
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/83195/ghost-blitz

Genre/mechanics: Pattern recognition, dexterity
Rules complexity: 1/10
Game length: 5-10 minutes
Player count: 2-8
Experience: 30+ games, thousands of cards, with 2-8 players
First played: 2016

Five wooden items sit in a circle: a white ghost, a red chair, a blue book, a green bottle, and a grey mouse. A card is flipped over, depicting two items, but at least one of them will have another item's color. If one of the items matches its own color, be the first to grab that item. If neither matches the color, grab the object for which neither item nor color matches (i.e., if you see a red mouse and a blue ghost, take the green bottle). First one to grab the correct item wins the card, and then next card is flipped.

Design - This game is ridiculously simple. If you've played SET, it's a very similar concept - be the first to identify the right item (with some speed thrown in). If you like real-time pattern recognition games, then it's for you. If you don't, then don't play this with a competitive player. The wooden components are fucking adorable, and the art is super-cute, too, especially illustrations of the ghost and/or the mouse.

Enjoyment - Ghost Blitz was perhaps the highlight of the game night where I discovered it - and I played around seven new games that day. Another person there pulled it out as a three-player filler game while waiting for the final game of the evening. I've managed to get Ghost Blitz to the table an absolute ton, because its lightness as a game is virtually unparalleled. A lot of that is due to the lovely, friendly, grabble ghost, or the cute mouse's tail, or the way people get attached to snatching that green bottle since it's closest and identifying when it's missing can feel satisfying and reliable. That said, it can be highly polarizing for people who don't enjoy this type of time pressure or fast-twich reflexes, as it's completely feasible for the slightly-faster/more experienced player to whitewash the rest - as in, winning 80% of the cards in a game with 8 participants. For that reason, I haven't brought it out that much lately.

Future - As I mentioned, going all-out in Ghost Blitz isn't super-enjoyable to me, and some of my group have expressed strong dislike for it, so it's been coming out a lot less. I do enjoy GB's expansions/sequels. My friend has the '5 of 12' variant which includes nine pieces and three images per card - and alternate rules for specific cards. It's still a nice warm-up/filler for people who might be enamored by the pieces and can learn in just a minute or two.

Bonus question - Do you have any games that you're too good at to play with new players? Are you able to suppress your competitive spirit to make it enjoyable?

Hint for #35 - You can be on a roll, until the arrows start a-comin'.
---

yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness