Disclaimer: Sent for review by The Op
Flip 7: With a Vengeance is like Flip 7 except, there’s revenge, mainly in the form of modifier cards that can negatively affect your opponent’s points. It is a push-your-luck game where it is easy to bust if you get the same number twice in a round. However, there’s such a thrill when you don’t bust and you leave the round with several points. It is a game mostly based on luck but you can also consider your odds as part of a strategy. For example, knowing that there are 13 cards with the number 13 and only 2 with the number 2 you can decide if it is more likely or not you’ll bust if you continue. Each choice can leave you a winner or with absolutely no points for the round.
Have we played any other titles by this publisher?: Absolutely, The Op makes several of our favorite games. We have reviewed some in the past and self-purchased several others.
First impression: Flip 7: With a Vengeance has fun outer packaging, especially the snazzy matching reviewer bubble envelope. However, we weren’t sure what to expect of the game itself. Is it like a standard card game, or something new? It turns out it is simple with a twist, a play on something classic without straying too far.
How often will this game return to the game table?: Decently often, it’s a great one to bring out to pass some time. You can learn the rules in about three minutes. If anyone wants to test their luck it definitely fulfills that. However after losing several rounds you may want to take a break!
Language Barrier Playability: Great, with a catch. The game mostly relies on numbers so there isn’t much language barrier there. However, there are Action and Modifier cards with special rules where you have to have small additional explanations so those don’t work as well without at least one bilingual player to explain the rules.
Storage: Good enough but by no means organized. Everything fits in the card box but it is hard to take the cards out without making a little mess. However, third parties do make special organizers for further organization. The storage didn’t have much effect on our gaming experience though. At least everything fits!
Artwork: Flashy, fun, and colorful. The style is almost reminiscent of art deco but brighter. The framing and font bring the cards together cohesively, while the number cards have additional fan flourishes on the sides of the border. The action cards stick out with bright full layout colors, which helps to notice them immediately upon drawing. The modifier cards have a distinct red coloring, alerting you that something bad is about to happen to someone!
Instruction Manual: Simple and easy. The game is quick to learn because of how the instructions are written. The manual balances out examples and explanations well. There is also an additional scoring app and scoring sheets you can use to keep track of your points. It is important to track points each round as a player gaining 200 points is what sparks game end.
Who would we recommend this game most for?: Family and friends at a casual game night. This game works well with older kids and adults, gamers and non-gamers. It is a good game for middle schoolers to have them practice math skills, adding, subtracting, and dividing points without it feeling like homework. However this plays well with a group of adults just as well, we need to practice our math skills too!
Favorite moment while playing: Pato was able to score seven unique number cards and end the round and receive 15 bonus points! We found that this accomplishment is harder than it sounds and rarely accomplished.
We enjoyed playing to 200 points but we also tried a house rule of playing until the cards ran out. This works just as well. This game has a fun, light, competitive nature to it that we enjoyed playing quite a lot.
Sushiball Games 