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Quick Look: 21 Bluff
Publisher: Playview Brand
Year Published: 2024
21 Bluff is a card game based on traditional BlackJack rules where players aim to get as close to 21 without exceeding it. Players amp up their game by bluffing their way with special power cards for bonus points allowing them to double the value of their hand by splitting or doubling down, giving opponents the option to accept, reject, or counter. If a player busts, they lose the hand. Play as a duo or add more players to multiply the excitement.
Review:
Initial Reaction:
I don’t really enjoy gambling. I will play Poker for fun, but my game of choice if I do gamble is BlackJack. So, I thought a game based on BlackJack might be interesting. When I saw the game I was intrigued by how they would add bluffing to the game of BlackJack, which seems fairly straightforward. Apparently it is through the addition of Power cards. I’m a little skeptical of how different or similar the game will feel to BlackJack or a card game.
Knowing the game of BlackJack, reading the rules was easy. I just had to determine the differences in play. The rules take the game of BlackJack and add special cards that can change the gameplay. In the end, though, the player closest to 21 wins the round. If you know BlackJack, learning and teaching the rules of 21 Bluff should only take you about 10 minutes.
The rule book is a single page of instructions with English on one side and French on the other.
Note: Since this was a demo game it is likely the rule book was not in its final form.
The setup is fairly straightforward. Each player takes a deck of cards, shuffles them, and then passes the deck to the player on the left. The youngest player is initially given the Button, indicating the virtual House or Dealer. Each player draws 2 cards from their deck as their opening position. Play proceeds from there.
21 Bluff is not a themed game other than it is based on BlackJack. If you know how to play BlackJack you won’t have a hard time learning to play 21 Bluff.
The game is very similar to BlackJack. You start with an initial position and then each turn you take another card, hit, or stay.
Each round the player who has the Button acts as facilitator. Each player draws 2 cards from their deck as a starting position. Beginning with the Button player and going clockwise, each player may perform an action, such as Split, Double, Hit, or Stay. If a player Hits, they draw 1 card from their deck into their hand. Once all players have Stayed, the cards are revealed and the player(s) closest to 21, including their Power cards, is the winner. The game may be played over several rounds if you would like to keep score.
The Power card actions change the game enough to make it more interesting than standard BlackJack, but not by so much that you can’t recognize the original game. Some Power cards are mandatory, and some are not, but all affect the gameplay. The hierarchy of the Power cards can also introduce some interesting interactions, sometimes helping, sometimes distracting.
The game is based on BlackJack, but many BlackJack strategies will not work in this game. All cards are secret until the end, so you have no way to judge probabilities or whether to truly push your luck. You also don’t have a pool of cards, you have your own deck, making it easier to track your own possibilities but harder to track others.
I’ve been playing BlackJack for quite some time, and I was hoping that 21 Bluff would raise it to another level. I found it hard to not fall into old BlackJack strategies which don’t play well in this game. For those of you who play and enjoy classic card games, this might be an enjoyable game. For those who are used to TCGs or more modern card games, you may not get enough out of the game. Play was enjoyable enough, I had a good time playing the game. It’s just not one I will be pushing to the table based on my gaming preferences.
Games of chance, BlackJack, or card games
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Thomas Shepherd – Reviewer
Grew up loving to solve puzzles, play games. In younger years he had fun playing pencil games, playing D&D with friends, and hanging out with others. His favorite thing to do was to make puzzles, mazes, word games, picture games, etc. Sadly his career took him in a different direction. Gaming came back into his life, though, about 15 years ago & held onto it since. He enjoys designing games and has 9 published titles, through, Toresh Games. Sadly he wasn’t able to sustain the company. He would love to see a return to games as the best social media platform for the masses.
See Thomas Shepard’s Reviews HERE.
