Ripple

I wasn’t sure how this game will work for my group but after playing it and got the hang of the correct rules, this game is fantastic.

Ripple is a fun card game that incorporates strategy, luck of the draw, and lots of fun. We brought this down to North Padre on a beach visit and we fell in love with it. My husband and I play a game or two daily. Great for families. It is our "go to" game because you only play 3 rounds, so it doesn't take too long. It is lots of fun.

I received this card game specifically to write a review. That said, I try to be honest and transparent in all my reviews.(Please see the enclosed pictures. I might add a video later.)Summary: Ripple is a card game by Blue Wasatch game company for 2-6 players, and a typical game lasts about 30 minutes.Bottom-line, up-front this is a fun, simple game that is ideal for the whole family. The rules state that the game is for ages 8+, but if you have a precocious youngster or a helpful older person, you could lower that age to 5-6 years old. The cards are coated and sturdy and will survive sticky hands and the occasional drink mishap.It is played with a special deck consisting of suits from common, beach (or Hawaiian) themed items such as suns, crabs, pineapples, dolphins, and sandcastles. Cards come in two broad categories, basic and combo cards. Every card has a numeric score on it that counts against you if it is unmatched by the end of the game. Some cards also have combos printed at the bottom of the card that will allow you to subtract an amount if you can finish the combo. For example, an eight point pineapple card might also have a combo at the bottom that has pineapple+sun+crab=-15 points. If you completed this combo, you could subtract 15 points from your score at the end.Your goal is to accumulate as few points as possible by the end of the game, and negative totals are possible.Initially, everyone is dealt a "beach" with ten cards arranged in two rows of five cards each.On your turn, you perform the following actions in this order: draw a card from the draw pile or the top card from *someone else's* discard pile, and then either keep the card (in which case you place it face up on your beach and discard the card that was there - in other words, you replace the existing card), or you can discard that card into your own discard pile, allowing you to turn one of your beach cards face up.So, now onto the strategy and scoring. Every face up card that is unmatched at the end of the game counts its score against you.How do you avoid points or even decrease your points.If a single column has two cards with a matching suit then that column counts zero points.Additionally, if multiple columns have the same suit in them, it is called a "block" and points actually start getting deducted for blocks of four or six cards.Additionally, some of the cards have combos on them, meeting the combo results in points being deducted from your score. During the play portion of your turn you can choose to put cards behind the top, combo card to try and meet the combo requirements.Beware though, if you cannot complete the combo, all those cards count against your score. The basic rules allow you to discard a whole pile rather than just one card, we did explore a variant for your more enthusiastic strategy oriented players (more on that later).The game ends when one player has revealed all the cards on his or her beach. Then, everyone else gets one last turn.On to the Dr Games’ Criteria …GO/NO GO Criterion• Complexity: (GO) This game does have some complexity in that knowing what cards are left that might help you or a fellow player and keeping a running total of your points as you play. There are certain combinations of events that allow you to extend your turn by playing multiple cards. These are called "Ripples," but describing the details on that is a bit beyond this review. Also, to be honest, I had to go to the site, Lets Play Ripple (dot) com, and watch the how to play aids several times before understanding how ripples worked. Because there is some complexity, I highly recommend that you watch the how to play video, and then, practice a couple of games to understand the flow of the rules. Also, don't start modifying the rules until you have played and understand the core rules. The game is highly balanced, and one or two tweaks can throw that off if you are not careful.• Balanced: (GO ) The mechanics are completely balanced. There are some advantages for being able to count cards and keep totals in your head. Additionally, by covering up cards your rivals might need, you can act as a spoiler.• Chance (GO) The game is the right combination of chance and skill. The cards are random, but there are places to use strategy such as covering up cards that other players might need.• Clarity: (GO) The rules are reasonable and well illustrated, but I personally did need to go to the on-line how-to resources before understanding all the rules - ripples in particular were a little tricky, and the basic, written rules that came with the game just were not 100% clear to me, but that could just be me.In the basic rules, you can discard a whole stack of failed combo cards, but after a few games, we adopted a house rule that you can only discard one card. This made for a bit more strategy, and it also allowed for planning your moves a bit easier.• Reasonable Time: (GO) You will be able to play an entire game in 30 minutes. The ...

Learning to ripple is more complex than a standard card game like phase 10. There are some educational videos that were really helpful, and we did have to watch them more than once. We weren’t always sure when to turn over the cards on our “beach” area. My 7.5 year old did understand the concept that he needed to create matches.We played 2 rounds and were still not sure we did it the right way, (we made up some rules to help us get through the game quicker zwith younger kids) so we plan on watching the instructional video and playing it again, hopefully the right way.The cards are pretty, and the game makes sense. We had a really good time. I recommend that if you want to play with younger people or those who don’t have much patience waiting for you to figure out the rules, take some time beforehand and learn the game first. Then upon introducing it to other, it will go pretty fast as you teach them how to play. It is totally worth learning how to play because their is some strategy as well as some luck. This game is fun and different from the other games we have in the closet.

