GAME REVIEWS
These are some reviews and ratings of games that I have played.
REDNECK LIFE by Gut Bustin' Games
$28.00 $22.00
A fellow newbie gamer in our game group purchased this game awhile back. He left for a 3 week vacation so I borrowed the game to play with my wife's family and with co-workers. I have now played it a total of 3 times. This review is a total of those 3 experiences with the game.
First off, I think the theme is hilarious. What a funny idea to create a game centered around redneck life. A brief sidenote, I do plan on playing this game at my annual redneck summer party. Last year we had a hair metal trivia contest and then a spam carving contest. Later that night we broke out Settlers of Catan which is NOT a redneck game but people wanted to play it.
This game will fit in perfectly with that party. It even suggests having a redneck party in the rules.
So the object of the game is to be the one with the most teeth at the end of the game. You lose teeth in various ways. i.e. "You try to open a beer bottle while driving, loose a tooth" It is similiar to the game life in that you have areas on the game board in which you must stop and go through a series of steps.
As you stop on these spaces there are corresponding cards that have detailed steps on what to do on these spaces.
But before that you must role the dice (1 blue and 1 red) to determine what your name will be, this is also found on the game board. The first stop on the game board you will obtain a education, you then roll both dice to see what is the highest level of education you recieved that directly correlates with what your job and income will be. I have yet to pass the fifth grade. Jobs include, Ciggy Shack Attendant, Honey Bucket Engineer, Hockey Referee, etc. You then purchase a vehicle. On each vehicle card is noted the amount of "Young'ens" it will hold. You obtain kids throughout the game, I've seen as low as only 2 and as high as someone having 15 kids. You MUST have enough vehicles to haul your "Young'ens" around.
You then note your job, education and pay on your personal scorecard. There are several "Payday" spots on the board and you will collect income as you pass them. NOTE: although you get paid, you WILLgo into debt in this game. Each time you need some money which you don't have you can take a red slip "Uncle Scram's Check N' Go" worth $100 a slip. You pay these back as you go.
Second stop You get married, you role the dice for his/her name then you role one di for the type of wedding, the lower the number the cheaper the wedding. Then you draw from a face down pile, a house and pay the listed amount. See my house in the image above with the cars. You then have the option of choosing insurance for your car, house, and health care. Each at a cost of $100.
Third stop You get divorced, then role one di to see if your spouse takes the house then you can pay your divorce attorney $100 or choose to sleep with them for a $50 discount. (Note: sleeping with the lawyer could have its consequences later in the game.)
Fourth Stop You get re-married, then role the dice to see how many step children you recieve named "Darryl" you also roll to see what your new spouse's name is.
Fifth Stop You win $100 gambling. You now choose to double it by rolling one dice or keep it. rolling 1-3 gives you double. 4-6 you loose it.
Sixth and Final Stop It's your "Day of Reckon'n" you then sell off your house at half price, sell off your cars at half price, get $25 for each young'en you have, then pay off as many of your debts as you can. For each red check n' scram slip you have you loose a tooth, also for $100 each you can buy back teeth. The player with the most teeth wins. If its a tie then the money left over is the tie breaker.
There is also a stack of cards you lay face down on the board titled "Go Redneck'n" You draw these cards as you land on the Go Redneck'n space on the board. These cards vary, you can pay fines, loose teeth, use revenge cards to damage fellow players. There is also other humorous spaces on the game board, along with a Tobacco space and a Moonshine space. When you land on those spaces you roll dice and follow the instructions on the card.
Now I know I have left off a few details here and there, but you get the general idea of the game. Now my thoughts:
The following is my rating of different aspects of this game.
Theme: The game follows true to its theme. The color pictures of the houses and vehicles are hilarious. and the creative writing and scenarios are funny as well.
Strategy: Not much at all, your fate falls on the dice.
Game Replay: Now you say, "Well you've played this a total of 3 times" I played with different people each time. And by my third time I was pretty much spent. I knew what was coming. Although it is funny for those who play on there first time. I would never play this in my weekly game group, much better games out there. It would work once, and that's about it.
Overall: I did get my share of laughs out of this game, so I'll give it that. If your in the mood for a light hearted game, then this is great. The game tends to run about 2 hours. and seems to drag on after the 4th Stop. I believe it would have been better had they shortned it a bit. Although we will have this at my redneck party this summer, I however will be carving Spam. Well, that's my 2 cents about Redneck Life.