GAME MAGAZINE PARLAY REVIEW – JULY 2006

REVIEWER: JOHN J. McCALLION

Fans of word games now have a reason to jump on the poker bandwagon, and even diehard poker players might find this variation irresistible.

Each standard playing card includes a letter valued between 5 and 35. The rules explain five poker games, but can accommodate any poker variant. You’ll use cards in hand, along with any face-up Community Cards, to form the best word (three to seven letters) and best poker hand; different cards may be used for each.

At the end of a hand, players secretly and simultaneously decide to stay or to fold, by turning the appropriate side of their Decision Token faceup. Before Tokens are revealed, players in turn spell out their word and give all competitors a chance to dispute it. A correct challenge earns points and eliminates the erring player. Incorrect challengers retire from play. When Tokens are revealed by surviving contestants, those who folded score only the total value of their words’ cards, plus points for challenges.

Players who stayed score: (a) their word’s value, or double its value if they have the best poker hand; (b) a bonus for words of five or more letters – up to 100 points for using seven letters; (c) challenge points. Whoever stayed and has the highest total score earns that score. All the others score nothing! Such is the painful price of incorrectly staying – especially if you gain double word points for best poker hand but still lose.

Apart from the temptation to bluff opponents with long nonvalid words, you’ll often fret over the wisdom of discarding and replenishing useful poker cards to aim for high word scores worth folding for. Even the most experienced poker face will be unable to hide an admiration for this novel and addictive hybrid game.