I adore trick-taking games; Ruins, however, is not a trick-taking game. I know, I know, what is this bloke on about? Well, I have a weird relationship with ladder climbing/shedding games, which are definitely trick-taking adjacent. I love games like Haggis and Scout but they are in the minority, and these types of games normally put me off due to their restrictive nature and the fact that I spend most of my time passing.
John D. Clair, designer of the fabulous Space Base, has been trying card crafting in many guises in recent times and I have to say, in Ruins, it really, really works. It's super. I feel this title has slipped under the radar somewhat, and I am here to tell you to give it a whirl; you will probably like it.
Ladder Climbing, with Juicyness
As I said earlier, the amount of time I spend passing in normal ladder climbing/shedding games will normally determine whether I like them or not. In Ruins, due to its trimmed-down sets you can play and the ability to change the cards you have permanently, really helps shufty it along.
Firstly, there are no runs. It's purely sets of the same number. This not only makes it easier to follow but also makes the game more fluid. Secondly, every card is in a sleeve, which means not only is it double-sided, with an upgraded side but you can also overlay it with transparent layers, giving it special powers. Ooooooooo…… now you're interested.
Ladder Climbing?
What is ladder climbing/shedding I hear you say…… well, it's a type of card game that has you trying to empty your hand by playing better and better sets of cards. Every player gets a hand of cards and must work out the most efficient way to get rid of them all. A player plays a set of the same number, 3 4’s for example and I have to play 3 5’s, 6’s or 7’s. When no player can beat the set that is on the table, the pile gets wiped and the player who played it gets to start again, setting both the number of cards in the set and the strength.
Normally, in these types of games, I spend a lot of time passing and not being able to beat the set of the table but in Ruins, the card crafting and limited set types do a lot of heavy lifting. The card crafting especially helps; it makes the whole game shine.
Card Crafting
Firstly, your first job each round is to upgrade one of your cards. To upgrade it, you just flip it over in its sleeve. This can give you a better number, to make sets in your hand better or even give it some of the game's special powers. More on that shenanigans shortly.
When it comes to your turn in Ruins, before playing a set, you have a wealth of options to help you exceed the currently played set. You have 3 bonfire tokens that you can spend on upgrading cards. These not only add some of the game's helpful powers but also add to the value listed on the card. You just buy a transparent overlay and slide it into your sleeve. This can help you do all manner of things to beat what's on the table.
Powers
Both the upgraded sides of the base cards and the transparent overlays can grant your cards powers or change their value. This gives players so many options to craft great hands or add some juicy traits to cards. You can only add powers to cards you are going to play but this system alone is worth the entry fee.
The powers range from adding to the card's base number. For example, you have a 5, you can add a transparent +6 to make the card an 11. Along with that, you have the power to make the card wild and therefore can be added to any set. You have an extra card symbol, which makes the card worth an extra card in a set, essentially making it 2 of the same card. Then there are ways to get your bonfires back, allowing you to upgrade more each round and also ways to make your opponents draw cards and refresh your own cards. It's all rather interesting.
What is great here is that powers come in 3 colours and each card can have 3 upgrades, meaning if you find the right powers, in the right colours, you can build some uber cards. Cards that can win hands by themselves and cards you definitely want to keep hold of.
Along with the upgrades, each player has 2 transparent coloured border cards. You can also add these to your cards at any time and they will return to you in each round going forward. It's an excellent way to stamp your authority on something you have created and make sure you keep getting it back. Unless it does not get dealt out that is.
Components
The quality of all the cards, transparencies and tokens are great. Everything is clear and lovingly designed. I adore the way that each transparent overlay adds features to the cards and how simple yet beautiful it all is. There is a deluxe component pack which the publisher sent me which upgrades the tokens from cardboard to wood but they are not required. (They are very nice though)
Final Thoughts
I never thought I would say this but Ruins is now my favourite ladder climbing/shedding game. It has just shoved Scout out of the way with both arms, even though Scout is fantastic. I just love creating broken cards and using them to create amazing sets and laughing about how much of a powerful card it is.
Ruins removes all the things I don’t like about the genre and adds a lump of malleability and choice. Getting your cards back you create is great, as is using the card powers to beat your opponents.
The components are well made and clear, the game is so much fun and I am struggling to find a bad thing to say about it. Just go and buy Ruins, it's truly magnificent!
Zatu Score: 95%
Rating:
Artwork ****
Complexity **
Replayability *****
Player Interaction *****
Component Quality *****
You might like:
Card crafting
Simple set rules
Less passing
Lovely components
Building Uber cards
You might not like:
Putting it away
