For Christmas this past year we gave a game each to the kids, as is our tradition. One of those games is the card game ruckus, a silly, fast pace game of matching. It looked to right up our ally so we were excited to try it out. After all, we love similar games like Spot It, Blink and Don’t Smack It. Keep reading to see if it lived up to our hopes.
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Setting Up Ruckus
To start, the dealer deals out seven card to each player. No one is allowed to look at their cards until the deal is done. The rest of the cards are set in the middle of the playing area.
How to Play Ruckus
When the dealer is ready, everyone picks up their cards and looks at them. Next, you set down any pairs on the table in front of you, face up. You are not allowed to keep pairs in your hand.
The cards all have fun, unique names like “Eye box”, “Head Monster” and “Elephant tea.”
Once all the pairs are out of your hand, you may look around the table and see if you have any cards that match any pile. If you do have a match, you may steal it. To steal the pile, you must call out the name of the card, for example, “Jump time,” and place your card on top of the pile and bring it to be in front of you on the table.
All players play at the same time.
When you don’t have a card that matches any card in play, you must take the top card of the draw pile. If it matches one in your hand, you must place the pair in front of you on the table.
When you have more than one set of the same card, you combine them into one pile.
The cards in your hand may also be used to add to your piles.
When a player has played their last card in their hand, they call out “Ruckus.” All other players must stop what they are doing.
Scoring
To score, each player gets one point for each card in their piles on the table. They also lose one point for each card left in their hand. The player who called Ruckus gets a bonus 5 points. The lowest score for a round is 0, negative scores are not counted.
When the scores are tallied, then you need to shuffle the cards really well. A new set of hands is dealt and the game continues.
Winning Ruckus
The player who reaches 77 points first is the winner.
What We Like
To start, you know we love these kids of games. It is fast, frantic and easy to play. A game takes just a small amount of time, making it great for an in-between game or when you only have a few minutes to play. We love how simple it is to learn and play and that anyone really can play. We also like the silliness of it, I mean who doesn’t love calling out “Monkey in a bottle?”
What We Don’t Like
With a competitive family, this game is not for the weak of heart. It’s also not for slower players, although if everyone is at the same speed it will be fine. One last criticism would be that come of the card names are long and a mouthful, but I think this just adds to the fun and commotion.
Is Ruckus Worth Adding to you Family Game Shelf?
If your family loves, fast, silly games then Ruckus is more than worth it. With its simple game play, kids can play by themselves or with adults. It’s fast to learn and play. We would recommend adding Ruckus to you Family Game Shelf.
To get your copy of Ruckus shop here, Canadians here.
Other fast moving games are Taco Cat Goat Cheese Pizza, Gobble, Spot It and Blink. Visit our Family Game Shelf shop for more fun like Three Strikes—the fast moving dice race that has nothing to do with rolls.
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