Players: 1-6
Playing Time: 15-20 minutes

Components

Take It Easy! comes with every thing that up to six players need to play. Each player gets a board and a set of 27 hexagonal tiles. The board and tiles are both printed on sturdy cardboard that's linen-textured.

The boards each show a hexagonal grid, 3 spaces on a side, meaning it can contain 19 tiles. They're color coded to match your tiles.

The tiles each show a set of three lines, representing the three axes of a hex. Each line is colored with a specific color and features a matching number from 1-9. Suns and moons also appear on the tiles, for a more advanced variant. Though they contain a lot of info, the tiles are easy to use.

Overall, the components are about what you expect on the modern Euromarket, but the price point of $24.95 is quite good. Thus I've given Take It Easy! a "4" out of "5" for Style.

The Gameplay

The object of Take It Easy! is form the most valuable set of unbroken edge-to-edge lines over the course of playing 19 tiles onto your own Take It Easy! game board.

Setup: Each player is given a game board and a set of 27 tiles. One player, the caller, should randomize his tiles, while the others should set them out in such a way that it's easy to find a tile when it's called.

The Tiles. The tiles are the heart of the game. Each one is hexagonal and shows pipes going in three direction, connecting the opposite sides of the hexagon. Each pipe has a color and a value. For example, the vertical pipes are either yellow 9s, black 1s, or gray 5s. Similarly each of the other two directions has a set of three different colors.

Th goal is to connect pipes only with like colors (at least as much as is possible).

Play: Play is very simple. The caller random draws a tile and calls it based on its number (e.g., 1-6-3). Each other player takes the same tile. All players now place the tile in an empty space on their boards.

Play continues until 19/27 tiles have been placed, with each player thus filling his board.

Scoring the Game: At the end of the game, each player scores his board. He earns points only for edge-to-edge lines that are all the same color: a single disruption destroys the value of the whole line. Each successfully completed line is worth the line's value times its number of hexes.

Variants: The game includes a few variants using the suns and moons. One lets you score sunbeams and moonbeams, irrespective to whether the actual lines are completed. Another scores for the best sunbeam and moonbeam, depending on the value of the underlying line. A third variant has the suns and moons controlling somewhat where you place pieces. One non sun/moon variant requires all tiles to be placed adjacently.

All of these variants add considerable variation to the game.

Relationships to Other Games

I've heard Take It Easy! compared to Bingo, but that's a pretty superficial comparison that only concentrates upon the form in which the tiles are selected. If I were going to make a comparison like that I'd instead say Take It Easy! is a bit like Duplicate Bridge, since all the players are trying to score the most points with the same starting conditions.

At heart, Take It Easy! is a risk-taking game, not unlike a dice or card game. You're trying to assess what your odds are of scoring various lines.

The Game Design

Take It Easy! is a simple but addictive game. When we sat down to play it in a review session, we promptly played it again, then again, then only stopped because it was time to call it quits for the evening. It's simply simple and fun.

There is some strategy in the game, as you try and decide how many spaces to give to each line. There's also quite a bit of luck, since that's what risk-taking ultimately amounts to. However, for a short and simple game, I don't have any objection to that.

My only warning is that Take It Easy! is pretty much the definition of a "multiplayer solitaire" game. If you must have interaction, this is not the game for you. However, if you're happy to build your own little empires, Take It Easy! will serve you well.

If you're looking for a game for families, for friends, or just to play as a filler before deeper games, Take It Easy! is a superb choice. It manages to catch lightning in a jar, and that's why I've given it a "5" out of "5" for Substance.

Conclusion

Take It Easy! is a very simple game that is great for family play or as a filler before more serious games. It's attractive, it's easy to play, and it's surprisingly addictive.

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