I recently read an article in the Bombay Times saying the lockdown has seen a surge in the sale of board games. Big Bazaar reported a record sale of 20,000 Boardgames since the lockdown started. Honestly, I’m not surprised, just happy. Ever since I ventured into the world of board games I always knew it had massive potential, and I’m going to use this platform to spread that which brings me to the review of a famous card game called Phase 10. 

If you’ve grown up in a Gujarati household like me, you’ll relate to my card playing obsession. While the world at large is out there playing Poker we’ve made our peace with Black Queen, Mind Coat and the likes. So this game is going to intrigue you, if you’ve not played it already.

As the name goes, the game is played in 10 Phases and is a modified version of our very own Rummy. You’d be surprised to know that the game was created in 1982, but it became popular only post 2010. Once in the market, the game became Mattel’s most sold card game, only 2^nd to UNO.

Phase 10 can be played between 2 to 6 players and an average game takes about 45 mins to 1 hour to wrap. It consists of cards between 1-12 with Skip and Wild cards. The game also comes with an instruction card which tells you the Phase you’re required to make to advance to the next one, as well as the scoring to be followed. The interesting part about this rather simple game is that you can modify the rules and play with different variants. Follow the phases in the sequence given or let the players chose their order after looking at their cards with the condition to eventually complete all 10. This makes the game dynamic and keeps the interest level intact even after multiple plays. If you wish to experiment a little, you could try playing the game with the below phases.

Phase 1: 3 of 1 colour + 1 set of 2 + 4 of one colour

Phase 2: 1 even or odd of 8

Phase 3: 1 set of 4 + 1 run of 4

Phase 4: 2 sets of 3 + 1 run of 3

Phase 5: 1 colour run of 4 plus 2 sets of 2

Phase 6: 1 colour even/odd of 7

Phase 7: 1 set of 4 + 1 run of 5

Phase 8: 1 set of 5 + 1 run of 3

Phase 9: 1 run of 8

Phase 10: 1 colour run of 6

This game is easily available for purchase through various online/offline modes. However, do stop by our Instragram page @Boardgames Hub for discounted rates or contact us on whatsapp directly.

If you liked this post, please also check our review on Azul if you haven’t done that already!

Boardgames Hub rating:

Game: 7.5/10

Difficulty level*: 1.5/10

 (* 1 being the easiest)