Designer: Taylor Reiner

Artist: 別府さい (Sai Beppu)

Publisher: Gotcha Gotcha Games

I love climbing/shedding card games. There is a lot of room for clever play and there is just something about looking at a bunch of cards at hand and assembling them in such a way that one can shed all the cards and be the first to exit the round. A lot of how the game is played boils down to timing the melds and sequencing them in such a way that they are unbeatable. For this reason, I enjoy climbing / shedding games more than trick takers. While most climbing shedders usually favors the first person to exit the round after shedding all their cards, what if exiting first isn’t the most ideal position to finish the game? What if coming in second or third actually scores more points than going out first? I think this is the major twist for Of What’s Left and it is a good one.

Of What’s Left uses a standard deck of 52 cards plus the jokers. Jokers and aces act as wild and all players will get one of each at the start of the round. With 4 players, the remaining cards in the deck are equally dealt out. The basic rules adhere closely to the climbing / shedding genre. The lead plays a meld to the field and all subsequent players can follow with a more powerful meld, but maintaining the basic structure of the meld (e.g. pairs must be followed by pairs). Melds come in singles, sets of the same number and runs of the same suit. Interestingly, runs are not limited by length and players are allowed to play a mere two-card run of the same suit. Players who do not want to play can pass, but are allowed to reenter the field if their turn comes around once again. Once all players pass, the round is over and the winner leads the new round.

As usual, the innovative and fun mechanisms is revealed at the end during scoring. Once players whittle down their hand to five cards or less, they enter the “bonus scoring” zone and MUST play if they can play as passing is not allowed. The first player to shed all their hand cards will end the game immediately and scoring is carried out. Each remaining card in the hand scores -1 point. But players who have entered bonus scoring with 5 cards or fewer in their hand will also score the lowest value card as positive points. So, if you have 3 cards left and your lowest numbered card is a 5, then you will score 2 points. Of course if you are the player that exited the round first, you will score zero points with no cards in hand. Hence, there are times when exiting first is not always the best position.

Final thoughts

Of What’s Left is very aptly titled because the game is all about shedding cards until you reach the bonus zone and then slowing down to score what’s left of your hand without being the first person to exit the round. Players want to keep one or a few high value cards at hand so that they can maximize scoring bonus points while minimizing the penalties. This is easier said than done because of the “must-play” rule which forces you to shed the remaining cards. This is particularly easy if you hold a single high card since a single low card is enough to squeeze you out of the round. I think the trick is to pace yourself and keep the number of cards within range of other players such that you can be in position to force others to exit the round after entering the bonus zone without being the only targeted player. However, with the right sequence of cards, it is also possible to rush and and exit the hand in double time, thus leaving others high and dry outside the bonus zone with a bunch of cards at hand. In which case, getting zero points is excellent when others are raking in negative points. It is definitely neat to see that the game has several ways to eke out victory and the game is simple and varied enough that I think it is an excellent entry for new comers while keeping the hobbyists engaged. Excellent and highly recommended. I cannot wait to explore this game further!

Impressions: Good

Of What’s Left is a winner by the designer Taylor Reiner, the well-recognized spokesperson for the trick taking genre on BGG. The game won the inaugural Golden Climber award as voted by the trick taking guild members and deservedly so. While Tichu remains the top dog in this genre, Of What’s Left is a great example of how climbing shedders can be just as fun and as innovative as trick-takers. The game inserts just a tiny twist in the rules at the end of each hand which then opens up a whole new dimension on how to navigate scoring and winning. The original version of the game had a small print run in Japan with artwork by Sai Beppu. However, the game has already been reprinted and rethemed as Seers Catalog by Bezier Games with additional variants. Though the new theme will attract a new cohort of players, the original illustrations features different owls in medieval armor and look whimsical and adorable. Regardless of the versions, Of What’s Left or Seers Catalog is a wonderfully simple design that is worth playing especially if you are fans of the genre (or Taylor!).