Tales & Games: The Grasshopper & the Ant
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The Grasshopper & the Ant is the fourth title in Purple Brain Games’ “Tales & Games” series, each of which comes packaged in a book-shaped box. In this game, players take turns playing the part of the industrious ants and the grasshopper content to sponge off the labor of the ants.
The Grasshopper & the Ant includes two ways to play, but the heart of both is the same. At the start of the game, lay out 16 (of the 48) path cards in a 4×4 grid; each path card shows one of four types of landscapes. The ant player places six ants on these cards, one ant per card, with the ants forming a chain (as in real life), then secretly chooses one type of terrain on which at least one ant stands. The grasshopper player then stands with one of the ants, and if the grasshopper chose the same landscape as the ant player, the grasshopper takes all the path cards of this type on which an ant stands; if the grasshopper chose incorrectly, then the ant player takes these path cards. Either way, you then refill the 4×4 grid. The ant player keeps playing until she finally wins path cards, then the next player in clockwise order controls the ants. (In winter mode, the third and fourth players control red ants and receive a random path card if they match the choice of the ant player.)
In autumn mode, players score path cards immediately, with each type being tracked independently; path cards that feature insects are saved for a endgame bonus. As soon as a player maxes out two scoring tracks, the game ends and whoever has the most points wins.
In winter mode, players keep the path cards they collect in order to buy provision cards (worth one victory point), which cost particular combinations of path types. In this mode, when you win a path card that features an insect, you can claim another card in the grid that features the same insect. Collect both provision cards of the same type, and you score a bonus VP. The first player to collect 4 VPs wins.
Ages | 8+ |
---|---|
Players | 2 Players, 3 Players, 4 Players |
Play Time | 30m |
Designer | Yoann Levet |
Mechanics | Set Collection, Stock Holding |
Theme | Animals, Bluffing, Novel-based |
Publisher | 2 Pionki, GoKids 玩樂小子, Purple Brain Creations, Asmodee, Asterion Press, IELLO, Lex Games, Portal Games |
coralsaw
The simple game is not a bad children game, the complex one takes itself too seriously. Fiddly and not that much fun.
olsonjj25
Another hit in the Tales and Games series, this one is a bluffing game that requires a bit of thought that I really enjoy playing with the kids (6 and 4). As always, impeccable presentation and components. I like seeing all four games in the series lined up next to each other in the shelf. The inclusion of the fairy tale is a nice addition, but much like the one in The Tortoise and the Hare, I'm not sure who these are geared towards. Multiple versions of the same tale - the Aesop version is extremely short - and the two other poem versions are just plain odd. And I'm an English major. I was hoping for the inclusion of a bonus card or tile for an earlier game in the series - much like Baba Yaga did for Three Little Pigs. It was a nice touch that hasn't been repeated since. Oh well. My series ranking: 1. Hare and Tortoise 2. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp 3. Grasshopper and Ant 4. Three Little Pigs 5. Jack and the Beanstalk 6. Little Red Riding Hood 7. Pied Piper 8. Baba Yaga My kids: 1. Aladdin and the Magic Lamp 2. Three Little Pigs 3. Little Red Riding Hood 4. Hare and Tortoise 5. Grasshopper and Ant 6. Jack and the Beanstalk 7. Pied Piper 8. Baba Yaga
LauraTheLabRabbit
This game and Forbidden Dessert are terrible, and here's why: Neither one has a rules book to speak of. All the rules contain is a description of the bits, plus info about a few possible moves. And occasionally they'll give you a slight hint as to how to keep score, and how to win. But that's all! (I guess I should mention that at least their illustrations are good quality. But how does that help?) Let me try to find a few examples for you: ""She can ask for aid from her comrades." OK, nowhere are there any comrades. Plus this isn't a cooperative game anyway. "The player when the player collects a PATH card..." "Path cards without insects are collected normally..." Okay, but you haven't mentioned collecting path cards, and it isn't mentioned later either. "You acquire PATH cards..." Okay, and then what do you do wit them? And from Forbidden Desert: "Match up 2 cards to find the treasure." But the cards don't have any similarities, so how do you know which cards match? ""The launch pad is important." That's nice, but how is it important? It's not mentioned anywhere in the manual. "Tunnels provide shelter from the sun." That's nice, but what do we do about it? I should acknowledge that dying from thirst loses the game, but where do we do anything about it? And this one is a little difficult to describe. Moving is described. But nothing about how to move, or where to move, or why. There's nothing like "Play 2 cards and move two spaces to the right" or "If someone takes your pawn, move an adjacent pawn into that space." "You excavate for equipment. Okay, and then what do or not do with it? It's not mentioned again after this section. "Turn a piece over to mark it blocked." What do we do once it's blocked? Bocking is not mentioned again. There is lots more, of course, but this should give you the flavor of these non-games. Or, really non-rulebooks. I'm sure there's a game in there somewhere trying to get out. I must say something nice, so I''ll mention that it's a cute idea the have the thirstiest player go first. Summary: Do not buy. Or rather do not try to play, be cause you won't be able to. Thumbs down, negative 1 stars. I'm trying to find out how to tell the designer about this. Wish me luck. Comments welcome!