Rowboat and Myth: Pantheons. Photo: Jonathan Liu
Growing up, I played Spades a lot—my brother and I made a pretty good team because we were pretty good at reading each other. I also played Hearts (though not quite as much), and though I’d always meant to learn, I never got around to playing Bridge or Pinochle. What these have in common, of course, is that they’re all trick-taking games: each player plays a card and the winner takes the “trick.” Depending on the game, you also have trump suits, bidding, and other variations.
I’ve recently played two games which are quite different from each other but both have trick-taking at their cores, so I thought they’d make a good pair for a review. Rowboat, the first game from newcomer Moosetache Games, has a nautical theme and is a little closer to a traditional trick-taking game like Spades. Myth: Pantheons is published by Alderac Entertainment Group and pits a dozen deities from various cultures against each other. Each is an interesting spin on a traditional card game, and which one you’d prefer depends on your personality and gaming style. Read on for my individual reviews of each game, plus a chance to win a copy of Rowboat!
