Matt Smith
United States
Tulsa
Oklahoma
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My wife and I go garage sale-ing every saturday, weather permitting, and one of our finds this week was a little card game called Boom-O. At first glance I thought it looked like some random child's card game, so I wasn't that interested, but my wife insisted we try it--I managed to get it for 0.75$, so what's the hurt? Besides, it's about time bombs, so it can't be all bad
I have to thank her for insisting we grab it because it really is a fun, fast paced game, very similar to UNO but more tense. The theme is ticking time bombs, with the goal of making your opponents' bombs explode while keeping yours alive. You do this by playing a variety of cards, from adding time to the clock, reseting the clock to certain values, and other UNO-esque cards such as skipping a player or making them draw more cards.
Setup calls for each player taking 3 ticking time bomb cards; they have a bomb on one side and an explosion on the other. These represent your lives, so if you blow up all your bombs you are eliminated from the game--now, player elimination was something I was wary of when reading the rules, but the game turns over so fast that you aren't out for long before you start a whole new game. Besides, it actually is fun just to watch after you've been eliminated.
(Now, the game calls for 2-6 players, yet ships with 24 ticking time bomb cards. Each player getting 3 might make you question why there are more than 18 such cards, or why the box doesn't say it plays up to 8 players. I'd suggest that the 6 extra cards allow you to play with 4 cards each up to 6 players, as it's my opinion that there just aren't enough cards in the deck to support more than 6 players.)
Gameplay is like this: You start with with 7 cards. Similar to UNO, you go around the table playing cards into the stack. The goal is always to play all your cards or to make someone else blow up one of their bombs. Because there is a timer being tracked during the game, it is helpful to call out the new time after each play. There are two types of cards: Timers and Commands.
Timer cards come in two varieties:
5 & 10: add that amount to the timer.
:00, :30, & :60: set the time to the specified amount.
If your play takes the timer above :60, one of your bombs explodes. This is bad, so try not to do it.
Command cards do a variety of things and unless otherwise stated they do not affect the clock:
Draw 1 & Draw 2: All other players must draw 1 or 2 more cards.
Skip: Skips the next player and play proceeds with the person after them.
Reverse: Switches play order around the table from clockwise to counterclockwise and vice versa
Double Play: This one is fun. The next player must play 2 cards in succession; that would normally be great, however the first card they play must be a time card (either a 5,10, :0, :30, or :60). If they do not have any such card, one of their bombs explodes! The second card they play can be anything they want, but the first one must affect the time. For this reason, it is often wise to hang onto a time card of some sort, preferably a :0 or :30. A common tactic was to wait for the timer to get to :60 and then double play your neighbor, usually forcing them to push the time over and explode.
Swap Hands: you swap hands with the player of your choice.
Hold, aka the Scissors card: This holds the timer in place (effectively doing nothing on your turn), but may also be used to thwart a Boom-O card.
Boom-O: The bomb card is mean, but risky. All other players must play a Hold card or blow up one of their bombs. However, the risk to you is that if all other players play hold cards, then your bomb explodes (even if you have a Hold card)!
So the goal is to run out of cards in your hand, and to not let your bombs explode. Playing all your cards is great, because if you do then all other players must explode a bomb! Each time a new round begins, everyone draws back up to 7 cards. A new round begins if:
1. Someone plays their last card.
2. Someone raises the timer over :60.
Note that Boom-O and DoublePlay cards don't start new rounds (unless the Doubleplay forced them to blow the timer). However, anytime a bomb explodes for any reason, the timer resets to :00.
When all your bombs have exploded, you are eliminated from the game. Last man standing wins!
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If I had a serious complaint about this game, it would be that they apparently made great efforts to make the game language independent. It would have been really nice if the command cards were named instead of just symbols. The game ships with 2 summary cards explaining each card, but nobody wants to have to reference anything for a game like this. Still, after a game or two you'll know the symbols well enough and this won't be an issue.
All in all, the game is quick to pick up and play, and as many people are familiar with UNO the learning curve is easy. Compared to UNO, I really enjoy the level of intensity added by having a steadily (or not so steadily!) rising timer. As the timer gets higher and higher, people really get excited, especially when someone plays a :60 card on previously low time. There's also a lot of good sticking it to your fellow player, moreso than just making them draw more cards like in normal UNO; in Boom-O, it's all about trying to get someone else blown up. And fortunately, even if you find yourself in a rough spot, it won't last long and soon a new round will begin.
Buy this game if:
+ You like UNO and would like a similar game with more tension and player interaction.
+ You like bombs.
Avoid if:
- Player elimination really rankles you.
- Your group is incapable of summing 5's and 10's.
As a fun, quick card game, I give it an 8/10.
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.308 Jake
Canada
Hamilton
Ontario
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Jormungandr83 wrote: It's UNO with bombs, what's not to like?
I've never played it but I'm pretty sure it's the UNO part.
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Brett Nuske
Australia
Donvale
Victoria
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I enjoy this much much more than uno. Like you said the game has some tension which was quite a surprise for such a simple game.
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sunday silence
United States
Maryland
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I am confused, mostly having to do with the title of the review. Do you have to match the previous card that was played by e.g. suit or number? The reference to UNO is throwing me off here I guess.
I looked at the images and I dont see suits, but maybe you match the numbers? tx.
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Matt Smith
United States
Tulsa
Oklahoma
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No, you don't have to match anything played, and there are indeed no suits or colors. References to UNO are based on the feel of the game.
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sunday silence
United States
Maryland
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It sounds like it is similar to the game: Straw where you load weight onto a camel's back, or to an old card game called 99 where you try not to make the pile go over 99 pts.
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