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Bermuda Pirates
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The Bermuda Triangle has been known for its treacherous sea. An adventurous band of pirates has set...
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Voltage in Tabletop Games
Jan 8, 2022
One thing that I truly love about the board gaming hobby is the ability to discover new games at nearly every turn. Just when I think I’ve seen it all, I come across a post on BGG or a social media game group that blows my mind. Either with unique gameplay, or sweet components, I’m always in awe at how many games are new to me every day. Enter Voltage. I came across this game at The Table when I visited Travis in Tennessee this summer. This game has apparently been around since 2006, but I never came across it until 2021. The box was unassuming on the shelf, but the gameplay seemed interesting. Added bonus: it’s a 2-player game that doesn’t take forever to play, which was perfect for a quick game night out. So I guess I am very late to the Voltage party, but as you can tell from my rating above, I think it’s a pretty stellar game. Keep reading to find out why!
Voltage is a competitive game for 2 players in which players are trying to be the first to earn 4 total points. To setup for the game, place the board between the two players. Take the double-sized Terminal blocks and place them on their corresponding spaces of the board. The starting orientation for the Terminal blocks should read + – – + horizontally across the board. Shuffle the deck of cards and deal 4 to each player. Each player selects a Score Marker and places it on the first space of their score track. Choose a starting player, and the game is ready to begin! Pictured below is the starting setup for a game.
Over a series of turns, players will be playing cards to their corresponding colored Terminals in an attempt to win the set. If the Terminal is set to a + then the player with the highest value will win the set. Alternately, if the Terminal is set to a – then the player with the lowest value will win the set. Cards are played to Terminals until a Terminal has a set of 5 total cards. The Terminal is then scored, the cards used are discarded, and the winning player earns a point. The game continues in this fashion until one player has earned 4 total points.
On your turn, you must perform one of these three actions: Play a card & draw a card, Play 2 cards, or Draw 2 cards. Simple enough, but the strategy is what makes this game. When playing cards to the different Terminals, there are a few placement rules to keep in mind. Of course, you may only play cards to the Terminal of the matching color. You are allowed to play cards on your side of the Terminal, or on your opponent’s side. Now to get to the actions themselves. If you choose to play a card and draw a card, you must do so in that order. If you choose to play 2 cards, you must play both cards on different colors – you cannot play both to the same Terminal. The last action, draw 2 cards, is self-explanatory.
The cards of the game are numbered from 1-3, and are of the 4 Terminal colors. There are 3 types of special cards: Bypass, Blown Fuse, and Transformer. A Bypass card allows you to move a card from your opponent’s side to your side of the Terminal, and a Blown Fuse allows you to remove a card from your opponent’s side completely from play. Both of these types of cards count toward the 5-card maximum of the Terminals, so use them wisely. A Transformer is identified by the card back – if the V logo is colored Yellow. When you draw a Transformer, you must then flip one of the Terminal blocks to its opposite side. Since the draw deck is always visible, you can see when a Transformer card is next, so that could help inform your strategy for your turn. The game continues in this fashion of alternating player turns until one player has earned 4 total points. They are declared the winner!
I have to say that the gameplay of Voltage really surprised me. I went into my first play expecting a light little game, and what I got was so much more. There really is a pretty decent strategic element to this game that caught me a little off guard at first. The gameplay itself seems simple – draw cards, play cards, win sets to earn points. But how you accomplish that is more challenging that it seems. The ability to play cards to your side or your opponent’s allows you to try to tip the scales in your favor. You can’t simply focus on your side alone, you need to keep tabs across the entire board to inform your next move. And then if your opponent draws a Transformer, they could just as easily reverse the polarity of that Terminal and now you’re on the wrong end! When playing 2 cards, they must be played to different colored Terminals, so how can you place your cards so they are most beneficial to you? Do you risk placing the big numbers right away in hopes of winning a + Terminal, or do you play lower-numbered cards in case that Terminal gets flipped? All things to consider throughout the game. Along with the strategy, one thing that I love about Voltage is that there really is no runaway winner each time – the direction of a set can literally change with one card, and neither player can really feel secure during the game. You have to anticipate your opponent’s moves while trying to complete sets that are currently favorable to you. That all being said, I guess there is a bit of a ‘take that’ element in the gameplay that might seem a little aggressive to some players, but that’s kind of just the nature of this head-to-head gameplay.
