Posted in: Card Games, Games, Review | Tagged: card game, Oh Fruck!, Review, The Fruckus Company

Card Game Review: Oh Fruck!

Published Sun, 20 Jan 2019 08:40:43 -0600

One of the more interesting card games we've received for review over the holidays as an independent card game called Oh Fruck! The game was actually produced back in 2017 by The Fruckus Company and came with all of the Rubiks Cubes we received and reviewed near the end of the year. A little oddity that is for ages 12+ for 2-6 players, boasting that you can learn it in 5 minutes and it takes 15 minutes to play a round. So how does it actually hold up? We got a few friends together and tried the game out.

The best way I can shorthand an intro to this game is like this: Oh Fruck! is basically Uno with a few extra steps, more chances to be a jerk, and less chances to stall the game out. The game starts by dealing out cards to all the players and turning over three Special Rule Cards. Each of these cards, as you can see below, has a special action that you must take whenever laying down a specific number or suit. Aside from adding a bit of roleplay to the game, it also keeps things lively and makes it so certain players who might be on their way to winning have to stay on their toes.

Play moves clockwise with a usual array of playing cards, but there are also specialty cards in the mix that can change the direction, play more Special Cards, or force players to draw more to their hand. Much in the same vein of Uno, you have to call out when you have one card left and be the first person out of the game to win. However, there are lots of ways to screw players up and force them into situations where they have to draw more cards. That being said, there are just as many chances to get out of the game quickly if people aren't paying attention, so you're confined to waiting on other players to get to your turn to win.

There are other specialty cards that can influence the way the game is played. An example is the Secret Society card below, which forces you to refrain from saying anyone's name or be punished with drawing a card. You can impose a strategy like I did where I took my jolly time drawing a card and forced someone to get my attention by saying my name, making them draw a card. Its funny as hell to watch people get drawn into specific traps like that and makes the game more of an interactive piece than just a madcap race to get rid of your cards.

Overall, I enjoyed playing Oh Fruck! It was a taste of something different in a familiar formula most of us are familiar with. There are other variations of play inside the instructions that can make the games go shorter or longer, but I highly recommend playing a version with six people to get the maximum amount of "frucking" going on. But do be aware, this is a game where it's easy to pile onto a single player, so be kind and please fruck over everyone equally.