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Dog has similarities to the Pachisi / Sorry! family of games, but with a few noticeable twists. The game mechanics is similar to TAC, Super Tock 4, Super Tock 6, Tock 6, Super Tock 8, and Partners
The object of the game is to move your tokens from home to the target area as quickly as possible, moving them in a clockwise direction along the course according to the value of the cards. Whichever team first places all eight of its tokens in the target area wins.
The first twist in Dog is that play is based on a hand of cards held by each player, with the start player and the quantity of cards cycling on successive hands from six cards to two, then resetting to five, then progressing back to two. Card values range from 1-13, with a number of special actions represented.
The second twist is that Dog is a partnership game, with the players winning or losing as a team, which adds a significant level of strategy and tactics to the game. Partners trade one card at the beginning of each round, and once one player from a partnership has completed his group, his plays now assist his partner.
Compact Dog is a travel version of Dog that's limited to four players instead of allowing for play with either four or six players, as in the full game.
- extremely portable
- high variability from a small component set
- clever use of cards
- rules can be terse given the tiny footprint
- abstract card-driven puzzle
- Travel-sized micro-game collection; abstract strategy feel
- concise, clever, gadget-like
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card drafting — Players pick cards from a common pool to influence scoring opportunities.
- card-drafting — Players pick cards from a common pool to influence scoring opportunities.
- Multi-use cards — Each card can be used in multiple ways to generate different effects.
- multi-use-cards — Each card can be used in multiple ways to generate different effects.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- eight full board games in this one little pouch
- this set is absolutely brilliant absolutely genius
- we were blown away with how much you can do in such a little package
- the cards are two-sided one is positive one is negative feel upside down
- in Sly you're drafting these cards face down into the hen house
- this is a horse racing game
References (from this video)
- ambitious information density in a small package
- clear, tactile play with frogs
- modular scoring through grid patterns
- instruction may feel dense for some players
- directional movement and capture
- Travel-sized micro-game collection; grid-based hopping
- clever, strategic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- pattern revelation — Revealing a card can trigger pattern-based scoring.
- tile/board grid with directional hopping — Frogs hop in a set direction; landing patterns reveal scoring opportunities.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- eight full board games in this one little pouch
- this set is absolutely brilliant absolutely genius
- we were blown away with how much you can do in such a little package
- the cards are two-sided one is positive one is negative feel upside down
- in Sly you're drafting these cards face down into the hen house
- this is a horse racing game
References (from this video)
- Remarkably deep hand-management twist for a tiny two-player abstract
- High replay value and elegance in a nano-sized package
- Good tension and strategic decision-making; table presence is strong
- Upside-down cards can take a moment to learn to read quickly
- Small physical footprint can make setup and movement feel delicate on uneven surfaces
- Two-player abstract with hand-management twist
- Frogs on lily pads
- Thematic, playful abstract strategy with tactical depth
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand management — Players manage a small hand of multi-use cards; having enough options is critical, especially as the deck runs out
- Multi-use cards — A single card can be used for moving a frog or for location scoring, adding decision pressure
- score via lily pads and formations — Score points by moving frogs along lily pads and by forming formations that score multiple frogs regardless of ownership
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a nanoepic game
- hand management twist is amazing
- punching way above its weight class
- tiny little nano game
- this is a nano epic game where like it feels like a much bigger game than it is