Unfair

Unfair left me with a very good feeling after my first few games. It settles onto the table easily and has that relaxed rhythm which makes everyone think they are simply building their own little marvels. Then somebody draws the right card. Karate.

You build your engine gradually from the decks, learning by doing how the cards and choices within each theme fit together. The first games are largely about discovery: working out what your own machine can do, what is worth holding onto, and when a modest move begins to pay back.

But the cards are not there solely to help you. There is plenty of take-that, so you can hit another player just as their plan is coming together — or take blows from every direction once the table decides you are doing rather too well. With two or three players, that keeps the tension lively; with more, everyone can turn on you in a single round. Who said parks were safe?

For all its nastiness, Unfair remains a pleasant, effortless play, particularly while you are still uncovering what the decks can do. It merely needs a group willing to laugh when its engine takes a boot. With two or three, it makes for a very good evening, with enough violence to remember who did it to you.