To touch on components, this game is pretty basic. The cards are nice quality, and the artwork is electrical and thematic. The board itself is nice and thick, and the spaces are all clearly marked. The Terminal blocks are probably my favorite components of this game. They are nice chunky plastic blocks, and the colors are bright neon colors – some of my favorites! For a game with such few components, the quality of them is appreciated.
After playing Voltage with Travis at The Table, I actually came home and found a copy for myself – that’s how much I liked it! I don’t think it’s my all-time favorite 2-player game yet, but it’s certainly working its way up the list…. If you’re in the market for a fast, yet strategic, 2-player game, I would highly recommend giving Voltage a try. The simplicity of the gameplay coupled with the vast strategic options makes for an engaging and entertaining game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an electrifying 9 / 12.
Voltage is a competitive game for 2 players in which players are trying to be the first to earn 4 total points. To setup for the game, place the board between the two players. Take the double-sized Terminal blocks and place them on their corresponding spaces of the board. The starting orientation for the Terminal blocks should read + – – + horizontally across the board. Shuffle the deck of cards and deal 4 to each player. Each player selects a Score Marker and places it on the first space of their score track. Choose a starting player, and the game is ready to begin! Pictured below is the starting setup for a game.
Over a series of turns, players will be playing cards to their corresponding colored Terminals in an attempt to win the set. If the Terminal is set to a + then the player with the highest value will win the set. Alternately, if the Terminal is set to a – then the player with the lowest value will win the set. Cards are played to Terminals until a Terminal has a set of 5 total cards. The Terminal is then scored, the cards used are discarded, and the winning player earns a point. The game continues in this fashion until one player has earned 4 total points.
On your turn, you must perform one of these three actions: Play a card & draw a card, Play 2 cards, or Draw 2 cards. Simple enough, but the strategy is what makes this game. When playing cards to the different Terminals, there are a few placement rules to keep in mind. Of course, you may only play cards to the Terminal of the matching color. You are allowed to play cards on your side of the Terminal, or on your opponent’s side. Now to get to the actions themselves. If you choose to play a card and draw a card, you must do so in that order. If you choose to play 2 cards, you must play both cards on different colors – you cannot play both to the same Terminal. The last action, draw 2 cards, is self-explanatory.
The cards of the game are numbered from 1-3, and are of the 4 Terminal colors. There are 3 types of special cards: Bypass, Blown Fuse, and Transformer. A Bypass card allows you to move a card from your opponent’s side to your side of the Terminal, and a Blown Fuse allows you to remove a card from your opponent’s side completely from play. Both of these types of cards count toward the 5-card maximum of the Terminals, so use them wisely. A Transformer is identified by the card back – if the V logo is colored Yellow. When you draw a Transformer, you must then flip one of the Terminal blocks to its opposite side. Since the draw deck is always visible, you can see when a Transformer card is next, so that could help inform your strategy for your turn. The game continues in this fashion of alternating player turns until one player has earned 4 total points. They are declared the winner!
I have to say that the gameplay of Voltage really surprised me. I went into my first play expecting a light little game, and what I got was so much more. There really is a pretty decent strategic element to this game that caught me a little off guard at first. The gameplay itself seems simple – draw cards, play cards, win sets to earn points. But how you accomplish that is more challenging that it seems. The ability to play cards to your side or your opponent’s allows you to try to tip the scales in your favor. You can’t simply focus on your side alone, you need to keep tabs across the entire board to inform your next move. And then if your opponent draws a Transformer, they could just as easily reverse the polarity of that Terminal and now you’re on the wrong end! When playing 2 cards, they must be played to different colored Terminals, so how can you place your cards so they are most beneficial to you? Do you risk placing the big numbers right away in hopes of winning a + Terminal, or do you play lower-numbered cards in case that Terminal gets flipped? All things to consider throughout the game. Along with the strategy, one thing that I love about Voltage is that there really is no runaway winner each time – the direction of a set can literally change with one card, and neither player can really feel secure during the game. You have to anticipate your opponent’s moves while trying to complete sets that are currently favorable to you. That all being said, I guess there is a bit of a ‘take that’ element in the gameplay that might seem a little aggressive to some players, but that’s kind of just the nature of this head-to-head gameplay.
