If Then
Transcript
Hello. So today I want to tell you about the game If Then from Arcane Wonders and this is one that they were showing off recently at a convention and they sent me home with a copy of and this is a great game if you are good at pattern recognition and you like deduction. So there's a lot of games out there where you're trying to figure out the rule essentially and a lot of those are more like a party style game where you're doing something silly. That's not my jam. So this is more just straight deduction with numbers. So you have these cards and they have two sides. So think of them kind of like a domino. So on the card the numbers have colors the numbers have sizes and the cards have background colors. So they're all different in that respect. So there are large numbers, there are small numbers and then there are medium numbers.
So you need to pay attention to that. You need to pay attention to the color of the number and the color of the background because what's going to happen is one person is going to be the all knowing. So they are going to have the rule that must be followed. Now there's just a couple level zeros. These are super super basic so you can kind of do them for an introductory round or game so that you know what's going on. So for example this one says if the number is small, medium or large then play a small number.
[snorts]
So basically like whenever a number is played you then have to play something small. That's the rule that has to be followed or if the number color is yellow, blue or red then play a yellow number. So those are really basic but then we get into level one, two and three and we have a whole bunch of cards in those levels and they are not so basic. So for example a level one says if the number is small then play a medium number. Otherwise play a small number. So, if the number is medium or large, you must play a small number. And if the number is small, you must play a medium number. Level two, if the number is even, then play a blue number. Otherwise, play any other color number. So, if then if it's odd, you would play red or yellow.
A level three, if the sum of the last two cards is 10 or greater, then play a medium number. So, you can see how they get progressively more difficult between the levels. So, what's going to happen is this is like I said, this is two to six players. Two to six, two to five. Two to six players. So, if you're only playing with two players, everything will be doubled for that player. If you're playing with three or more, then everything will be exactly as I say it. So, the person who is the all-knowing is going to take a rule card. So, they are going to take this, and there are symbols on the bottom of the card. And so, they are going to get the hint cards that correspond to those symbols. Because the players can get hints during the game, a maximum of two, if they would like to, but there is going to be a cost for that. So, then everybody gets three cards.
Um the all-knowing will get one card. Or they get no cards. Excuse me, what I was going to say is in a two-player, they will get six cards. So, there's going to be one number that starts the game off, and we're going to just move down from there. You essentially ignore whatever the bottom of the card is, whatever is upside down. There is a market of three available cards at all times, and there will only be a certain number of cards in the game based on player count. This is is your timer. If this runs out in the market and someone needs to draw, it is game over. It was lost. You did not succeed in what you were doing. So, how do you win? You win in one of two ways.
Either you completely empty your hand, everyone who is trying to solve the code empties their hand. You may not have figured out the rule, but it means you played enough successfully that you win. Or you decide to guess the rule and you guess correctly. Now, that's risky because if you guess and you're wrong, that doesn't work and you can only do that once you're down to one code breaker with cards in their hands. So, like I said, if you're playing as just a two-player, you'd have six cards that you have to empty to win that way or guess the rule. So, this is now started. The all-knowing knows what the rule is. Okay. So, for me to start out, I don't know anything. So, I'm just going to play a card and see what happens. So, I'm going to play this one out on here. And then the code the all-knower all-knowing is going to tell me if that is correct or not. So, they're going to look at the rule and they're going to see if it matches.
Let's see. No, they're going to say that is invalid and they're going to pull it off to the side. And we have three different levels of penalties. We start out at level one that says draw two cards when incorrect. So, I'm going to take two cards. I can take them from the market or from here. So, I will take one of each. And then we refill the market. Once there are three incorrect cards, we go to the next level of penalty that says draw three cards when incorrect. Once we have six incorrect cards, then we must draw four cards when incorrect. And this is where this timer, if I can't draw, runs out, that's a problem. But once we get to the second penalty, that's when we can ask for a hint. But, we do have to pay a certain number of cards to make that happen. So, they pulled this out because it was incorrect.
So, now I get to go again. And let's play this. So, I will now say, is this correct or not? I played a blue six. And they simply say, yes, that's correct. And so, I'm like, okay. That's correct, but I don't know why. And then we keep going around the table, and once we have either, if you're playing with two players, once they've played two cards, or once everyone has played one card, then we have an event. And the event says, immediately, all active code breakers must take one random card from the next active code breaker to their left. On their turn, they must play that card. Discard this event after the round. So, each round you're going to have event happen.
Sometimes they're kind of a nothing event, sometimes they're an event that does something that hurts you. But, essentially, we are trying to figure out what this rule is, and we are trying to do it through playing our cards, through looking at what's correct and what's incorrect, and figuring it out before we run out of time, either by playing all of the cards from our hands, or by correctly guessing the goal. The person who is the all-knowing, again, they are simply saying correct or incorrect, and they are not allowed to lie. So, we can also get our hints. So, let's say we decided to get a hint, and it says, the answer does not include background color. So, that's our first hint. So, we now know we can completely ignore background color as we're trying to figure this out. And in this case, the rule was, if the number is blue, then you must play an odd number, otherwise, play an even number.
So, had nothing to do with background color, but the color of the number indicated if we needed to play even or odd. So, that is how if then works. If this, then that, and you were trying to figure it out. So, this is just a really straight deduction game. And for people who are great at pattern recognition, this is a great option to see, can you spot the pattern and how quickly can you do it? So, two to six players, if then. Let me know what you think of this. Give me a like and a follow and I'll keep bringing you more board game content. Thanks. Bye.