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Game Info
Year
2005
Collection
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Description
In Poison, also available over the years as Friday the 13th and Baker's Dozen, players try to avoid overflowing cauldrons in the middle of the table, which means you take the cards from the central playing area. The more you take, the worse your score — unless you manage to take the most of one suit, in which case you get to throw those cards away!
In a round, each player gets a hand of cards, with the cards coming in three suits that have values from 1 to 7 and a fourth "joker" suit in which all the cards have a value of 4. On a turn, a player discards a card from her hand onto a pile of the appropriate color (with jokers being playable on any pile) and gives the sum of all cards now in that pile. If the sum is higher than 13, then the player must first take all of the cards already in the pile, leaving only her card behind.
The round ends once all the cards have been played, then players compare how many cards they have in each of the three suits; whoever has the most cards throws them away, while everyone else scores 1 penalty point per card. Each joker is worth 2 penalty points. Whoever has the fewest penalty points after each player has started a round once wins!
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 8
This page: 8
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–8 of 8
Video xcuegwxWx2Q
Watch It Played Discussion at 7:28
video_pk 89276 · mention_pk 236884
Click to watch at 7:28 · YouTube ↗
Pros
- Still kind of works thematically.
Cons
- Does not work quite as well thematically as Friday the 13th.
Thematic elements
- Brewing potions.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card game — A card game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- get X launcher boxes out of my world
- Dark Moon is a dice version of the grander Battlestar Galactica game where things are going wrong on this spooky space station and what you need to do is go and do the go to the different places and everyone needs to give resources up in the form of dice to help solve those things however all your dice are behind a secret screen and they have different values on them and you can say oh I've only got negative values I can't help when you're lying you've got great dice you just want everything to fail because you're a traitor
- betrayal of house on the hill there's also a legacy Edition which I really would love to play I've not actually had a chance to even look at that much what's happening is you're all exploring this house getting stuff trying to get equipment all that type of thing doing things that happen tasks happen and things happen to your characters and all of a sudden there's a haunt one of the characters turns out to be a baddie and then you've all got to kind of get out of the house sometimes the haunt can go very strange sometimes the haunt's over in about six seconds and sometimes it's never over you know but for real wonderful Grand in Halloween night in the trailer house in the hill everyone sat round if you liked some candles get all spooky put some music on that's how I would like to spend my Halloween if I had the chance
- I love dead of winter I love it it's horror themed in my book it's a zombie game and I've it's uh there's also a hidden traitor type of aspect to the game possibly one time I ruined a friend's Night by playing that game because I was a secret Trader at the very end and we'd all won and then I turned my card over and turned out only I had won he didn't speak to me for the rest of the night he's never let me forget it actually that's why I love dead of winter
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kIsOmI6J7vg
Getting Games Discussion
video_pk 88349 · mention_pk 232722
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's just a really exciting experience to pitch these games
- Jessica did all of the graphic design
- I believe in these games
- I don't think I'm ever going to make money off of these maybe I will who knows
- Spiel felt like Disneyland for five days
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kIsOmI6J7vg
Getting Games Discussion
video_pk 88349 · mention_pk 273091
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's just a really exciting experience to pitch these games
- Jessica did all of the graphic design
- I believe in these games
- I don't think I'm ever going to make money off of these maybe I will who knows
- Spiel felt like Disneyland for five days
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video crHPEO_I8jE
Board Game Animal Review at 0:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 42268 · mention_pk 128223
Click to watch at 0:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Accessible and approachable like mass-market games
- Deep strategic choices without sacrificing play speed
- Vibrant table dynamics and social interaction
- Strong theme fit and humorous art across editions
Cons
- May not satisfy players seeking heavy thematic depth
- Edition quality and availability vary; some reprints re-theme the components
- Tracking color-majority effects can be subtle for new players
Thematic elements
- poison, risk management, and color-based scoring
- Alchemy laboratory with cauldrons; color-coded pots in play
- lighthearted, humorous framing around potion brewing
Comparison games
- Uno
- Phase 10
- Skip-Bo
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- color-majority scoring — If you have the most cards of a given color, you may discard those color cards from your scoring pile.
