The Inspiration for SequenceDouglas, or Doug, Reuter, Sequence's designer, says that the inspiration for creating Sequence came from his passion for games since his childhood in Minneapolis, where harsh winters kept him and his siblings indoors.Doug ReuterThis experience sparked in him the desire to invent something of his own. He spent 4 years developing the game, which was initially called Sequence Five, then another 3 years seeking licensing, which in 1981 was granted to Jax Ltd. (Jax Games) to manufacture and distribute the game, and in the following year, 1982, Sequence finally hit the shelves.The Original Game BoxIn 2017, Goliath Game Company acquired Jax Ltd. and now has ownership of the game. Sequence is a phenomenon, a best-seller and a classic, combining simplicity, strategy, and luck, and is played by families and groups of friends all over the world.Let's get to know Sequence!Sequence - Game InfoSequence is a 2-to-12 players game, age 7+, y designer Doug Reuter. Art by Zetor.Game BoxSequence was released in 1982 by Jax Ltd. (now Goliath Games), and in Brazil in 2021 through Copag. The main mechanics are: hand management, pattern building, take that, and team play.Game ComponentsIn 2003 it was nominated for Best Japanese Game by the Japan Boardgame Prize.Sequence is a classic with over 10 million units sold worldwide!Playing the GameSequence is a game that combines cards and board in a strategic, light, and fun competition. The goal is to form sequences of 5 connected chips (horizontally, vertically, or diagonally) of the same color, using the cards in your hand. Jacks are special cards that can change the course of the game, so stay alert!With easy-to-learn rules and quick, engaging matches, Sequence is a game that captivates all ages and has great replayability. Perfect for moments of fun, strategy, and healthy competition.This is the background for Sequence!Sequence hails simplicity even in its components:- the 10x10 board shows all the cards (except the Jacks);- there are 2 standard decks of 52 cards each;- it comes with 3 chip colors (blue, green, and red), with 48 pieces each.SequenceThis is the setup:- Place the game board in the middle of the table;- Players or teams choose their preferred chip color and take their pieces;- Each player or team draws a random card from the deck, whoever draws the highest card becomes the 1st player (then the cards are returned to the deck);- The entire deck is shuffled and a number of cards is dealt according to the number of players;- The remaining cards form a draw deck.The draw deck and the green chipsThe number of cards dealt to each player also varies depending if it's an individual game or a team game.When playing individually:- 2 players: 7 cards each;- 3 players: 6 cards each.When playing in teams:- 2 teams (4 players, 2 on each team): 6 cards each;- 2 or 3 teams (6 players, 3 or 2 on each team): 5 cards each;- 2 teams (8 players, 4 on each team): 4 cards each;- 3 teams (9 players, 3 on each team): 4 cards each;- 2 teams (10 players, 5 on each team): 3 cards each;- 3 teams (12 players, 4 on each team): 3 cards each.When playing in teams, players on the same team must alternate their physical positions with their opponents around the board.A Sequence turn has only 2 steps, namely:- Step 1: play a card from your hand;- Step 2: replace the card in your hand.Step 1, which consists of playing a card from your hand, has several nuances. The "normal" way is:- play any card from your hand that corresponds to a position on the board;- place one of your tokens in the space that represents that card on the board;- discard the used card.Simple, right? Besides, there are also two other possible plays:- play a Jack;- play a Dead Card.Jacks are a special case in Sequence:- Front Jacks (with 2 eyes): function like wild cards;- Side Jacks (with 1 eye): remove chips from the game.How Jacks worksRegarding the Jacks, there are two important things to consider:- you cannot, for obvious reasons, place one of your chips in the same place where an opponent's chip was removed in the same turn, since you used your turn to play a side Jack (with 1 eye);- you cannot remove an opponent's chip that is part of a complete sequence, as a complete sequence is "protected".As for Dead Cards, their appearance occurs because with the exception of Jacks, each card appears twice on the board. So, imagine the following situation:- someone played a 2 of Diamonds and placed a chip in that respective location;- someone played a front Jack (with 2 eyes), which is a wild card, and placed a chip on the 2 of Diamonds;- someone has a 2 of Diamonds in their hand: this is now a Dead Card, because both locations for the 2 of Diamonds on the board are already occupied.So what do you do with a Dead Card in your hand? Simple! At the beginning of your turn, show the Dead Card to all players so they can verify the fact, discard the Dead Card, draw a new card from the draw pile, and continue your turn normally.If, by chance, you have more than one Dead Card in your hand, be patient, as the game only allows you to exchange one Dead Card per turn.After playing a card from your hand, to finish Step 1, if it wasn't a side Jack (with 1 eye) that removes a chip from the game, you must place one of your tokens in the exact space corresponding to the card you played or announced, if it was a front Jack, i.e., a wild card.Placing a chip has a lot of strategy and elements to consider, namely:- you can complete a sequence;- you can use the wild card spaces;- you can share a chip.Normally, when you place the 5th token of the same color in a horizontal, vertical, or diagonal sequence, you complete a sequence, and this is very important because a complete sequence is, as already mentioned, "protected" from the side Jacks (with 1 eye), which remove chips from the game. It's also a possible game-ending play, depending on the number of players.A Protected SequenceOn the board, in each of the 4 corners, there is a wildcard