MAD is a clever little twist on trick-taking that fits a surprising amount of fun and tactical play into a pack of 30 cards, all in a box the same size as a pack of gum. If you already enjoy traditional trick-taking card games but want something a bit more thematically mad and puzzly, this feels like it was made for you.
In MAD, each player starts with two “imbalanced” suits in their lab: some are already positive, some negative, and your goal is to bring all four suits in your lab as close to zero as possible by the end of the game. You’ll play tricks, win cards from your opponents, and constantly flip values between their Science side (+) and Madness side (-). To win MAD, you don’t want to win the most tricks. Instead you want to be smart about when you win to help you keep your suits in balance.
How It Plays
Setup is quick. You assemble a small Lab Chart using two cards to show the layout and starting imbalances for your player count, then shuffle and deal according to that chart. Each card shows a suit, a value, two sides (Science (+) and Madness (-)), and a number of spiral icons from 0 to 3.
On your turn as Lead Scientist, you play a card and set the leading suit. Everyone else must follow suit if they can; otherwise they can play any card but cannot win the trick. The highest value in the leading suit wins the trick. The winner chooses one opponent’s card from the trick to add to their scoring area in that suit, and the rest of the cards are discarded.
The number of spiral icons present on the active trick cards determines when the madness occurs. For 3 players, it’s 4 spirals, and in 4 players it’s 6 spirals. As soon as this threshold is met, all cards in the active trick and players’ hands are switched between Science and Madness. Leveraging the switch between positive and negative can be an advanced strategy in MAD, allowing you to switch the outcome of the trick in your favour. Whether you use this to help you win, or force a player to win a trick they tried to “throw”, is up to you.
The game is played over two rounds, with the second round consisting of shuffling the discard pile and dealing out again, so you get another pass at manipulating the same values and suits.
Rules, Scoring & Compromises
Scoring is neat and thematic: for each suit, you total all your cards of that suit (with their current signs) and measure how far that total is from zero. You then add those differences together, ignoring plus or minus. The lower your final sum, the better.
Like the rest of the Pack o Game line by Perplext, MAD impresses with what it achieves in such a small format. The core idea is original, the theme fits the mechanisms nicely, and once everyone understands the flow, the game runs quickly and smoothly.
The trade-off is that the tiny rule sheet and minimalist layout can make some details feel less clear than they could be. The wording around which card is considered “largest” in a trick, and exactly what’s discarded before scoring, may cause a pause or two on your first plays. It’s all logical once you’ve worked it through, but you might find yourself double-checking edge cases with the group. A small reminder card for the current Science/Mad state, or clearer visual cues on the card backs, would also help track orientation and flips between turns.
Final Thoughts
Despite a few rule clarifications and tracking quirks, MAD is a smart, portable trick-taking game with a strong identity. The balancing act of suits, combined with the Madness flips, makes every trick feel meaningful, and the scoring gives you that satisfying “I almost nailed it” feeling even when you don’t quite get to zero.
If you enjoy compact games with a clever twist, and you’re happy to spend a game or two getting everyone comfortable with the flip and scoring logic, MAD is a very neat addition to the Pack o Game series.
Zatu Score: 70%
Artwork: 3/5
Complexity: 4/5
Replayability: 4/5
Player Interaction: 4/5
Component Quality: 4/5
What I Like:
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A unique take on trick-taking
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Pocket-sized and ideal for travel
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Mad/Science mechanic adds an extra layer of strategy
What I Don’t Like
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The language used within the rules could be improved.
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The game would benefit from a dedicated card to represent the Mad/Science status.