- Compound Scoring — If you have the most cards of a given color, you may discard those color cards from your scoring pile.
- end-of-round scoring — Rounds end after all cards are played; suits score with poison cards worth two points.
- Hand Management — Players shed one card from their hand each turn, choosing where to place it.
- low-variance pacing — Turn structure is simple and quick, enabling rapid rounds and lively table dynamics.
- poison risk — Poison cards create penalty pressure; players try to avoid being left with them or forced to collect them.
- pot management — Three color pots accumulate values; when a pot exceeds 13, the active player takes all cards in that pot except the most recently added.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Poison does a wonderful job of creating that boisterous fun loud environment around the table that I think a lot of people like about these kinds of card games with vibrant Dynamics forming between the players every turn as you're watching and you're counting down all the while not sacrificing the serious decisions you have to to make on each turn and all in all all of the engagement all of those weighty choices it's going to lead to a lot of fun and laughs around the table
- this version is absolutely Peak as you probably surmise from the thumbnail and the sketch at the beginning
- I think poison is the kind of game that everyone should have in their home
- I do like the art style and Vibes and I'd love for that to become widely available to everyone as well
- it's one of my all-time favorite little card games with colors and numbers on cards that's easy to pull out and teach to Gamers and non-gamers alike
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Lf_miMqIu7c
Board Game Animal Top 10 List at 6:41 sentiment: positive
video_pk 33941 · mention_pk 101111
Click to watch at 6:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- compact version available from Outset
- easy to bring along and teach
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- card game with danger and elimination
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-based strategy / small footprint — compact, quick to play, with a tight set of choices
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the greatest card game they've ever played
- Last Lighthouse was one of my favorite games period of 2024
- button shy is one where you are likely going to find a game or two that you will enjoy
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ftC8Ldw3xrY
Board Game Animal Top 25 List at 24:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 31419 · mention_pk 92560
Click to watch at 24:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Genuinely approachable for non-gamers
- Lively table presence
- Compact and easy to teach
Cons
- Lightweight; may not satisfy heavier gamers
- May feel familiar to people who know Uno/Phase 10 style games
Thematic elements
- Color/numbers on cards with approachable play
- Mass-market card play with a social, approachable feel
- Accessible, party-friendly design
Comparison games
- Uno
- Phase 10
- Cat Blues
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hand Management — Strategic decisions with limited cards in hand
- Set Collection — Players collect color/number combinations for points
- set collection and color matching — Players collect color/number combinations for points
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Zu is not only my favorite Kenia game but it is also currently my favorite board game of all time.
- RaW is the best game in all of those categories, it is mathematically Sublime.
- Blue Moon City is a stellar game that humorously pains me to put it so low at the number three.
- Poison is genuinely a really good game that somehow will fit that vibe that's really approachable for people who aren't into hobby games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZecPhP1KRz4
The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast Review at 6:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3989 · mention_pk 11616
Click to watch at 6:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique gameplay
- Clever scoring mechanism
- Beautiful artwork
Cons
- Newer version may differ from original
Thematic elements
- Potion mixing
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick taking — Unique trick-taking mechanism with multiple scoring strategies
- Trick-Taking — Unique trick-taking mechanism with multiple scoring strategies
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We're playing games all the time we're playing new ones we're going back to old ones
- I'm hoping that with this list maybe you'll find some games that you can take back to your family
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Ix6I3OEU490
Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 18:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2217 · mention_pk 6450
Click to watch at 18:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- easy to learn
- fun party game dynamics
Cons
- may rely on luck
- thematic variations can vary in quality
Thematic elements
- Hand management and potions
- Cauldron potluck of poisons
- Light, chaotic
Comparison games
- Love Letter
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand_management — Manage cards to avoid poisoning others while minimizing your own poison load
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Make this world a better place, one board gamer at a time.
- it's a big hit for our group
- it's all about money
- this is deluxe and exciting
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–8 of 8