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On the vanguard of the latest resurgence of Trick Taking games is/was Fives. Originally released as The Green Fivura in 2022, Fives uses the classic must-follow trick taking formula with a fixed trump suit. The twist (yes, there is always a twist) is that, in some cases, you can play any card face down as a Magenta Five. Ok, the magenta color obviously comes from the Magenta line/styling of CMYK but the gameplay of being able to play a non-trump, mid-level card type at (almost) any time is a innovative twist.
The game plays very differently at the different player counts (three and four players). For a three player game, you remove anything above a 10 from each suit. (The full set goes to 13). In a title that the goal is to get as close to 25 points without going over, that is a drastic change...and, of course, since you are playing a three player game, you are more likely to take a trick (and, thus, points) in general. The 25 point threshold removes any need for bidding on the number of tricks you want/need to take. Instead, you take the card you won with and accumulate that number of points.
On a surface level, Fives is a bit trickier (pun intended) to teach and learn than the other releases in the Magenta series. But don't let that scare you, it still a very simple game in the grand scheme of board/card games. The previously mentioned 25 point goal and the simplicity of “Whoever has the Magenta Zero leads the first trick” and Silver is always trump means that, once you have the hang of the game, it's super smooth.
Since you want to get as close to 25 point without going over and the deck is always the same, your first inclination might be to count cards. This is where Fives shines, since (when the circumstances permit) you can play any card, no matter how high or low, as a magenta five. This tosses card counting right the hell out since any card that has the chance to come out can turn into a magenta five...and you have no idea what that card was because it was played face-down with only the five showing.
In order to do a bit of luck mitigation, Fives is played over four rounds, with point chips going to the players who got closest to 25 without going over (and a bonus is they hit exactly 25). At the end of the four rounds, you add up the point chips and whoever has the most point chips wins. Throw in some “You blew it, went over 25 and now have to give one of your score chips to the person who came closest to 25 in that hand” and you get a game that never feels out of reach for anyone during it's short play time.
Fives is another shining example of how the curated card game collection of the Magenta line earns it's space on your shelf. It has the depth that means veteran game players will enjoy it with the accessibility of being able to teach it to those only experienced base line trick takers.
A review copy of this release was provided by the publisher. Therewillbe.games would like to thank them for their support.
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