Photo: ThinkGeek
Truth tables. AND gates. 1s and 0s. XNOR gates. Inputs and output. If, like me, you remember these things fondly, then there is a card game that you will most definitely enjoy.
B00le0 puts your Boolean algebra skills to use as you try to resolve your inputs to the correct single digit before your opponent does. Place gates on two inputs, creating a new output, and keep building until you create the one, final digit that you need. Or, place a NOT card on one of the inputs, throwing your opponent (and perhaps yourself) for a loop, causing there to be invalid or inactive gates down the line.
Photo: ThinkGeek
B00le0 takes a little while to learn, with rules that take several minutes to read. But if you enjoy this kind of logical game, or Boolean algebra was one the fun parts of school for you, then take the time to learn the rules and your efforts will be rewarded. It’s great fun, and an excellent addition to your game night repertoire. Since it’s just a deck of cards, it will always fit in your bag/box/tub of games that you take with you.
B00le0 is a two player game. You start by placing the Initial Binary cards in a row between the players. Each card has a 0 and a 1 on it, so for every 0 one player has, the opponent has a 1. Deal out four Logical Gate cards to each player. Then take turns drawing another card and either discarding a card or playing a card on two inputs. Watch out for the pesky NOT cards, however. The first person to resolve their entire input digits to the proper single digit (the rightmost digit in your original binary number) wins the game. And don’t worry, there are two Truth Table cards to help if you forget how each gate works.
Once you’ve mastered the AND, OR and XOR gates of B00le0, take on a new challenge with B00le0 N-edition, which deals with NAND, NOR and XNOR gates. You can play it on its own, or combine the cards with the regular B00le0 edition.
B00le0 costs about $12 and is available at ThinkGeek
and the Tessera Games website. B00le0 N-edition costs the same and is available at Tessera Games.
Note: I received a copy of B00le0 and B00le0 N-edition for the purpose of this review.
