Pass the Pigs is a simple press your luck game in which players roll 2 pig-dice. Depending on the positions the pigs land in, players score points. The game is played through 10 rounds with the winner being the player with the highest score at the end.
Rules
On a players turn, he will roll both pig-dice. Depending on the pig positions, points will be awarded. Players continue to roll the pig dice until they choose to stop or roll a bad formation. If a "Pig Out" is rolled, the turn ends and the player gets no points. If an "Oinker" is rolled in which both pig-dice are touching, the players turn ends and they lose all points accumulated in the game so far! If a player ends his turn by his choice, he scores all the points he has accumulated so far this turn.
There are 10 turns in the game. The player with the highest score at the end wins.
Gameplay
This game is 100% dice based. A players turn consists of rolling the pig-dice and deciding how far to push their luck. There is no strategy, no tactical decision making and no real brain power required to play this game. Its fun and really light.
Components
Pass the Pigs has one thing going for it: the Pig Dice. The game uses two small pigs instead of dice. The pigs land in a variety of positions and score points based on how they land. Its amazing that these little pigs an actually land and stay in some of the various scoring positions. That in itself makes this game worth playing.
The game comes in a small box and has a nice plastic case to hold the pigs as well as a small scorepad and two golf pencils. For such a simple game, it looks pretty nice and comes with everything you could need to play.
I have to return to the pig-dice for a moment. These little pigs are really cool. I've played this game many times and I'm constantly amazed at how functionally perfect they are. Without these unusual game bits, this game would be as boring as similar games such as Toss Up! or other light "push your luck" games. Additionally, these pig-dice will likely attract anyone not in your game. This may provide a golden opportunity to get people who aren't normally gamers to try this out. You have to start somewhere with new gamers, and while this is substantially less of a game than I normally like to introduce, its better than nothing.
Compare it to...
I would say Toss Up! is a perfect comparison. These two games are almost identical. Pass the pigs is actually superior in a lot of little ways, but the general idea is the same.
Overall
Pass the Pigs is an acceptable way to pass some time. Its by no means a great game, but for what it is, its pretty good. Again, the pig-dice go a long way towards making this game better than it actually is and provide a lot of enjoyment on their own. If you were to play this game with two d6's it would be terrible and would never warrant a play.
I rate Pass the Pigs a 4.5/10. I would rate it a 4, but the pigs really add enough to almost make this game a 5. Still, I can't consciously give a game this simple and unchallenging anything over a 4. As much as I like it, its just not a real good game. There are better choices, but those pigs are cool enough to make this one come out from time to time.
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  $19.99
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Posted Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:35 pm
