Strategy Gaming Society
Greg Schloesser
November 2004
USA

I first played this light Aaron Weissblum title way back in 1999 at Gulf Games 4 in Destin, Florida. I honestly didn’t care much for the game, feeling it was nothing more than guesswork. I played once more a bit later and my opinion didn’t change.

Recently, I was sent a copy of the new edition by Out of the Box, so committed myself to giving the game another chance. I was happy I did. No, the game isn’t a spine-tingling, breath-taking experience, but it is a light, fun romp that usually generates some laughter and surprising moments.

The quality of this new edition warrants mention. In addition to the bold, sturdy board and colorful, laminated cards and dice, there is a superb balloon basket which is elevated on clear plastic stands. This is very eye-catching and a nice touch. Bravo!

In Cloud 9, players are taking a balloon ride, attempting to rise high into the clouds. Bravery, however, is tested, as players must make constant decisions whether to remain in the balloon in hopes of more points, but at the risk of crashing, or bailing out and locking-in points at the balloon’s current level. The higher the balloon soars, the more points can be earned. But the risk can be great, as when the balloon crashes, all players still aboard earn zero points for that ride.

Each player begins the game in the basket, which is located at ground level at the bottom of the linear board. After players are dealt an initial hand of six cards, they are ready for the series of journeys to begin.

Players rotate being “captain” of the balloon. The captain will roll a number of dice as indicated by the current level of the balloon. At lower levels, only two dice are rolled, with more dice being rolled at higher levels. Each level is depicted by a cloud on the board, which not only lists the number of dice to be rolled at that level, but the number of points that can be earned if players bail-out at that level.

So just how does the balloon rise? The captain is in control, and must a number of dice as indicated by the balloon’s current level. The dice depict the four colors involved in the game (purple, green, red and yellow), as well as two “blank” sides. The captain must then play the corresponding cards from his hand. For example, if “yellow” and “red” appear on the two dice, then the captain must play both a yellow and a red card from his hand. If he successfully does this, the balloon rises one level and the next player then assumes the captain role.

After the captain rolls the dice but before playing cards, each player has the opportunity to jump off the balloon. If this option is exercised, those players “abandoning ship” receive the number of points indicated on the board for the current level of the balloon. At lower levels, these points are minimal. However, these points rise dramatically as the balloon gains altitude.

So why would a player want to abandon the comfort of the basket? If the captain is unable to play the appropriate cards, the balloon comes crashing to the ground. Any player remaining in the basket scores zero points for that journey. So, players must assess the odds as to whether the captain possesses the appropriate cards to keep the balloon aloft. If they do not feel he possesses those cards, it is best to jump ship. An important factor to keep in mind, though, is that the deck contains four “wild” cards, which can be played to satisfy ALL of the requirements of the dice. So, a player might appear to have a depleted hand, but the possession of a wild card can keep that balloon afloat!

It is important to note that the captain is not allowed to jump ship (unless he is flying solo, which I’ll explain in a bit). So, it may be wise to jump ship if you are scheduled to be the next captain. You would likely want to do this if you do not possess many cards, or if your card mix is not very diverse.

If the captain does successfully play the required cards and the balloon rises, the next player becomes the captain and this process is repeated. This continues until the balloon either reaches its maximum height – 9 levels and 25 points – or plummets to the ground. After a journey is complete, each player draws one new card and play continues. Drawing only one card means that many players hands may be very restricted if the previous journey or two required the expenditure of numerous cards. Keep this in mind on your next few journeys!

The only other aspect worth mentioning is when only one player remains aboard the balloon. That person may opt to bail BEFORE rolling the dice, or continue shooting for the clouds.

As soon as one player reaches 50 points, the game ends at the end of that journey, in which case the player with the most points is victorious.

As is appropriate for the subject matter of soaring into the clouds, Cloud 9 is extremely light and fluffy. It is most certainly a “push-your-luck” style game, with the decisions made being based on little evidence or information. This bothered me the first two times I played, but for some reason doesn’t bother me now. I’m not sure why. Perhaps I knew what to expect going into the game this time, so my expectations weren’t too high. Perhaps now I can appreciate the game for what it is clearly designed to be: a light family game or filler. As such, it fulfills its objective quite nicely, and provides the players with a nice, pleasant ride.

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