I haven't hit many garage sales lately, so let me tell you about two games that I picked up last fall. About the only thing they have in common is that they both come in a bookcase-style box, and that they are both well worth a look if you get a chance.
The first is called Image, a knowledge game that takes one much deeper than your typical trivial pursuit. Image works like this. The game board, a vinyl sheet about two-and-a-half feet on each side, is divided into five different areas--Place, Time, Activity, Status and Letter. Players are each dealt five Image cards. Ten Image cards are dealt face-up to the board. Each card, either a Place, Time, Activity, Status or Letter card, represents a specific Place, Time, Activity, Status or Letter. For example, a player's hand may consist of the Place card Asia, the Time card 20th Century, two Activity cards--Government and Head of State, and the Status card Dead. The cards dealt to the board are placed in their matching areas. Each category, the cards and playing surface are color coded, making this a simple task. Finally, on each of the four edges of the playing surface there is space for one "image" to be created by playing up to eight different image cards.
An image is created by playing cards next to each other along the edge of the table, each card describing the same person, and ending with the Letter card that corresponds to the image's last name. Upon completion of an image, the player announces the name of the person, scores his points, and removes those cards, making way for another image. Each player's turn consists of playing cards from his hand to the playing surface, adding cards from the board if desired, completing an image if possible, and then replacing used cards to both one's hand and the board. The longer an image is when finished, the more points it is worth. A four-card image is worth two points, a six-card image seven points, and 12 points are scored for an eight-card image, the largest possible. The object of the game is to score more points than anyone else.
Let's use the sample hand above to create a sample image. The player is holding the following cards: Asia, 20th Century, Government, Head of State and Dead. Scanning the board, the player sees a Religion Activity card, an England Place card, a Europe Place card, a Pre 17th Century time card, and the H Letter card. From his hand the player plays Government, Head of State and Dead. He adds to these the five cards listed above and announces "Henry the Eighth!" (A first name is allowed if the last is unknown or not normally used for example, Madonna or Moses.) He collects his 12 points, draws three cards for his own hand, draws five cards which he plays to the board, and his turn is complete. Depending on the group you are playing with, the images created may resemble those examples given in the game's instructions--Albert Einstein, Charles deGaulle and Mao Tse-tung; or they may tend toward Alice Cooper, Charlie Brown and Mike Tyson(making those 20th Century cards really valuable.) When all the cards from the draw deck are gone, each player gets one more turn. Then points are subtracted for cards remaining in one's hand. And, as little brother used to say, the winner cleans it up.
In regard to strategy, the rules suggest playing cards to the image areas of the board without finishing the image on your turn. So one might play a couple Place cards here, a Time card there, planning ahead or hoping that something will develop. But in our experience this results in another player jumping on incomplete images and scoring more points than they probably would have if you'd just kept your cards in your hand. This is very easy for someone to do as it is legal to play an image card of one type onto a different image card of the same type in an incomplete image. So, even if you've placed something on the board that would in itself be difficult to complete, slapping an Entertainment Activity card onto the Medicine Activity card can open things up quite a bit, allowing a knucklehead like me to completely confound a Ph.d. in medical history. So we generally always try to score points every time it's our turn. If this is not possible, players are allowed to discard up to three cards from their hands to the respective areas on the board, and draw as many cards from the deck to replenish their hands.
My wife seems to enjoy Image, although she does complain a bit that it is too difficult. (She would rather thump me at Times to Remember.) I agree that this game does make one feel a tad ignorant. I, as a result, have pledged to read more books, or at least watch more of the Discovery Channel. But I would recommend it. The more you play the easier it gets. And it's good to exercise the gray matter every now and again.
[Note: Image is still being published by Avalon Hill in a much smaller box. - Ed.]
Next we have a game which is more of the Beer and Pretzel variety. Lie, Cheat & Steal is a game of political power. I have seen this one on a number of newsgroup auctions, generally going for between ten and fifteen bucks. The game board looks something like a cross between Careers--with a couple of alternative tracks that give players the opportunity to stray from the beaten path and enter big business or politics--and Monopoly, mostly because of the little jail cell in one corner of the board, complete with little cot and little toilet.
