Hearts is a classic trick taking card game that has been riffed upon in various forms over the years. Papayoo is a variant that keeps things simple and close to the Hearts traditions on which it is clearly founded. Does it have the trick to capturing the hearts of the 3-8 players around the table? Let’s see if it will do that for ‘yoo.
The trick is to keep it simple.
Papayoo has standard trick taking gameplay. Players must follow the lead suit, if able, and the highest card that matches the lead suit wins the trick.
Hearts is a classic trick taking card game that has been riffed upon in various forms over the years. Papayoo is a variant that keeps things simple and close to the Hearts traditions on which it is clearly founded. Does it have the trick to capturing the hearts of the 3-8 players around the table? Let’s see if it will do that for ‘yoo.
The trick is to keep it simple.
Papayoo has standard trick taking gameplay. Players must follow the lead suit, if able, and the highest card that matches the lead suit wins the trick.
In fact, there is even less to worry about than in some trick taking games, as there is no trump suit in Papayoo. As such, learning the game is very straightforward, even for new players unfamiliar with the conventions of trick taking.
The strategy in Papayoo is also easily grasped. This is a game of avoidance. Very rarely will players want to win a trick, as it will almost always contain cards from the black Payoo suit, which will add their value in points to the player’s score. Even worse is ending up with the round’s Papayoo card. This will add 40 points to your score. In this world of lowest score wins, winning tricks is generally bad news.
This results in gameplay that is perhaps less nuanced than in some other trick takers. Strategies around losing tricks, such as leading with low cards, or emptying your hand of all cards of a particular suit, thus allowing for more off-suit play are quickly learned by new players. However, aside from the odd occasion where you wish to lead the next trick (and these occasions can occur), there is little to incentivise developing strategies to actually win tricks here.
Is it me, or is there a draft in here?
Fortunately, Papayoo does include an additional rule that players must utilise in order to be successful. After cards are dealt each round, players must pass 3 of their cards to the player on their left.
This can allow players to get rid of cards they may have otherwise struggled with and to have some agency of their strategy for the round. However, because each player receives 3 cards in turn, there are no guarantees it will all work out!
Experience with the game, and with trick taking in general, can prove advantageous at this stage of the game. This is a positive aspect, but also something to be aware of.
If an experienced player is sat next to a player who is less familiar with the game, they could have an advantage during this passing on of cards. Gauging the relative value of what you keep and pass on is not too difficult to grasp in time, but players unfamiliar with trick taking may struggle to make informed decisions initially.
I like this system and, whilst it doesn’t add much in the way of complexity, it does just enough to add an additional point of interest to an otherwise fairly basic gameplay structure.
Art and Components.
The card stock used in Papayoo is adequate, though perhaps a touch on the thin side. The card art is functional. The suits are easily distinguishable and the numbers are printed nice and clearly.
The Papayoo die itself is nice, in that it is a custom die, but it does require more than a swift glance to determine which is the Papayoo suit for the round.
I do like the drawer-style box and the fact that the packaging does not take up more space than it needs to.
Overall, it’s a good production for the fairly cheap price point.
Would I recommend Papa(for)yoo?
Papayoo knows what it is. A quick, accessible family game that leans heavily on the trick taking conventions of the classic card game, Hearts.
The additional twists present do add to the gameplay and provide enough to hold the interest of this particular trick taking veteran.
Is it going to be the focal point of a game night I attend? No. Absolutely not. What Papyoo does do, is provide a viable alternative to the many other gateway games that are out there.
In fact, Papayoo could be argued as being the quintessence of a gateway game. It provides a gateway to the world of trick taking and new players could do a lot worse than enter the garden of trick taking via Papayoo‘s bright and breezy gate.
About the author:
When not reviewing board games, Graham is teaching maths, running a games club and failing to convince his students that baseball is the greatest sport ever invented. You can
read his thoughts and opinions on all things board game on his blog, GrahamS Games:
You can find him on BlueSky, where he will invariably be wittering on about whichever game has currently captured his attention.
Zatu Review Summary
Zatu Score
67%