Such a fun game! We really enjoy SKYJO (another golf type game), and this is similar in a way, but even better. Also, the video instructions are so helpful for getting started, and the included rules even have a faq section. The rules were much more clear to me than most games. Many games we end up having to make up house rules for certain scenarios because there is no definitive answer in the rules/online. We've had one question come up, and I emailed their support. I got a response in less than 15 minutes, and my question was answered.Very fun game. It's the game I wish I'd invented. Our 4 and 6-year-olds were able to play, but they are familiar with the basic concept from SKYJO.Also, the cards themselves are really great quality. They have the linen-like textured finish.I've already bought three of these. One for us and two to gift.

Such a fun game!

We love this game and have added to our almost weekly game time! Easy to learn. The cards are sturdy. My friends even bought a set to take with them when camping.

Love this game. So much better than using a regular deck to play it. This version adds combos which makes the game more fun and challenging.

Very fun, easy to pick up game. We enjoy packing this for day trips and brewery outings.

This is a fun game for all ages.

We love, love, love this game. Our family ranges in age from 10 to 82. The various ways cards are played keeps it interesting. The kids are brutally skillful with it. We elders play a couple of rounds at lunchtime many days of the week. It plays well with as few as two players which is unusual because many games don’t. We’ve worn out two decks in two years and will be ordering another soon. We prolong the life of our deck by not actually shuffling the cards in the usual way. Instead of shuffling the cards and making a stack of them to draw from, we mix the cards in a muddle face down and leave them in a pool in the middle of the table. It does take some time and careful reading ( and rereading) of the instructions to get going but it’s a delight to play.

We play it all the time and have ordered many more cards from normal wear and tear. Would highly recommend!

This is one of my family’s all-time favorite card games. We have some picky game players, but everyone enjoys playing this. My teenagers even play it with their friends. Good quality, fun game. Fairly easy to learn.

Our family is very into playing games. We love this because it’s easy to learn and play and can be a quick play. I love the bright colors and darling pictures which also make it so enjoyable to play. Similar to Skyjo but with more to it. My 5 yo can play as well as my husband who loves games.

A fun game especially if you like SKYJO.

My husband and I try to play this game as often as possible when we have a few minutes. Play time is quick and directions are easy.

I've tried several golf-style card games and this is my favorite! Same basic concept but with some fun twists to make it more interesting and add a little more strategy. The combo cards give more variety in scoring. Blue Wasatch Games always come with really clear instructions with a QR code for video instructions if you prefer. It is pretty quick to learn if you've played any other golf games (e.g. Play Nine, Gnoming Around), but might take a little longer to learn if you haven't. Cards are pretty standard quality and have a nice feel. The artwork is beautiful and I like the beach theme! I highly recommend this card game!

We only started this game last weekend but enjoy it already. It doesn't take long to play. Great for multiple ages. It's great that you don't have to hold a lot of cards. It's sounds more complicated than it really is. Just go slow and use the rule book and you will catch on quick.

This game has some nice art work, colors, a beach theme, and everyone kind of picked their own strategy as we played. The instructions/rules are not as clear as they could be so we made up some of our own ways that everyone agreed upon. We played as a three player game our first time.The game consists of three rounds, each round lasting until someone creates a “ripple” which is when all ten of your beach cards are flipped over. There was a rule that the person doing the ripple has to have a beach with zero points or less. Once the ripple is done by one player the remaining players get one more turn. The turn goes as follows: you draw a card from another players discard or the draw pile. The card gets “played” which can mean you replace a card from your beach (face down or face up), add it to a combo, or discard it. If you add a card to a combo, you then draw another card from the draw pile only, not other player’s discard piles. Cards have values, but the value may or may not count toward your totals. If you have two of the same card vertically it is called a match and they cancel each other out. If you do the same thing with four or six cards (two or three columns) then you can get negative points. The combos consist of three cards that you have to find the correct cards (for instance, a pineapple, a fish, and a sun) to get the negative point value listed on the card that you started the combo with. If you start a combo and do not finish, then you have the point values of those cards positive and against you. If you have a vertical match within the combo that card in the match is zero as is the card in the combo (regardless if you finish it or not). In the end, the person with the lowest score over the three rounds wins.It took us at least 1-1.5 hours to play, but play went by faster as we got better at what we were doing. The game says it is from 2-8 players and I would imagine with more players you would have more access and more choice to discard piles, but could also have what you want/need stolen before you can get to, so it could be trickier. On our first play, my 13 yo liked it a lot, but they are a huge fan of playing games, especially with strategy involved. The 10 yo thought it was okay, but they like games less and had a disastrous first round and felt helpless and not able to climb out of it. They did have better rounds moving forward. I thought it was interesting and was trying out different strategies with each round on our first play. As we have played more, it has grown on us more and we pull it out to play when we want to play something that takes a bit longer. It does require space, so it’s not a good traveling game unless you travel and then play where you have traveled to. The deck is a good size and the cards are good quality and slide well. A nicely made game for sure, just would be nice if the instruction/rules were clearer as it would be easier to learn.Thanks for reading this review and I do hope you found it helpful!

I want to like this game a lot, but I am still struggling to figure out exactly how to play it. We have tried to play it several times, have read the instructions multiple times, and have watched the video multiple times and we are still a bit confused. I would recommend watching the instructional video before purchasing to see if it makes sense to you. If you can get the rules, I think it would be a fun game for something a little shorter and fast-paced!