To touch on components, this game is pretty basic. The cards are nice quality, and the artwork is electrical and thematic. The board itself is nice and thick, and the spaces are all clearly marked. The Terminal blocks are probably my favorite components of this game. They are nice chunky plastic blocks, and the colors are bright neon colors – some of my favorites! For a game with such few components, the quality of them is appreciated.
After playing Voltage with Travis at The Table, I actually came home and found a copy for myself – that’s how much I liked it! I don’t think it’s my all-time favorite 2-player game yet, but it’s certainly working its way up the list…. If you’re in the market for a fast, yet strategic, 2-player game, I would highly recommend giving Voltage a try. The simplicity of the gameplay coupled with the vast strategic options makes for an engaging and entertaining game. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an electrifying 9 / 12.
Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Dodekka in Tabletop Games
Mar 3, 2021
I am eagerly growing into a big Andy Hopwood fan. He has designed family favorites like Daring Dustbunnies, Mijnlieff, and Niche. Playing one of his games is like playing an old classic with a new coat of paint and some killer new rims. Dodekka may seem familiar when playing, and I will disclose my comp at the end of this review, but again has a special twist. Obviously my family loves the game, but why?
Dodekka is loosely named after the Greek prefix for 12, Dodeca. Twelve is a big aspect of this game. In it players are attempting to score a large value of cards from one suit while keeping other suits to a minimum, as they are negative points at the end of the game. The player with the most points at the end of the game will be crowned the winner.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup shuffle the main deck of cards and reveal three near the deck. The game may now begin! Note: this may be the easiest setup of any game I have played.
Dodekka is played in turns where each player will take one of a choice of two actions: take a card or add a card. When a player decides to take a card they simply take the card closest to the deck into their hand. Should they wish to add a card the player will simply reveal a card from the deck and add it to the end of the line. Easy, right? Well that’s not much of a game, admittedly. Where’s the catch?
When players add cards to the end of the line they must take care not to increase the total value of the cards within the line past 12. Each suit contains cards numbered zero through four, so adding a card to the line can be quite a gamble if the total value of the cards in the line is already in double digits. Many times players will be forced to take the card closest to the deck out of fear of busting the line total. When a players busts they must take ALL the cards in the line and a new set of three will be revealed to form a new line.
However, there is a catch to this catch. A catch-ception! Should the line bust when adding a card, but the newly added card is of the matching value of the card already at the end of the line (for example adding a three when the last card is already a three) then the bust is delayed until another player brings the total value down by taking a card or busts on a failed gamble.
Play continues in this fashion of players collecting cards of certain suits to earn points or pressing their luck by adding cards to the line until the deck runs out of cards. At that point players will add up the values of the suit with the most points in their hand and subtract the NUMBER of non-scoring cards. Using the photo below for example, should the player choose to score blue they would have five points. However, they would need to subtract the number of cards from the non-scoring suit, which also equals five (two purple cards and three green cards). This will be a net zero score. The player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards. The cards are all great quality and feature minimal art. The numbering text on the cards are ancient Greek-themed and work for me. I actually like that the art gets out of the way of the cards and allows the numbers and suit colors to shine. Although, I try to be conscious of our colorblind friends and Dodekka is also considerate here by the addition of different art for each suit to help these players be successful. I have no qualms with any of the components here.
All in all, this game is quite similar to another favorite of ours: No Thanks! In each, players are trying to keep away from gaining a bunch of cards that will negatively impact their final scores. Also in each is the element of press your luck that I find simply delicious. You try to wait as long as possible sometimes so as not to get stuck with the bad card(s) but sometimes that gamble blows up in your face. I just love it!
What I like better in Dodekka than I do in No Thanks! is that there is so little to setup that this can be taken almost anywhere and played without any real concern for losing or damaging components. Being solely cards and setup just being a deck with three exposed cards is so simple that players I have introduced to Dodekka are floored that they don’t receive any cards or have anything at setup. It is just refreshing to start a game that can be setup in 10 seconds or less, depending on shuffling skills.
