Cinegeek
Stephen Lackey
March 2006
USA

I often like the simple games. You know the single deck of cards that can be tossed into a jacket pocket and played almost anywhere. The big problem with those games is that they can get a little mundane, with many playing with similar mechanics just set in different environments such as sci-fi, old west, or even the Victorian era. I have played other card games set in the gold rush era but this game comes from Out of the Box, so I had high hopes when our group sat down for a go.

Gameplay

Gold Digger is set for 2 to 5 players and as is common with most games of this type it's the most fun, and the most challenging with the maximum number of players. In our tests we found that if there are only two players they have to play much more aggressively to make the game challenging. This has never been a problem for our group though.

New players can learn the basic gameplay in just a few minutes. Mines are laid out in the center of the table. each mine is labeled with a color and a title such as Law, Settlers, or Townsfolk. Each player is dealt cards that are characters that match some of the mines in play and small discs that represent the percentage of each mine on which they place a claim. During a player's turn he may use a character card, if he has one, to place a claim. This is done by laying the character card above the corresponding mine. Once done a player has a claim on that mine. He can then lay a disc on the mine to represent the percentage of the mine he has claimed. Each player only gets a few discs to use so they must lay them strategically. If a player uses all three of his discs on one mine, other players may also lay claim to the mine and add their own discs to break up the percentage of a claim, or they may just fill the mine with fools gold, but I'm getting ahead of myself. The other thing a player can do on his turn is lay god cards, or fool's gold cards, if they have them.

Each mine can only have five gold cards laying under it. Gold cards are assigned points by the number of bags on each card. The player that wins has the most gold at the end of a game. So, if a player wants to increase his points he may lay a large gold card under a mine on which he has a claim. Remember that the final points that player gets is determined by the percentage of a mine he owns. For example if two players have a claim on a mine and each has one disc showing how much of the mine they own, then whatever points are placed under that mine are split in half. If one player has two discs and another has only one, then the player with two discs gets two thirds of the final points. Each mine can only have five gold cards applied to it. So this brings us to fool's gold. Fool's gold cards are worth no points and are used by competing players to fill their opponents mines. If you have a large majority of a mine an opposing player may choose to add fool's gold cards to it to keep you from applying real gold on your turn.

That's really about all there is to it. It's simple and quick to learn, it's fast paced, and it's surprisingly strategic. Do you place a claim early and give opponents the opportunity to slap fool's gold under it or do you wait until another player has stacked a lot of gold under a mine and then claim it and take a percentage of their loot? Our group was quickly hooked on the ease of play and the fast paced nature of the game. As I mentioned the more players you have the more fun and challenging the game is. It's also so easy to play that it's perfect for a party atmosphere too. Games are fairly short running around ten minutes so if you have more than five the player rotation is manageable. The only complaint I can come up with is that the simple play could make the game feel monotonous after many many games, but this is the issue with most games isn't it? This is one of those games that you'll play with your group until everyone is sick of it and then when you add a new member it'll still be one of the first games you crack open. It'll also be one of those games you can throw out onto a coffee table for parties that people can play while they have conversations. What else can we say? We love it!

10/10

The Presentation

The packaging is compact and the cards are crafted from thick cardboard so they should last a long time and the game can easily be taken to someone's house for game night. Now for a bunch of adults the art can be a bit cartoony but otherwise we like the overall presentation.

8/10

Another great Out of the Box game! I swear they don't pay us for these reviews, these guys just make great games.

Back to Gold Digger Reviews page