The Inside Scoop on Gaming

While my gaming group normally heads for the beer-and-pretzel section of our local GameCo, we had an unexpected opportunity to try out Sacred Chao Games' "Dia de los Muertos" (lit. "Day of the Dead) card game. The game is derived from the unique hispanic holiday of the same name, equivilant to our Halloween but with much deeper cultural ties. This game is not light and humorous but rather a serious strategic card game, much better grouped with Canasta or Bridge than Spammers and Kill Dr. Lucky.

While the theme of the game does not tie directly into gameplay, the cultural tie-ins and artwork (by Sandi West) are incredible (pronounced een-cray-eee-blay). Sensitive gamers may be turned off by the depiction of skeletal children and every variety of the dead, but to most the dark images serve to give the game its unique cultural flair. I would classify the game in the same category as conventional playing card games, and thus the design and theme of Dia de los Muertos far surpass games of similar type.

Gameplay is that of a trick-taking game like Hearts or Spades; players partner up and work with their partners to capture combinations of food cards and Muertos cards. The 48-card deck includes numerous special effects cards, such as cards that allow the swapping of a card with your partner and others that destroy 10's, the highest and most powerful cards. Play consists of three rounds, each representing a different day of the three-day holiday. Each round, the Muertos cards represent a new collection of the deceased: animals the first day, children the second day, and adults the third day-- in accordance with the days they must return to the land of the dead in the hispanic holiday. At the end, whichever pair has captured the greatest number of Muertos-Food pairs is victorious.

The array of special cards and additional rules makes Dia de los Muertos a game of subtle yet complex strategy, making it ideal for the serious gamer. I rate the game "Average" for substance only because my gaming group and I tend to enjoy lighter material, but I imagine that there are many of you out there with different tastes who may have given the game an "Excellent!" review under substance.

Besides the general incompatibility with our style, there were a few other sticky points to the game. One special card allows you to "ask any question about another player's hand." The open-endedness of the statement technically would allow a player to ask "Which cards do you have in your hand?" or the like. This is unreasonable, but can easily be modified to "ask any yes-no question about another player's hand" to restore game balance. A few players in my group also found the "exchanging gifts" rule (which allows the opposing team to take cards from a team that has just won a trick containing scoring cards) was unnecessary and robbed them of a victory, but that is personal preference.

All in all, those of you looking for a serious card game or an alternative to RPGs, war games, and the typical beer-and-pretzel games made by companies such as Cheapass and Green Goblin Games, should give Dia de Los Muertos a shot. Unless you're looking for humor or our turned off by skeletons, giving it a try will not be a waste of your time. Especially since it's less than five bucks.

Dia de los Muertos
Dia de los Muertos Playtest Review by Kris Havlak on 02/07/01 Style: 5 (Excellent!) Substance: 3 (Average) A serious trick-taking card game based on the Mexican holiday "Dia de los Muertos." Excellent, thematic artwork sets the game apart from similar serious card games, but gamers looking for a light and funny card game are looking in the wrong place. Product: Dia de los Muertos Author: Frank Branham Category: Card Game Company/Publisher: Sacred Chao Games Line: Cost: $4.90 Page count: N/A Year published: 2000 ISBN: SKU: Comp copy?: no Playtest Review by Kris Havlak on 02/07/01 Genre tags: Modern day Historical Horror Comedy Diceless Generic	While my gaming group normally heads for the beer-and-pretzel section of our local GameCo, we had an unexpected opportunity to try out Sacred Chao Games' "Dia de los Muertos" (lit. "Day of the Dead) card game. The game is derived from the unique hispanic holiday of the same name, equivilant to our Halloween but with much deeper cultural ties. This game is not light and humorous but rather a serious strategic card game, much better grouped with Canasta or Bridge than Spammers and Kill Dr. Lucky. While the theme of the game does not tie directly into gameplay, the cultural tie-ins and artwork (by Sandi West) are incredible (pronounced een-cray-eee-blay). Sensitive gamers may be turned off by the depiction of skeletal children and every variety of the dead, but to most the dark images serve to give the game its unique cultural flair. I would classify the game in the same category as conventional playing card games, and thus the design and theme of Dia de los Muertos far surpass games of similar type. Gameplay is that of a trick-taking game like Hearts or Spades; players partner up and work with their partners to capture combinations of food cards and Muertos cards. The 48-card deck includes numerous special effects cards, such as cards that allow the swapping of a card with your partner and others that destroy 10's, the highest and most powerful cards. Play consists of three rounds, each representing a different day of the three-day holiday. Each round, the Muertos cards represent a new collection of the deceased: animals the first day, children the second day, and adults the third day-- in accordance with the days they must return to the land of the dead in the hispanic holiday. At the end, whichever pair has captured the greatest number of Muertos-Food pairs is victorious. The array of special cards and additional rules makes Dia de los Muertos a game of subtle yet complex strategy, making it ideal for the serious gamer. I rate the game "Average" for substance only because my gaming group and I tend to enjoy lighter material, but I imagine that there are many of you out there with different tastes who may have given the game an "Excellent!" review under substance. Besides the general incompatibility with our style, there were a few other sticky points to the game. One special card allows you to "ask any question about another player's hand." The open-endedness of the statement technically would allow a player to ask "Which cards do you have in your hand?" or the like. This is unreasonable, but can easily be modified to "ask any yes-no question about another player's hand" to restore game balance. A few players in my group also found the "exchanging gifts" rule (which allows the opposing team to take cards from a team that has just won a trick containing scoring cards) was unnecessary and robbed them of a victory, but that is personal preference. All in all, those of you looking for a serious card game or an alternative to RPGs, war games, and the typical beer-and-pretzel games made by companies such as Cheapass and Green Goblin Games, should give Dia de Los Muertos a shot. Unless you're looking for humor or our turned off by skeletons, giving it a try will not be a waste of your time. Especially since it's less than five bucks.