Giraffe Raffe

• Designer: Hisashi Hayashi
• Publisher: Mandoo games
• Players: 1-5
• Age: 8+
• Time: 20-30 minutes
• Played with review copy provided by publisher

Play tricks to Trees, or play Apples to skip your turn, but be careful to not put yourself in a position where you cannot play cards or an Apple!  Either play one or more cards to a tree as long as your play is higher than what is already there and gain a reward, or you can play an apple and skip your turn. If someone cannot take their turn, they lose!

To set up, place the tree tiles in a circle on the table, making sure there is space next to each for cards to be played. The tiles all have a player count icon on them so you’ll know which ones to use in your game.  The Giraffe deck is shuffled (64 cards, 1-15 in 4 suits and 4 copy cards) – and each player is dealt a hand of cards.  Four undealt cards are placed near the Pair tile to form the Redraw deck.

On a turn, players can either play Giraffe cards or play an apple token.  If you cannot do either, you lose the game and everyone points at you and laughs.

If you choose to play cards, you must play cards next to one of the Tree tiles. Each tile has a card combination rule printed on it, you must always follow this.  The tiles also have an additional constraint such as restricting you to playing only higher valued combinations than what is already there OR only combinations with more cards than what is already there.  Some cards also provide you with a bonus (apple tokens or Redraw cards) if you successfully play there.  If you play a copy card, it takes on the rank and suit of any other single card in your combination.

If you choose to play an Apple token, you simply pass your turn and do not have to play any Giraffe cards.

My thoughts on the game

Giraffe Raffe is an interesting take on the climbing game genre.  Here, you must build up from previous plays, but you are free to play anything that embiggens the set where you play.   This leads to some interesting timing issues – because say you have yellow single cards – once that pile goes above your cards; you’re really going to have a hard time getting rid of them easily.

Each turn, ideally you are making a play with as few cards as possible while keeping the most cards in your hand alive for a play later on.  Sure, you can always play on the “Any” spot, but that quickly gets expensive.  That being said, if you make a high play on a category, you can potentially shut out other players from making lower combinations there – and that could really screw up their hand!

The easier combinations allow you to play fewer cards, but there are no rewards.  The higher combinations give you apples, and this is almost like a 2-for-1, as the apple lets you pass on a later turn.   Apples are key because eventually you’ll not be able to play a legal combination, and your only option is to play an apple.  If you don’t have one, then you are the big loser.

The rules are weirdly unclear that this is a point-and-laugh-at-the-single loser game.  But, as far as I can tell, that’s how it works.  The game ends when someone can’t make a legal play, and that player is the loser.

Most of our games take ten to fifteen minutes, and the ending almost always is players playing apples one after another until someone can’t.  It’s a fine little filler and a nice closer for game night.

Ratings from the Opinionated Gamers

• I love it!
• I like it. Dale Y
• Neutral. John P
• Not for me…