What you get
Gold Digger comes in a small cardboard box, about 3X5X1.5 inches. It contains 66 playing cards, 15 colored plastic tokens in a baggie, and a sturdy folding rules sheet. The cards are full color but a bit on the flimsy side. I damaged one in the first game I played while shuffling. The artwork is done by John Kovalic and is quite cute.
Rules
They are very simple and easy to learn. You lay out 6 mines, then shuffle the rest of the cards. Each player gets 3 starting cards. You take turns playing a single card, then drawing a single card. There are people cards that match the color of the mines. You must play them on the matching mine and when you do you have the option of adding one of your 3 claim tokens to the mine. Gold and fools gold cards can be played below the mines, but there can only be 5 such cards played on any one mine. When all cards are played you score the number of gold symbols below each mine and then divide those points among the players with a claim token on the mine. The point value of the gold cards varies but other than that there are no differences among the cards.
Play
Play moves quickly as you have few cards and the choices are generally simple. Most of the strategy lies in dropping fools gold on other peoples claims and trying to bolster yours. Because you can share mines you want to work towards having exclusive claim to a good mine. It is difficult to plan ahead much, due to the limited number of cards you hold onto each turn.
You can play with 2-5 players. For two people the strategy is very minimal. For multiple people you get a bit more into counting the projected points and working with other players to bag the leaders. Waiting for the right moments to stake your claim is probably the primary strategic consideration.
Opinion
It's a decent diversionary game, quick to set up and play plus you can teach someone all the rules in about one minute. I found 2 player games to be very dull. Multiplayer games were not very strategic but promoted more interaction with the other players. I think it would be a fine game for younger children in the 7-12 age range. Beyond that it offers amusement but very little challenge.
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