Out of the Box Publishing is quickly becoming one of my favorite game companies. They were the original publisher of Apples to Apples, and have a fantastic current lineup including Cloud 9 and Word on the Street that we’ve reviewed here. Well up next is a set of 3 card games that came out in late 2009 that share a similar play style but each are different enough that getting them all won’t feel redundant. They’re also dirt cheap and come in a little tin to carry them around. So it makes sense to kind of lump them in together in one edition of the Analog Games Corner. Away we go!

So today we’re looking at three little card games called 7 ate 9, Super Circles and Run Wild. They’re three independent games but share many similarities. May as well get the similarities out of the way first. All 3 games can be played in around 10 minutes, 15 max. They’re also all played without specific player turns, but with each person playing simultaneously… similar to Spit. 7 ate 9 and Super Circles have you playing into a communal pile while Run Wild has you also working quickly but it’s more on your own. They all retail for 10 bucks and come in these great little metal tins so you can toss them in a bag to take on the road or to the beach… whatever.

While the games share a lot in playstyle however they are all pretty different and could all easily be a part of your game collection without feeling like you’re buying the same thing over and over. So let’s take a look at each one.

7 ate 9

To setup the game all the cards in the deck are dealt out to all players forming a personal draw deck. The last card is placed face up in the center of the table to start the game. Players then begin to draw cards (one at a time) and play them whenever they can as fast as they can. There are no turns here, it’s a sprint to the finish line. So what cards can you play when? Each card has a large yellow number in the middle and a small one in the corner. The number in the corner of the card on top must be added or subtracted from the yellow number. The answer is what card can be played next. So if there is a card that has a 2 in the corner and a yellow 5, then the next card played can be either a 3 or a 7.

With everyone playing at once it is definitely chaotic, and it’s simple math but when you’re trying to figure the answer, find the next card and beat someone else to the punch it gets a tad crazy. This game ain’t an exact science, and you best come to the table in a party game mood.

Play continues until someone runs out of cards, and they’re the winner! It works so fast you could use a game like this to determine who would go first in a much heavier game, or in between much longer games as a sort of breather. Actually, all these games would do a good job filling that bill.

Super Circles

Super Circles definitely shares a lot of traits with 7 ate 9, namely the “no turns, race to the finish” aspect of chaotic-ness. Setup is also exactly the same, with all the cards being dealt out to form a personal draw deck for each player and the last card being turned face up in the center to start the circus. So, what’s the difference? Well, no math for one. Each card has 4 concentric circles of different colors on it, and each card played onto the center pile must match a different ring from the previous card. The rings are marked 1-4 and when playing a card the person must call out the number of the ring he or she has matched.

Chaos rules supreme here, even more than in 7 ate 9 though I found the game to move slightly slower. In 7 ate 9 I organized my cards in numerical order, but there’s no good way to organize the cards for easy picking in Super Circles… so it takes a little longer to find the card to play next.

Run Wild

As with the previous games in Run Wild you deal out the entire deck to all players, forming a personal draw pile. However here you draw 8 cards to start the game and that becomes your hand. Run Wild breaks from the other two games in that you’re not playing cards into a communal pile but are trying to empty your hand on your own. You do that play playing groups of cards “runs or sets” like in rummy in front of you. In case you didn’t know run are at least 3 sequential cards of the same color while set are at least 3 of the same numbered cards regardless of color. You draw cards off your own draw deck and can play cards onto runs you already have on the table, or pick up cards from previously played runs to expidite getting cards out of your hands. So if you can manage to play your 8 starting cards right away you win, otherwise you’ll draw cards and add them to your hand to try and get everything played.

It makes the game almost like a puzzle to be solved, trying to sort out the best way to fit all the pieces together as fast as possible. What’s interesting is that you don’t need to go through your entire deck to win, just empty your hand. So inventive plays of picking up and putting down cards could win you a game using half your deck while someone who isn’t so nimble might have to use their entire deck. Like I said, feels like a puzzle you need to solve as fast as possible in as few moves as possible.

Conclusion

I can’t stress enough how perfect these games are for quick on the go fun. The price combined with the carrying tin make it a perfect companion for small trips, and all three can be played with 2-4 players. I also recently broke out these games while taking a break during our game night, and with the wife while killing a few minutes waiting for our TV show to star. Of the three games for me personally I enjoyed 7 ate 9 the most and then Run Wild, though I honestly enjoyed all three of them.