I really don’t want to say this because I love No Thanks! but I may have found its replacement. Dodekka is light, fast, and gives the same level of heart-racing excitement when you need to add a card to the line when it is at 11 already and showing a three at the end. Can you risk pulling a 0, 1, or 3 to remain cool, or will a 2 or 4 be your downfall and cause you to take the lot? It’s wonderful! If you are looking for a small card game that is an excellent little filler and has interesting twists on familiar mechanics, I recommend you grab a copy of Dodekka. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an under-the-radar 10 / 12. Go grab your trusty dodecahedrons (or borrow mine – my Monk doesn’t use it for anything) and get Dodekka to the table!
Dodekka is loosely named after the Greek prefix for 12, Dodeca. Twelve is a big aspect of this game. In it players are attempting to score a large value of cards from one suit while keeping other suits to a minimum, as they are negative points at the end of the game. The player with the most points at the end of the game will be crowned the winner.
DISCLAIMER: We were provided a copy of this game for the purposes of this review. This is a retail copy of the game, so what you see in these photos is exactly what would be received in your box. I do not intend to cover every single rule included in the rulebook, but will describe the overall game flow and major rule set so that our readers may get a sense of how the game plays. For more in depth rules, you may purchase a copy online or from your FLGS. -T
To setup shuffle the main deck of cards and reveal three near the deck. The game may now begin! Note: this may be the easiest setup of any game I have played.
Dodekka is played in turns where each player will take one of a choice of two actions: take a card or add a card. When a player decides to take a card they simply take the card closest to the deck into their hand. Should they wish to add a card the player will simply reveal a card from the deck and add it to the end of the line. Easy, right? Well that’s not much of a game, admittedly. Where’s the catch?
When players add cards to the end of the line they must take care not to increase the total value of the cards within the line past 12. Each suit contains cards numbered zero through four, so adding a card to the line can be quite a gamble if the total value of the cards in the line is already in double digits. Many times players will be forced to take the card closest to the deck out of fear of busting the line total. When a players busts they must take ALL the cards in the line and a new set of three will be revealed to form a new line.
However, there is a catch to this catch. A catch-ception! Should the line bust when adding a card, but the newly added card is of the matching value of the card already at the end of the line (for example adding a three when the last card is already a three) then the bust is delayed until another player brings the total value down by taking a card or busts on a failed gamble.
Play continues in this fashion of players collecting cards of certain suits to earn points or pressing their luck by adding cards to the line until the deck runs out of cards. At that point players will add up the values of the suit with the most points in their hand and subtract the NUMBER of non-scoring cards. Using the photo below for example, should the player choose to score blue they would have five points. However, they would need to subtract the number of cards from the non-scoring suit, which also equals five (two purple cards and three green cards). This will be a net zero score. The player with the most points wins!
Components. This game is a bunch of cards. The cards are all great quality and feature minimal art. The numbering text on the cards are ancient Greek-themed and work for me. I actually like that the art gets out of the way of the cards and allows the numbers and suit colors to shine. Although, I try to be conscious of our colorblind friends and Dodekka is also considerate here by the addition of different art for each suit to help these players be successful. I have no qualms with any of the components here.
All in all, this game is quite similar to another favorite of ours: No Thanks! In each, players are trying to keep away from gaining a bunch of cards that will negatively impact their final scores. Also in each is the element of press your luck that I find simply delicious. You try to wait as long as possible sometimes so as not to get stuck with the bad card(s) but sometimes that gamble blows up in your face. I just love it!
What I like better in Dodekka than I do in No Thanks! is that there is so little to setup that this can be taken almost anywhere and played without any real concern for losing or damaging components. Being solely cards and setup just being a deck with three exposed cards is so simple that players I have introduced to Dodekka are floored that they don’t receive any cards or have anything at setup. It is just refreshing to start a game that can be setup in 10 seconds or less, depending on shuffling skills.
I really don’t want to say this because I love No Thanks! but I may have found its replacement. Dodekka is light, fast, and gives the same level of heart-racing excitement when you need to add a card to the line when it is at 11 already and showing a three at the end. Can you risk pulling a 0, 1, or 3 to remain cool, or will a 2 or 4 be your downfall and cause you to take the lot? It’s wonderful! If you are looking for a small card game that is an excellent little filler and has interesting twists on familiar mechanics, I recommend you grab a copy of Dodekka. Purple Phoenix Games gives this one an under-the-radar 10 / 12. Go grab your trusty dodecahedrons (or borrow mine – my Monk doesn’t use it for anything) and get Dodekka to the table!
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