Xylotar

• Designer: Chris Wray
• Publisher: Bezier Games
• Players: 2-5
• Age: 14+
• Time: 30 minutes
• Played with copy provided by publisher

In the card game Xylotar, you’ve found the long lost xylotar schematics from the instrument original designed by Bobby McColdsnap and Keifer Basset. This unique musical device was based on both xylophone and synthesizer technology in the mid 80’s. and was created as an alternative to the keytars of the era. Without knowing exactly how it should work, play until you discover the sweetest sounds. The player who scores the most points has found the perfect balance of 80’s synthesizer rock and modern carimba-style melodies. Only then can you mass produce the xylotar, succeeding in your goal of achieving moderate commercial success! In this trick-taking game players know only the colors of their cards and their relative order. Use deduction and observation to figure out the value of your cards, then bid to try to gain extra points.

To start, assemble the deck (different based on player count) with the different suits, each with a different set of consecutive ranks – as small as 0-3 and as large as 0-10.  Don’t worry, you don’t need to remember the ranks as the back of each card is color coded to match the suit of the card AND it has the range of possible values on it.  The longest suit is always trump (red in all player counts except 3 players where it is yellow).  The deck is shuffled and dealt out evenly.  Each player is also given a “high note” card. 

Players pick up the hand they were dealt and arrange the cards so that the highest numbered card is on the left and the lowest on the right.  If there are multiple colors of the same suit, the player can choose the arrangement of those.  Put the high note card on the very left (next to the highest numbered card) and then pass the hand facedown to the player on your left.  That player does NOT look at the cards but rather splays out the cards on the table with the highest numbered card staying on the left and the lowest on the right.  

The start player leads the first card to the trick, and they can choose any card except their left-most card.  Play goes clockwise, and you must follow the lead suit if possible.  It’s easy to see if this is possible as the back of the card is colored to match the suit.  If a player does not have a card of the lead suit, they can play any card.  

Players must make a bid at some point in the round. Right after playing a card into the current trick, a player can announce that they are making a bid.  To do so, they pick up any two adjacent cards and look at them.  One of those cards is returned facedown to its spot in the hand and the other is placed faceup under your cards.  The number on that revealed card is your bid for the hand.  If you wait until the end of the round (when you only have 2 cards left), you must still first play into the trick and then use the remaining card – which is still unseen – as your bid.

When everyone has played a card to the trick, the highest trump card played wins the trick; if no trump has been played, the highest card of the led suit wins. The winner of the trick collects the cards and places them in a stack so that it is easy to count how many tricks have been won.  They then lead the next trick, again being prohibited from leading their highest (left-most) card – that is, unless it is their only card.

When all the tricks are played, players calculate their scores.  You score 1 point per trick and you score 5 points if you make your bid – that is the number on your  bid card is the same as the number of tricks that you took in the hand. 

Play three hands. The highest score after three rounds wins.

My thoughts on the game

I was overjoyed to see that one of my favorite Chris Wray games, Magic Trick, found a home at a publisher and was going to be available to the masses.  For those of you who don’t already know, the Opinionated Gamers has a number of folks here who are crazy for Trick takers (Taylor R, Chris Wray, James Nathan, and so many others).  Chris has been designing his own games for a few years now, and for most of his games, they get a single small self-published print run and then never get printed again.    Here is his list – https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/102135/christopher-wray/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner  I think I own all of them except for Totally not T9, and I’m glad to have just about all of them… and many of them I think would be a good pickup for companies looking to publish more trick taking games…

Anyways, the original version of this game was called Magic Trick, and it was admittedly a bit harsher to play.  The values of the suits were not on the back of the cards, and when you made a bid, you had to choose a single card and you were stuck with that decision.  I do think that the changes made by the developer here are positive changes as they give the player a bit more information and latitude in the bid making.  Sure, it’s a less harsh game, and for some, that is a negative – but for me, the changes open up the game to more people.

