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I'm not sure whether Marc Paquien's Loading — a five-minute game from French publisher Lumberjacks Studio — falls into that category, but that's the feeling I got from reading this description:
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In Loading, all the players try simultaneously to collect as many progression points as possible. Who will be the fastest...or the wisest?
All players but one start with a deck of cards in hand; the final player waits, hand outstretched, for another player to hand them a deck. As soon as you have a deck, examine it as quickly or as thoroughly as you wish for a progression card to play on your stack. You must play cards in ascending order, but you need not play them sequentially. Once you've played a card, get rid of the deck by placing it in the hand of whoever waits.
Once you've gathered enough progression points — or at least once you think you're in a good position — you can discard the deck instead of giving it to someone else, then take a bonus STOP card. There aren't enough STOP cards for all players, so don't delay too long.
Loading includes a two-player mode, as well as an expert mode for skilled players.
I'll note that Uwe Rosenberg's Space Beans from 1999 does something similar, albeit not in a real-time manner. In that game, you're collecting cards in sets on the table as in Bohnanza, and at the end of your turn, you give your hand to the player on your right, which means you're constantly monitoring those to your left and right to see which cards you might get handed and which you don't want to give away.All players but one start with a deck of cards in hand; the final player waits, hand outstretched, for another player to hand them a deck. As soon as you have a deck, examine it as quickly or as thoroughly as you wish for a progression card to play on your stack. You must play cards in ascending order, but you need not play them sequentially. Once you've played a card, get rid of the deck by placing it in the hand of whoever waits.
Once you've gathered enough progression points — or at least once you think you're in a good position — you can discard the deck instead of giving it to someone else, then take a bonus STOP card. There aren't enough STOP cards for all players, so don't delay too long.
Loading includes a two-player mode, as well as an expert mode for skilled players.
• For a racing game of a different sort, let's turn to Gavin Birnbaum's Velodrome from his own Cubiko Games, which is playable by 2-4, with larger groups playing in teams. Here's a short take on the design:
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Velodrome is a game about indoor cycle racing. Each turn, every player selects a speed for their bike. Will they wait out the others and save their energy, or start to race for the finish line? Passing the line gives a number of points according to a cube drawn — but the next pass may be much more valuable! Furthermore, your used speed tiles are passed to your right-hand opponent, so you need to consider the flow of tiles around the table.
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The first person to reach a certain number of points wins.
Birnbaum creates all of his games by hand, so if you back his Kickstarter project for a copy, he encourages you to suggest customizations should you want it to commemorate a specific sports event.The first person to reach a certain number of points wins.
• Like Birnbaum, designer Seppy Yoon of Fight in a Box does his own thing and you're never quite sure what to expect. As the start of 2021, he Kickstarted a small game for 1-4 players titled Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber that gives all players one of the four roles named in the title, each with a different victory condition. In more detail:
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Prepare yourself for mysteries and maze building in Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber, a quick, asymmetric, tile-placement and hidden roles game.
Each character in the game wins differently: The mouse is trying to get the cheese, the cat wants the mouse, the cheese wants everyone to get along — they're neutral because they're Swiss — and the cucumber is evil and wants to trap all of the characters together. Though all players have equal control of the clockwork maze, their secret agenda dictates who they are in the conflict and how they win.
On your turn, you pick a room from the conveyor belt to add to the maze. Your placement may cause other rooms to rotate and force characters to move. Outwit your opponents and create your win.
Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber has four modes of play: multiplayer, two solo versions, and a puzzle that you "win" by assembling everything.
Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber is being distributed by Atlas Games and hits retail stores in the U.S. on October 15, 2021 with a US$13 MSRP. Should you wish to try it ahead of time, you can play the game online at Sovranti.
Same content, three covers (image: Logan Johnston)
Each character in the game wins differently: The mouse is trying to get the cheese, the cat wants the mouse, the cheese wants everyone to get along — they're neutral because they're Swiss — and the cucumber is evil and wants to trap all of the characters together. Though all players have equal control of the clockwork maze, their secret agenda dictates who they are in the conflict and how they win.
On your turn, you pick a room from the conveyor belt to add to the maze. Your placement may cause other rooms to rotate and force characters to move. Outwit your opponents and create your win.
Mouse Cheese Cat Cucumber has four modes of play: multiplayer, two solo versions, and a puzzle that you "win" by assembling everything.
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