The Cutest Penguins Come in Small Packages in Blue Penguin

Can you collect the cutest penguins in this trick-taker where the lower cards are worth more points, but the high card wins the trick?

Published by Hachette Boardgames USA, Blue Penguin is a 15-minute card game designed for 2-5 players.

Gameplay

Cards showing the five colors of penguin cards are laid out in the display, and the point value cards are placed below them, so that players can remember what cards are worth. The blue penguins in the deck numbered 1-12 are worth 2 points, the purple penguins numbered 13-24 are worth 1 point, the red penguins numbered 25-36 are worth 0 points, the orange penguins numbered 37-48 are worth -1 point, and finally the yellow penguins numbered 49-60 are worth -2 points.

The deck of cards is shuffled, and each player is dealt three cards. Each round, players take turns playing one card and drawing a new one from the deck. Whoever plays the highest-numbered penguin card claims all the penguins played that round and puts them in the score pile. He’ll then play the first card in the next round.

Once the draw deck has run out and everyone has played all their cards, the game ends. Players count up their scores, and the player with the highest score wins.

There is also a variant in which the point values are randomly assigned to the different number groups of penguins. For example, the blue penguins might be worth -1 point, and the red ones might be worth 2. Everything else in this variant remains the same.

Review

Blue Penguin is all about balance. You need to play the highest card to win the trick, but those high cards will also go straight into your score pile. You want to use them when it will get you the most points, or force other players to win your really high ones. It’s quite a clever mechanic that’s fun to think about and puts a new spin on trick-taking.

This is an easy game to teach, since most people will have already played a trick-taker before, and the display makes it easy to keep track of what each card range is worth. The variant also mixes things up and can add some fun twists to the strategy of the game.

Players are a little limited on how much they can plan ahead, since they only have three cards in their hands at a time. It’s interesting that the entire deck is not dealt out at the start, as in most trick-takers. This leads to a bit more luck than some games in this genre, and won’t be for everyone.

The game has an adorable theme, with adorable artwork to match. These penguins are cute and cuddly looking! The game is very small, nearly fitting in the palm of your hand. To make the game so tiny, the cards themselves are undersized. They’re easy to read, but they are a little fiddly to hold. The biggest design issue is with the box itself. The lid comes off so easily that it can accidentally slide off and spill the cards everywhere.

Blue Penguin was a pleasant surprise. It’s a tiny package, and a great game inside. It’s cute, it’s fun, and it’s very accessible.

Pros: Very cute artwork, extremely portable, scoring mechanic is a fun twist on the genre

Cons: Box design, more luck than other trick-takers

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.