:strip_icc()/pic1804227.jpg)
/pic1735663.jpg)
Naturally you must collect those ostrich eggs in order to score points. (Yes, having you mother and hatch those eggs would have been a neat twist, but I'm not sure how to represent that in gameplay. Something for a sequel, perhaps?) Each player has four bags — numbered 2, 3, 5 and 7 — along with five hand cards: one "skip" and four numbered cards that match the bags.
In each of the ten rounds, one card is revealed from the ostrich deck, showing either a number (4-10, which represents the eggs available) or a piece of amber. Everyone chooses and reveals a card from their hand simultaneously.
• If a number was revealed from the ostrich deck, then everyone who plays a number card receives an equal share of the eggs available and places that share into the bag of the same number. For example, if I play a 5 card and receive three eggs, I place those eggs in the 5 bag. If a bag ever holds more eggs than the number on it, the bag breaks and you can't use the corresponding hand card for the remainder of the game.
• If an amber was revealed, then if only one player reveals a skip card, he claims the amber. In all other cases, no one takes the amber.
:strip_icc()/pic1739077.jpg)
The twelve cards in the ostrich deck, only ten of which will be used; please don't stare at the spread-eagled ostrich
Each player then sets his card aside, making it unavailable for the next round, and picks up the card that he played in the previous round. After ten rounds, the game ends and players tally their findings. If you filled a bag completely, you score points equal to the value of the bag; if you didn't fill a bag, you score points equal to half the number of eggs in it, rounded down; if you busted a bag, then you have a broken bag. Each amber is worth 4 points. Whoever has the highest score wins.
I've played Eggs of Ostrich three times, and if you've ever wanted to play a game in which you can make endless jokes about busting your bag, ripping your sack, etc., then this is the game for you.
Should you be slightly more mature or, say, female, then you'll find a quick-playing bluffing game with all of the second-, third- and fourth-guessing that one could hope for in such a design. If something in the 6-10 range comes up on the first round, you think to yourself, "Well, the obvious play from everyone in this case is a 2 (or 3, as the case may be) in order to fill a bag to the top, but if someone plays a skip to be spiteful, then I'm out one sack on the first round. But maybe I should be the spiteful one and stick them, but then I'm definitely eating something next round." And so on.
So far, so good!
Forcing you to set aside one card after each round — and removing a card from play after busting — is an "obvious" design choice as it forces you to stay on your toes and consider your possible options for next round while deciding what to play in the current round. Even better, you see what everyone else doesn't have in their hands and take that into consideration: "He knows that I don't have this card, so he might want to play that one..." Sure, in some cases you're just winging it and hoping you made the right call, but that's when you get the "Yes!"/"No!!!" moments that are the bright moments of the game.
The "skip" card is both defensive (avoid busting) and offensive (You're busted!), ideally filling both roles at the same time. Don't be too quick to skip, though, as scoring only half of a bag is often equal to scoring nothing at all. Take a chance on filling that small bag as the winning score sometimes isn't even in the double digits, making every point valuable.
After two games, we sat around kibitzing and someone mentioned something about what you should be trying to do in the middle of the game. I said, "You mean 'in the middle two minutes' of the game?" Yes, Eggs of Ostrich is quick one, and replaying it again immediately with the same players is a kick because you're now trying to outguess their past selves as well as their current ones. Plan well and guess right, and you'll get to sing in triumph...
(Thanks to Japon Brand, which will have copies of Eggs of Ostrich available at Spiel 2013, for providing a review copy of this game.)
:strip_icc()/pic1753164.jpg)
/pic1326124.jpg)
/pic1713061.jpg)
:strip_icc()/pic1800189.jpg)
/pic1796843.jpg)
