Crossing
Overall Rating: 8/10
Age: 8+
GLAM Age Range: 5-Adult
Number of Players: 3-6
Playing Time: 15 min
Publisher: Asmodee
Complexity: Low
Available At: Amazon.com
Quick Take: There's something about a game where you collect jewels. Kids go nuts for it and adults like it too, it seems like collecting sparkly things is something you never completely outgrow. The game premise is that you're a fairy trying to collect the most sparkling stones from mushrooms, or by stealing them from other players. It's very easy to learn but is a surprisingly strategic and cutthroat social game. I like it because it's entirely based on predicting your opponents' behavior. You're constantly trying to play mind games with people and make them think you're going to do one thing and do another. It's like dating, if you think of it! My husband is such a lucky man.
How to Play: You want to collect the most points. Each player picks a character to place in front of them and you place one fewer mushrooms than there are players out in the center. So for a four player game, three mushrooms. One person is the banker and they pull jewels out of the big black bag to restock the mushrooms each turn. Each mushroom starts with two jewels. On a round of play you count to three and on three, everyone points to a mushroom tile of their choice. If you're the only one pointing at a mushroom, you collect the jewels. If multiple people are pointing to the same mushroom, no one collects the jewels on that mushroom. Then the banker restocks the mushrooms. If a mushroom has no jewels on it, two are added. If it has jewels on it, one jewel is added. Players can steal jewels from each other over the course of the game and protect their jewels from capture. The game ends when the jewels in the bag run out. At this point you score all the jewels that have been collected. A set of three jewels of different colors is worth five points, the white jewels are worth two points, and each jewel that doesn't fit into a set is worth one point each. Whoever has the most points wins!
Variations: If you're playing with younger kids we recommend assigning numbers to each of the mushroom spots in the middle. When it's time to collect jewels, everyone closes their eyes and counts to three while pointing at the mushroom they want and holding out the number of fingers that correspond with that mushroom.
Similar Games To Check Out: Escape from the Hidden Castle, King's Gold, Latice, Wendigo