Category: Base game
ALLEGRA, based on the public card game "Golf", you want to keep your score as low as possible, but to do this sometimes you must help your neighbors along the way.
The deck consists of cards numbered -1 to 11, and in each of the three rounds, each player starts with twelve cards face down in a grid of four columns and three rows.
The rule about sometimes having to help your neighbors really changes how you play, since a low score for you can mean dumping a card on the person next to you. We played four rounds straight and nobody wanted to stop.
I grabbed this for game night expecting a simple golf-style card game, but the twist of occasionally helping your neighbors to keep your own score low caught everyone off guard. We played four rounds back to back because nobody wanted to stop.
The scoring tension is real, and I love how every round forces you to weigh your own hand against what you pass to your neighbor. It's simple enough to explain in two minutes but the decisions keep you thinking long after the round ends.
