Released in 2018, the Mind card game quickly became a big hit thanks to its innovative and unique gameplay. The game was even nominated for the prestigious Spiel des Jahres award. This game is pretty unusual so let’s take a more in-depth look at what it’s all about.
What is The Mind Card Game?
The Mind card game needs at least two players but can be played with many more! If you’re getting bored of family games like UNO and Clue, then the Mind offers something very different. Let’s take a look at what the game is all about.
Mind is a game all about synchronization and rises in difficulty the longer the game goes on! What may seem easy at first glance can quickly become more and more difficult. But the more you play, the better you’ll get.
The game starts with all players being dealt a single card; cards are always dealt facedown and should not be shown to each other. So, how does the game work? Well, it’s quite simple if you think you have the lowest card, you simply put it face up in the center.
The player who thinks they have the next lowest then puts their card down, and so on, all the cards have been played. Remember, your aim is to play cards from lowest to highest in ascending order.
If you did, then all players move to the next level. This means the cards are returned and then shuffled again, and then two cards will be dealt to each player. The number of cards dealt for every level you pass increases by one.
If a player puts down the wrong card (meaning you have one lower than it in your hand), you should immediately raise your hand and stop the game. Any cards you have in your hands lower than the top card should be discarded, and then you can continue playing.
However, be warned playing the wrong card will cost your team a life, and you only have a set amount when playing. There is a bit more to learn about the Mind card game, like how the extra special throwing stars work, but we’ll save all that juicy information for the rules section below.
What You’ll Need To Play?
To play the Mind card game, you only need a card set. Mind Game was very popular upon its release, but if you want to ensure you get the cards, it’s best to look online for the Mind card game. While there have been a few different editions, the cards commonly have a dark fantasy design/ color theme.
Once you open the box, you might be surprised by what you find. There are 100 numbered cards from 1 – 100 and throwing stars. You might be tempted to use these in battle, but they serve a very important purpose in the game.
Rules And Gameplay
1. The Aim of The Game
Mind makes a great two-player card game but can be played with more players. While the box says it’s for between 2 – 4 players, you can play with more. The rules don’t even change either; it just adds new players to the group and therefore increases the difficulty.
2. The Set-Up
Start the game by first choosing a dealer. Unlike 7 Card Stud or any other Poker variants, the dealer is still part of the team. Everyone is playing as part of the cooperative. The dealer should shuffle the deck and then deal everyone one card to start.
Cards should be dealt facedown, and the dealer should raise their hand to signal the game has begun. The first level of the Mind game then begins. But while you might want to rush to put down your card, think carefully.
The aim is for all the players to put down their cards in the order of lowest to highest. Clearly, if you have the number 5 card, you likely have the lowest card. However, the aim of Mind is for players to get a sense of who has what card; we’ll explain in more detail how this works.
3. Playing Mind
Playing Mind is quite the experience because you can’t gesture or signal each other in any way. This game certainly plays very differently from things like Pictionary. Instead, players must try to develop a silent language or understanding with one another.
Players can raise their hands to signal a reflection or contemplation at any time during the game. When this happens, players all stop playing and refocus their energy. It also gives everyone time to rethink whether to put down a card or not.
Cards are played facedown, and if you succeed in playing all your cards in order (from lowest to highest), you can move on to the next level. The rules stay the same, but every player is dealt an extra card.
Mind is designed to get more and more challenging with every level you progress. But while it might seem impossible after a while, you might be surprised with how in sync you become with one another.
Now, if you do make a mistake, don’t worry; all is not lost. If a player plays the wrong card, you should immediately shout stop. Then everyone with cards that now can’t be played should discard them for their hand, and you can continue playing.
Be warned, though, that this will cost you a life, and under traditional rules, you will only have three lives to last you the whole game. However, if you are playing with more than three people, it’s a common rule to set the number of lives to the number of players.
The Mind game continues with you moving to higher levels as the game continues and ends when you have lost all your lives. The aim of the game is to try and beat your high score, but part of the fun is just to see how well your team does.
4. Using Shooting Stars
Now you might be wondering about those shooting stars we mentioned earlier; how do they work? Every player should have one shooting star with them, and they can play them at any time.
This is done by raising both hands to signal the other players. If other players agree, they should also signal by raising their hands. If a majority of players agree, the star can be played and put down.
Shooting stars allow all players to take their lowest card and discard it from their hands. This effectively resets the play, and they can be very useful, especially during the higher levels of the game.
Mind – A Unique Twist on Cooperative Card Games
Mind is a unique card game ideal for a family game night or a great change from more traditional games like Blackjack. If you’re looking to try something a little different, give Mind a try as soon as you can.