space, which you should consider them as if they were already "filled" by a chip of all colors. This means that, from there, you only need a sequence of 4 chips to complete your sequence.The corner, a Wild Card SpaceThe strategy shines when sharing a chip across two sequences. This happens when the same chip is part of two intersecting sequences. Now that's making the most of a chip!A shared chip in a horizontal and vertical sequenceFinally, Step 2 consists of redrawing a card. After all, you just played a card in Step 1, so you need to replenish your hand with a card from the draw pile. Sounds simple, right? And it really is! The problem here is that if you forget to draw a card on your turn and your opponent's turn begins, you lose the right to draw a card, and with that, obviously, you will have fewer options from now on, meaning one less card in your hand for the rest of the game. This could be the difference between victory and defeat!After Step 2, a Sequence turn ends! Now it's the turn of the player to your left.Ending the GameThe game ends in 2 different ways based on the number of players or teams:- with 2 players or 2 teams: the first player or team to achieve 2 sequences of 5 chips wins;- with 3 players or 3 teams: the first player or team to achieve 1 sequence of 5 chips wins.Strategy TipsSequence is quite strategic, but it has some luck, after all, you draw cards from a draw pile. But this is easily mitigated during the game due to several factors:- luck affects you but also affects your opponents;- wild cards can change and speed up the game;- shared chips surprise the opponent;- Jacks radically change the game.You can see that there are several ways to mitigate the "luck factor" in Sequence, you just need to know how to use them at the right time! Let's look at some strategies to make our sequence.I suggest that, with your initial cards, you try to play them already creating a sequence in any of the directions (horizontal, vertical or diagonal). If this is not possible, at least try to place your chips close together, thus allowing you to generate the sequence in the future.Make full use of the wildcard spaces available in the 4 corners of the board; it's one of the best opportunities to complete a sequence with only 4 tokens, after all, that's what a wildcard space is for: to replace one of your tokens.The shared token strategy is also really powerful; after all, you can work on 2 sequences at the same time in 3 directions (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal).Always have a front Jack (with 2 eyes), a wild card, in hand to deliver the "checkmate," that is, to close the sequence. This surprises your opponent and guarantees you a safe sequence, free from the side Jack (with 1 eye) which removes chips from the game.Now let's look at strategies to "delay" your opponent(s).Sequence is not a game where you can be "nice," meaning that if your opponent forgets Step 2 at the end of their turn, which consists of replacing the card in their hand, tough luck for them. Don't remind them, start your turn, and then tell them that from now on they have one less card to play. Simple as that. It's not "cheating," it's strategy.Placing chips in the opponent's sequence, mainly "surrounding" the ends, is as basic as it goes. It's pure malice. You'll gain an enemy, but it's part of the game. I recommend this when you don't have "good" cards to help with your sequence, so all that's left is to "delay" your opponent(s).Blocking all 3 exits (horizontal, vertical, and diagonal) of a wildcard square is incredibly malicious, even if you don't use them, but blocking them all is a real "take that!" move. Blocking all 4 wildcard squares is even more malicious, isn't it? I would do it without hesitation if I could.Well, the only remaining strategic trick is to use the side Jack (with 1 eye) "without moderation," eliminating one of your opponent's chips from the game. Don't wait until the last minute to use this, because if you already seee 4 chips in a row from the opponent(s), the probability of them completing the sequence is very high, so use it at most when they already have 3 chips in a row.Combining these 4 strategies against your opponent(s) will significantly delay their game.Furthermore, pay attention to the opportunities the game presents, devise your best strategy, delay your opponent(s), mitigate the "luck factor" with the various possibilities, and win in Sequence.Unboxing, Rules, and Gameplay VideosUnboxing:Rules:Gameplay:Pedagogical TipsIf you're looking for a classic, language-independent game that's easy to play and teach, incredibly fun, with historic twists that will have kids laughing, Sequence is the game for you!Sequence is one of those games where you can either focus on your own game or play by disrupting your opponent. Kids will notice this immediately. The fun of it all, and where Sequence shines, is when the kids "realize" they can do both things at the same time.Then they get thrilled with the possibilities of the wild cards, the shared chips, the jacks, of "not telling" their friend that they forgot to pick a card from the draw pile – in other words, the "trickery" of the game. Let it happen naturally; they'll feel great.Obviously, a cool game like Sequence wouldn't leave out the excellent stimuli that every classic should provide, namely:- resource management: to manage the cards in hand and the chips, so as not to scatter them across the board;- strategy: devising plans with the cards, chips, and ways to mitigate luck;- decision-making: choosing which card to play and when;- logical-mathematical reasoning: to always keep an eye on calculating how many chips in sequence they and their opponent(s) have.The game is truly entertaining for children!Pedagogically, Sequence addresses resource management, stimulates strategy, decision-making, logical-mathematical reasoning, and on top of that, it's fun!I recommend Sequence for your collection!
Reactions
0
0 Comments
Be the first to comment