Ro-sham-bo-fu Basics

Ro-sham-bo-fu

Ro-sham-bo-fu is the classic rock, paper, scissors, game with a new twist.
When the game starts each player has one of three choices, rock, paper, or scissors, but to complicate things you also get advice from your sensei. If you follow sensei’s advice you will get a bonus, even if you lose. If you disregard sensei’s advice you will either win, or lose, but not get the bonus.

Now you may wonder why you would ever disregard sensei’s advice, here is why, and where strategy comes into play.

The winner of the game is decided by who has the most stripes on their belt at the end of the game. During each round there is a prize, and a bonus.

Let’s suppose the prize is 3 belt stripes. Now suppose sensei says you will get a Bonus of 2 belt stripes if you do not use Paper. That gives you a choice of either Rock, or Scissors, if you follow sensei’s advice. You might think you should pick Rock, since Rock beats Scissors, but what if your opponent disregards sensei’s advice and picks paper? He will win the main prize of 3 stripes and you will only win the 2 Bonus stripes.

If you both follow sensei’s advice the winner will win 5 stripes, and the loser will only get the 2 bonus stripes.

If you both disregard sensei’s advice the winner will win the prize and the loser will get nothing.

There’s more to it, but it’s complicated to explain all the possible outcomes. As you can see, it is a game of strategy. Easy to learn, but difficult to master. There is also a timer which keeps the game moving and some funny graphics.

Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Ease of Gameplay: 5/5

Gold Rush Basics

Gold Rush

Gold Rush is a teeter totter game of give and take. Each player starts with six gold nuggets that weight 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 lbs each. The goal of the game is to be the first one to win a total of 32 lbs by tipping the scales in their favor.

Each round a random gold nugget is tossed on to the tetter totter and the players toss out one nugget each from their own pile. The heaviest nugget wins by tipping the see saw to their side.

This game relies on your ability to guess what your opponent will do. Will they toss out their heaviest nugget, or one in the middle? Which nugget should you toss out? You only have one of each kind so if you use your 6 pounder you won’t have it later. On the other hand, maybe the stack in the middle is big enough to justify it. Hmm.... what should you do?

The buttons and game play are simple. To toss a gold nugget simply click on it. The strategy however, is up to you. Gold Rush is a fun and simple game to play, and highly addictive!

Graphics: 5/5
Sound: 5/5
Ease of Gameplay: 5/5

Hi Lo Basics

Hi Lo

Hi Lo is a very fun and addictive game that is sure to keep you coming back for more.
Each player starts with a deck of 52 cards and 4 lives, and ends when a player loses all their lives, or reaches the checkered flag at the end. Both players start out with a 2 of Hearts as their first card. It is then up to them to decide if their next card is going to be Higher or Lower.

2 is the lowest card and Ace is the highest. Suits don’t matter. Sounds simple, but there’s a fun twist to it that adds skill and strategy to the game.

There are 4 buttons a player can depress:

Same or Higher, which means the next card will either be the same, or it will be higher.
Lower, which means the next card will be lower.
Lock, which locks your cards in place up to that point.
Lock & Change, which locks your cards in place up to that point and exchanges your current card for a random one.

The Lock, and Lock & Change buttons are what give the game it’s strategy and skill. Since your goal is to guess correctly 10 times in a row to get to the finish line, the lock keys can make or break you. When a player guesses incorrectly they fall back down the line to the beginning, or to the last placed they locked their cards.

The winner is determined by which player is the furthest along the card line when the game ends.
This is why guessing incorrectly in the later stages of the game and not having a good lock can be devastating.

Be aware though, that using a Lock or Lock & Change will take away 1 of your lives.

To keep the game going at a nice pace there is a 15 second timer and if your time runs out you forfeit the game. But don’t worry, once you play the game a few times the timer doesn’t really bother you and you hardly notice it’s there at all.

To add even more strategy to the game you are allowed to see your opponents cards. This helps you adjust your own strategy. If you see they have a 2 you know they will guess correctly that the next card will be higher. Sometimes that will affect your decision to lock or not. Hi Lo is a very easy game to learn, but slightly difficult to master. There is also an element of luck involved. Overall it is a great starter game and very addicting.

Graphics: 3/5
Sounds: 3/5
Ease of Gameplay: 5/5