Blink proudly calls itself “the world’s fastest game,” so if you’re looking for a card game you can play in short bursts, could this be for you? Well, we’ll be taking a look at the Blink card game and find out exactly how it’s played.
What is The Blink Card Game?
Blink is a fast, simple two-player card game. At first glance, it might look a little like UNO, but the two games are very different. Blink is played with a special set of cards adorned with various colorful shapes and symbols.
The aim of this game is simple players need to be the first to get rid of their cards. This is done by matching a card in your hand with one on the table. Cards can be matched in various ways, so you need to think carefully and pay attention.
In Blink, it’s easy to get confused and lose the opportunity to play a card. Since both players will be racing against each other, you’ll need to act fast. However, if you make a mistake, you can incur penalties.
Blink is a great game for children to play, and you could even play in teams making it great fun for a family game night. While the gameplay loop is simple, the gameplay can be quite frantic, which definitely equals fun in our book.
If you’re bored of games like Snap and Go Fish, then Blink would make a great alternative. We’ll talk more about the rules you need to know below. But first, let’s take a closer look at the Blink cards and see where you can find them.
What You’ll Need To Play?
You’ll need a special set of Blink cards to play this fun card game. Blink is currently manufactured by Mattel and is easy to find online and possibly in some toys/ game stores. The bright orange color of a Blink card set is easy to spot.
Some people like to double their fun by playing with two card sets! It looks like this has been noted because you can find dual packs of the Blink card game. However you decide to play, the game’s basic rules stay the same.
But the more cards you have, the longer the game will be. So having two packs of cards is also advised if you want to play with four players. Now, let’s discuss the rules you need to know if you’re considering playing Blink.
Rules And Gameplay
Here are the rules, aim of the game, and setup of the blink card game.
The Aim of The Game
Blink is essentially a race to see who can play all their cards first. The game is designed for two players but can easily be played in teams of two. While you can play with more people, we recommend using at least one more card set if you do.
We’ll talk about how this works further down in our rules guide. Blink is designed to be very fast-paced, and games are often over in 5 – 10 minutes. Making it great for short bursts of time or as a fun side game for family game night.
The Set-Up
First, shuffle the Blink cards; you could even use an automatic card shuffler if you have one, and then deal out the cards equally between the two players. All cards should be dealt facedown; once done, each player should take their top card and flip it over.
Each card will act as the starting base; players can use either one and switch between each pile at any point. Although only matching cards can be put down, we’ll outline exactly how this works in the next section.
The Cards
Now the cards in Blink are quite different from your traditional playing cards. Blink cards come in a wide range of different colors and shapes. For example, you might see stars, triangles, or lightning bolts in various colors, such as green, red, black, or blue.
Each card will have a different number of symbols on it as well. For example, the card might only have one star on it, or it might have five. The good news is that when matching cards, you only need to match one aspect.
For example, let’s say one of the first cards turned over is two yellow diamonds. That means you can play a yellow card, a card that is a diamond, or another card with two symbols on it! So, you will have plenty of opportunities to match. Now let’s look at how a round of Blink works in more detail.
Blink Gameplay
Once the cards are dealt, and each player has placed down their base card, the game begins in full. Each player will have their own draw pile of cards next to them and can only take the top three cards for their hand.
Every time you play one of your cards, you should take another to add to your hand. If you can’t play a card from your hand, you’ll have no choice but to wait until an opportunity arises. Then, each player should try to match a card from their hand onto one of the two piles.
Remember cards can be matched by color, symbol, or number. Once a card has been played and placed down, that will be the next base card. So, if you can’t put down one of your three cards right away, you will just have to wait until your opponent puts down a card you can match.
In the rare circumstances that no player can put down any of their cards, both players can reshuffle their decks and draw three new cards for their hands. The game is over when one player plays all the cards from their draw pile.
Penalties
If you put down a card that doesn’t match and another player notices, you’ll incur a penalty! This means you’ll have to take two additional cards from your opponent’s draw pile. If this isn’t possible, you should take two cards from the bottom of the discard pile and add them to your draw pile.
Three And Four Player Blink Gameplay
While Blink is traditionally a two-player game, you can play with more people with just a few additional rules/ changes. Now, if you want to play with three/four people, we recommend using two decks of Blink cards.
The game will likely still be quite fast because the extra people will make up for the additional cards. You’ll also follow the same rules but with just a few small differences. First, you’ll have more base cards at the start of the game.
You should have one card for every player. Another fun addition when playing with more people is the swap hands rule. This means that after ten cards have been put down, try to keep count, the game freezes, and everyone swaps their current hand with the player next to them.
Blink – Fast-paced, Competitive Fun!
Blink is a great example of a fast-paced card game! The rules are simple, but the game is competitive, and you’ll need to act fast to win. Whether playing a single round or the first till five wins, you’re sure to enjoy Blink.
