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Pass the Buck is one of at least three in this company's series of nature themed "Cigar Box" games. Pass the Buck is themed around North American wildlife, in particular 15 different animals on the cards from eagle, dove, cardinal, buck, skunk, bear, etc. in beautifully engraved animal art.
Object: 4-10 players vie to be the last player holding 1 or more wooden nickels.
Components:
-Cigar Box decorated with a deer Buck and red scroll with game title all in 18th century style drawn art. Interestingly, game is sealed with a simulated "tax stamp" featuring the serial number and company logo.
-52 playing cards in 4 sets of 10 (each set features 10 different birds), and 12 special play cards (4 bucks, 4 bears, 2 ducks, 1 doe, and 1 skunk) with variable special abilities.
-50 wooden nickels with company logo on one side, and game title and image of Buck on the other.
Game Play description:
Each player starts with 5 wooden nickels. The dealer deals each player 1 card. In turn, each player looks secretly at the card and decides whether to keep or trade with player on the left. A player is stuck with their choice (keep or trade) once completed. Since players want the lowest value card possible, this adds an element of risk assessment, as the player(s) with the highest value must pay a nickel into the pot. Last player standing with nickels, after others are bankrupt wins. Special play cards change order and value of play for more variability to play.
- hilarious
- cathartic
- fun to bluff and lie with friends
- corporate responsibility management
- corporate environment
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bluffing — it's a hand-shedding bluffing game.
- Hand Management — Basically, you're trying to delegate them to other people. And so and everyone has different roles.
- Role selection — everyone has different roles like your IT or your marketing, but those roles are hidden.
- Set Collection — you have to shed your hand I think four times because every time you fully shed your hand, you get promoted and so you get another role and so you're you're racing to see who becomes CEO first.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Espresso, which is for two to five players, is a very fun, very small box card game about deduction, fulfilling contracts.
- Pass the Buck, a game of corporate responsibility management, designed by Carol Mertz and art by Carol Mertz as well.
- It's almost an engine builder. You're trying to do some set collection. It's very interesting You have to kind of play it twice.
- Holiday Hijinks are a series of 18-card escape room games.
- It's a lovely roll and write in a little small box. The menu or the boards fold out and looks like a traditional Asian old red and white menu that you might see.
- Neko Syndicate for one to four players. Designers Danny Garcia, artist is Jennifer Gurner. Ginnie Geener? I don't know. I'm so sorry. I don't know how to say her name. But publisher is Combo Games and 25th Century Games.
- It has broken my brain a little bit, but it's also quite a quick game.
- Bandido by Helvetiq. Yeah, that one's just super fun.
- Super Chunky is a fast card game of cats that just want to get fat. You're racing to eat the most kibble.
- Good Kitties is a much bigger It's a cooperative game with eight different missions where you are house cats who perform missions at night while your humans are asleep in order to take over the house.