Players travel around the board, drawing cards, collecting and paying money, purchasing and forfeiting votes, and best of all putting the screws to other players. The object of the game is to be the first player to purchase 500 votes. The easiest way to get votes is to buy up to 20, at $1000 a piece, at the beginning of each turn. And of course there are spaces on the game board that offer votes at a cheaper price, or allow one to steal or buy votes from another player. To buy votes, of course, one needs money. The best way to get money in this game is to earn it, but not by completing laps and collecting your salary. There's a much easier way. Land on a $ Card space. Draw a $ Card. Read it to yourself, then tell the others what it says, "Why look at that! I get to collect $100,000! My lucky day I guess!" It doesn't matter if that's what the card said or not. Take a hundred grand from the bank and pass the dice to the next player. (Hang on to that $ Card until you finish your lap though. I'll say why in a minute.) Now you've got all kinds of money with which to buy votes.
But as they say, the best offense is a good defense, so lets look at some of the ways available to keep the opposition at bay. There are a number of Press Box spaces on the board. When you land on such a space you have an opportunity to talk to the voters about the other candidates. When you land on such a space you have a couple of options. You may ask a player to show everyone one of the $ Cards in his possession, perhaps the one that he claimed granted him $100,000. Well, what's this? Why, this card says Pay $40,000. When something like this happens, the accused pays back to the back the difference between what he collected and what he should have collected (in this case $140K), and gives his accuser 50 votes. If that card actually did give him $100,000, it is placed at the bottom of the $ Cards deck, and you've blown your chance to use the Press Box to it's full advantage.
Another option at the Press Box is to play a Black Eye card on an opponent. To do this, read from a Black Eye card that you have previously collected, accusing the other player of whatever crime is listed on your card, for example, attending a pot party. If the accused player does not have the necessary Defence card, in this case one that states that he is an undercover narcotics agent, he must give the accusing player 50 votes. If the accused does have the needed Defense card, the accuser must fork over 100 votes. Now, if you land on Press Box, and all you have is a pot-party Black Eye and you know the opponent has an undercover narco-agent Defense card, then you just lie and say that your Black Eye card says your opponent escaped from a chain gang. Your opponent, not having a no-that-was-my-twin-brother-who-escaped card, must give you 50 votes. BUT, if he thinks you are lying about what Black Eye card you have he may sue you for libel, which, as you can imagine is very messy, and depending on the outcome, involves one player giving lots of money and votes to the other. The only other defense to a Black Eye is a Good Character card which say things like, "You promise, if elected, to outlaw the teaching of evolution and sex education." These cards block a Black Eye but may only be used once, where as Defense cards are yours forever, unless of course you go bankrupt.
Bankruptcy has a way of sneaking up on you in this game. Not having enough money or votes to meet the various obligations that pop up, result in bankruptcy. You're sitting pretty one minute, then a couple of lies later you are cash poor, someone challenges the last $ Card you drew (you claimed it offered you eighty-thou), and that's it. A bankrupt player is stripped of his remaining money, votes and cards, and sent to jail to think about his wrong doing. Then, after sitting out for one turn, (a good opportunity to get drinks and chips for everyone else) he's back in the fray.
The strategies here are simple--lie whenever you can get away with it, even if everyone knows you're lying; keep an eye on those players who are in difficult situations or approaching 500 votes and nail 'em hard; and most importantly, never (I repeat, never!) allow yourself to run short on votes or cash, as the other players will sniff out your weakness like a pride of lions on a sick young antelope, then they will stick you hard and repeatedly until you might as well change your name to "beer and chip boy."
If this sounds like fun, it is. Lie, Cheat & Steal combines the hoarding of money (and votes) common to many similar board games, with the lying and bluffing that is common to poker, and the good-natured nastiness available in, oh, let's say Junta. Lie, Cheat & Steal is a great addition to one's game collection, especially during this election year.
Thrift Store Gaming is a recurring column about games (commonly out of print) which can be picked up cheaply at thrift stores and garage sales. If you've found a cheap treasure and want to share the wealth, write us!