I found out about this game in Pyramid magazine, and after some time online I took a look for myself. This is a simple little poker variant, where you try to evolve the best kind of poker hand. Everyone starts with 4 cards, and four cards are then dealt to the center. You select one of your cards to be a "spark." The spark is used to try to grab some of the 4 cards in the center. The spark will grab cards by suit and rank. Everyone's sparks are revealed at the same time, and you get to go in descending order, with ties determined by suit (Spades, Hearts, Diamonds, Clubs). With a small group it is easier to grab the cards that you want, but as the group gets larger the game shortens and gets much more tense. This is a wonderful and well balanced game. Go to http://www.cheapass.com/lamarck.html (I can't do that HTML web point thing) and try it! This game gets an "A."

Style: 5 (Excellent!)
Substance: 5 (Excellent!)