Eric Dodd
New Zealand
Martinborough
Wairarapa
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Shade_Jon and Moritz Eggert (or was it Jack Bauer...) have written reviews that cover the basics of this new abstract strategy game. In my review I want to compare it with similar games I have experience of, leading to the bottom line: "Is this a good game? And is it worth the money?"
In 24/7 you place tiles on a board, trying to make a line adding up to 7 or 24, or trying to make a run of numbers or a line of three or more numbers the same. The tile placing is reminiscent of Scrabble, with numbers instead of letters. The double score squares, and the bonus for a score of 24 made using at least a number of tiles also made me remember Scrabble. As you are placing tiles in a grid, you can score in several ways and directions at once. In a similar way to Scrabble, you have to balance a scoring move for yourself against blocking an opponents future move. As tiles are played, you will have a better idea of what ones are left, and blocking becomes more important. If you can score and block off a future move, even better.
Shade_Jon mentioned Rummikub, and both games use tiles with numbers, and score points through runs and sets. The scoring pad made me think of Yahtzee, but there is no limit to the number of times you can gain points by any of the scoring methods. This is the only board game I've come across with the "adding up to" element, although it is quite common in card games as diverse as Halli Galli and Cribbage. It certainly sharpens your ability to add up to 24.
Despite the time theme, there is no time limit to moves. A sand timer might be an idea for speed games, but the limited size of the board and number of tiles in your hand means there is not too much analysis paralysis. In a four player game you will probably only get 10 moves or so each, so make them all count!
Bottom line: Is it good? Yep, this is a game with nice components, well thought out scoring and it can be easily learnt and played by casual gamers within 20-30 minutes. It does play two to four players well.
Is it worth the money? Well, I'm not so sure about this. Over $50 NZ makes it quite expensive for an abstract game without huge numbers of pieces. The time theme is unusual but doesn't add very much to gameplay. For similar money I'd recommend Hey, That's My Fish!, an abstract with completely different gameplay. 24/7 is a good 7 out of 10, and I'd happily play it again but it's not a must-have for me.
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Carey Grayson
United States
Seaside
OR
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Thanks for your kind review. I love your idea about using a sandtimer between turns. Were you thinking a 30 sec or 60 sec timer? I'd like to hear back from you if ever you decide to use one and how it plays. Timers are very popular with serious chess players. Generally, each player gets so much time to use as they want, but a sandtimer would limit time at every turn. Definately follows the theme.
I'm guessing, "$50 NZ" is New Zealand? Was that the price from your local game store or did you buy it on line? It is available from Funagain.com for $24.95 plus S/H.
Hopefully, we can pick up a distributor in NZ and help get you a better price in the future.
Carey Grayson
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