I’ve played a number of trick taking games by Taiki Shinzawa which are super clever, but his trademark bidding/scoring system feels very harsh to me (Catty, I’m looking at you) – to the point where I get more frustrated with the exactness required of the system.  This is obviously a personal preference as I know so many people who love that sort of thing; but that serves as an explanation for why I’m in favor of the changes made in the transition from Magic Trick to Xylotar.

For me, I love the mental gymnastics involved here trying to figure out what cards you have in your hand.  You have to watch and remember what has been played as well as hopefully remembering what was in the hand that you ordered for your left hand opponent (as you saw ALL the cards in that hand during the setup).    Having the min/max for each color on the card back is a helpful tool to let you suss out what cards might be in which positions.  It is also very helpful to watch what cards are played by other players – if the 10 and 9 of red are already played, then you know your leftmost red card can be no more than an 8…

As the hand plays out, you end up making some interesting decisions as your bid is not fixed.  Regardless of the strength of the cards you have in your hand, you need to figure out how you want to play the cards in order to match up with the bid that you’re hoping to make!  Of course, you could make your bid early on in the hand to give you a fixed target – but if you do so, you also give your opponents plenty of time to them scheme against you and for them to make sure that you miss your bid – usually by giving you tricks that you didn’t expect to win…  

There is a certain art to making your bid.  I find it helpful to bid as late as possible – in that way, my opponents have the least ability to force me to miss my bid.  Of course, if you wait too long, you might be forced to play your presumed bid card (as you must always follow the lead suit if possible); so there is always that bit of spiciness that can arise as the hand comes to a close..  

I will note that this version of the game needs a fairly large table… The size of the hands at the start of each round are large, and when you have to lay them all out next to each other, you’ll need some space.  Sure, you could overlap the cards a bit, but if you do so, be careful not to expose any cards when you’re trying to fish something out of the middle…  There are definitely two schools of thought around here about what to do with the hand as play goes on.  The more retentive folks like to push their cards closer together to keep things neat.  I prefer to leave mine in the original format so that I can use the gaps to help me remember what the possible values are for my remaining cards.

I really like the challenges presented in this game, and while it is admittedly a little bit more friendly of a game than Magic Trick, there is still plenty here to keep me interested, and I like the fact that I’ll be able to introduce this game to a wider selection of friends.  

For the time being, you’ll likely have to wait to get your hands on it – it looks like the game in in Pre-order only with shipping set for August:  https://beziergames.com/products/xylotar-preorder  you will likely be able to see it at the spring/summer cons though if you want to give it a try first!

Thoughts from other Opinionated Gamers

Larry (2 plays) – This is based on my two plays of Magic Trick.  With how little you know at the start of the hand, managing to not only play intelligently, but also play a card that represents your bid seems impossible at first.  But I did start to see some strategies to help with your deduction and the challenge is enjoyable.  Given the difficulty of the prototype, I might well prefer the changes in Xylotar and look forward to trying the published game out.  But as I wrote after my first play, this is an audacious idea that leads to a unique game, and those need to be treasured.  So I’m very glad that this has been picked up by Bezier and will get the wide distribution it deserves.

Steph – I like a lot of the updates from Magic Trick, but I still prefer the full card count from Magic Trick better. Great card game!

Erik Arneson (3 plays of Xylotar, 5 plays of Magic Trick) – The sizzle (the legend of Bobby McColdsnap) is fun, but the steak (actual gameplay) is outstanding in Xylotar. I’ve found it fun to play with trick-taking experts as well as more casual players. The tension is delightful throughout the game, especially when you decide it’s time to bid. Making your bid feels like a real accomplishment, but it rarely feels out of reach. Everything about the game is very thoughtfully done, right down to the card design (well done on the colors, the musical notes, and the suit range listed on the back of every card). It’s hard for me to say enough good things about Xylotar. It’s currently near the top of my favorite trick-taking games and I expect it will stay there. (Played with copy provided by the publisher.)

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!  Dale Y, Steph H, Erik Arneson
• I like it.  Larry
• Neutral.  
• Not for me..