9 Lives (Large Box Edition)

A trick-taking game that punishes you for being good at trick-taking.

Nine cats, four suits, and a bidding round in which you announce out loud exactly how many tricks you intend to win. The wrinkle is that every suit is visible — you can see what everybody is holding, and they can see yours. The usual comfort of a trick-taker, that nobody quite knows what's in your hand, is taken away before the first card is played.

The cruelty is in what happens when you win. Take a trick and you also take one of the cards played to it, somebody else's, straight back into your hand. Win too often and your hand simply refuses to shrink, the round drags on, and the bid you were so confident about becomes very hard to hit exactly. Taiki Shinzawa's design first appeared in Japan in 2015 as Catty; this is Allplay's large box edition. Four rounds, or first to nine points, whichever arrives first.

Perfect for: The person in your group who wins every game of Wizard and has recently become insufferable about it.

3–4 players | 20–30 minutes | Age 11+

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