German publisher Haba is an expert at making kid-friendly games that are equally as fun for adults. You won’t find any Candy Land or Don’t Wake Daddy levels of dross in a Haba game. Geistes Blitz (or Ghost Blitz) continues this trend by providing a pattern-recognition game that’s easy to grasp and fun to play, no matter your age. Each player takes a turn to draw a card showing a combination of a either a bottle, mouse, chair, book or ghost. These images represent the wooden tokens placed in the centre of the table (each one in the shape of one of the items listed above), one of which must be grabbed each turn. The grabbable item is determined by one of two factors: if the card drawn shows it coloured correctly (e.g. a green bottle) or,if it represents the only aspect not pictured on said card (e.g. none of the items are red, or a chair isn’t pictured). Yoink the right one and you win the card, select the wrong one and lose you points. No doubt about it, Geistes Blitz is loud, proud and a blast to play. Once the card is flipped up, players try to be the first to grab the correct object (and may only grab one object). The first player to grab the correct object claims the card. If anyone grabbed an incorrect object, they must give the player who grabbed the correct object one of their previously won cards. Geistes Blitz (Ghost Blitz) Can you guess the right pattern? You haven't got long to figure it out.

Hands dart out trying to grab the correct wooden object. The first player with the correct object in hand gets to keep that overturned card. You only get one guess, touch the wrong item you must give up a card to the first player who snagged the wooden object correctly. Now you have to grab the (green) BOTTLE, because neither the bottle nor the color green can be seen on the card. To the rules, that is. The gameplay? That can be a bit of a stretch, but that’s because the rules stretch your brain in different directions. And that’s what makes the game so much fun. In one instance, you want to grab the object that’s on the card. In another, you don’t want to grab the object on the card, but there are three objects not present on every card, and you have to eliminate them one by one. Then you grab for something, but darn it! Another player beat you to it. Or darn it! You grabbed the wrong object. Because the game involves so much mental processing, and the mental processing required switches from one card to the next, and this is a race against other players, it’s hard to keep your bearings. If both objects are colored incorrectly – say, a green ghost and a red mouse – then you look for the object and color not represented among the four details shown. In this case you see green, red, ghost and mouse, so players need to grab the blue book. Have you played Geistes Blitz? Let me know in the comments, this is definitely a game that we will play in years to come.Unlike the majority of tile-laying games, the goal of Tsuro is not to reach any destination in particular. Like a board game equivalent of Snake, players must eternally meander across the game’s board, avoiding walls and obstacles, until everyone else is eliminated. Tsuro’s tiles display a collection of white lines, each one veering off in a different direction, which players must use to create a pathway for their token to travel along, ensuring that they neither collide with another player’s token nor venture out of the board’s middle-space. Anticipating the trajectory of your fellow players’ tokens, and planning your tile placements around them, is the bread and butter of successfully playing a game of Tsuro. Despite these strategic elements, when compared with the other titles on this list, Tsuro is a decidedly relaxing and undeniably beautiful-looking game. One object on the card is colored incorrectly; therefore players must be the first to grab the correct colored object. The world-famous game “Ghost Blitz”, played by millions of people, is now available for the smartphone and tablet! In this case, then you grab that item that is not depicted and whose original color is not shown on the card. If neither object matches its color, then the only object not represented on the card by object or color is indicated. (Example: A blue mouse and a green chair. The card again indicates the white ghost.)

As I mentioned at the start of this review, however, speed games are especially susceptible to finding “the wrong crowd.” Not everyone likes games of reflexes and recognition, and Ghost Blitz, charm notwithstanding, is decidedly a game in this camp. As such, it is a game that reveals a skills chasm between players. Players who are naturally faster at reading a situation will generally perform better than players who aren’t. If players are super competitive and don’t like to lose, it can drain the game of fun. But in most of my groups, if players are just interested in having a good time, Ghost Blitz will satisfy them. Lookin’ good, Ghost! To begin, players place the five objects within reach of all players: the white ghost, the red chair, the blue book, the gray mouse, and the green bottle. The player who claimed the last card flips up the next one. Each card has two objects on the card in different colors. The card indicates one of the five objects on the table according to two rules: In the basic rules the wooden objects are laid out. A card is turned over so that everyone can read it. The card will show two of the wooden objects after which one of two scenarios will play out: If you grab the right item, you lay down the turned-over card in front of you as a reward, and then turn over the next card. Some of you might consider this a tip but if you play with someone who has sharp finger nails watch out! Also, competitive spouses and siblings have a tendency to get a little violent when snatching the objects—I guess some families play for blood. Final RemarksEach of you may always grab only one item. If you take an incorrect item into your hand, you give up one card (provided you have one). Players may try to snatch items out of each other’s hands or even push another player’s hand into the wrong object. Tsk, tsk, you know who you are! We had to develop various house rules to cope with the insanity.

It’s really that simple and that straight-forward. The challenge is when you’re feeling pressured to make the proper recognition and grab a piece before any of the other players. And to do it accurately. It is fast-playing and easily taught. Should I Own It? Finally, when you feel / think you’ve mastered the regular edition you can move on to Ghost Blitz 2.0 and finally Ghost Blitz 5 to 12. With both of these adding more ifs and buts to the ruleset that are sure to make you rethink once, twice or more which item to grab, or at times shout out. Ghost Blitz, published by 999 Games, comes with five pieces, 60 cards, and a rule book. The object of Ghost Blitz is to collect more cards than your opponents. Collecting a card is simple; at least it's simple in concept, if not execution. Flip over a card and be the first player to grab the corresponding game piece accurately depicted on the card...or the piece that is not at all depicted.I'll explain. The player who has grabbed the right item or, respectively, shouted out its correct name, gets this card / these cards.In the box, there are 5 wooden toys, a white ghost, a red chair, a grey mouse, a blue book, and a green bottle plus some colorful cards. The cards have 2 of the items in different colors. How To Play Ghost Blitz? Place the 5 items in a circle in the middle of the table. Shuffle the cards well and form a face-down card pile. Whoever was the last person in a cellar turns over the top card in such a way that all players can see it at the same time. Ghost Blitz Board Game requires lightning-fast reactions as you compete against 2-8 players to help Balduin the Ghost find his missing items. All players will be in reach of the five wooden objects: a white ghost, a green bottle, a grey mouse, a red chair and a blue book. Example: This card shows a blue GHOST and a red MOUSE. But there is no blue ghost and no red mouse.