Stroop

Stroop is a much-loved pain on the brain in our group. Its effects make you doubt yourself, your cards, even your life choices. Confidence is eroded by fast-flying, psychological mismatches. This continues with the complete reversal of the rules halfway through the game. Play a few rounds of this then try not to cry while considering the names of colors in conjunction with the actual color of these colors. Truly fun!

A great, quick game reminiscent of Set or Spot It! Using the von Stroop effect to cause hesitation and confusion makes for a fun game that is enjoyed by all skill levels.

Takes a "Spot It!" type of game and amps it up with some mind-bending card play. It appears to be a good idea to draw into a fairly large hand and then sequence a chain of cards to play down in quick succession so that you don't get interrupted. This puts other players into a tailspin. Made me dizzy, but I am rating it high because I know the designer and publisher (full disclosure).

The best way I can describe this game is it's push-ups for your brain. The packaging did nothing for me and had I not been part of a demo, I would've passed on this. I left Origins with this game in hand and I'm so glad that was the outcome. Stroop has very few rules and there are no turns, but I'm very apprehensive to label this game as "light." Yes, an 8-year old can grasp the concept but they'd be far too young to keep up with adults. To learn the game, it is light. To play it successfully is like making your thought process sprint...repeatedly...without a break.

This is an exciting puzzling game! I've played the prototype several times. All players are constantly smiling out of the joy of playing cards faster than everyone else, or because they are laughing at themselves for having such a hard time forcing their brain to think differently each round!