Allegra Grande

The Game

Descriptions of Allegra Grande refer to a public domain name called Golf. I am not familiar with Golf at all. Maybe this is a German or European thing.

In Allegra Grande, every player starts with a grid of 4x4 cards, all face-down except for two randomly flipped face-up. The cards have different point values, and point values are bad. You want as few points as possible. The distribution of the cards in the deck is uneven. There are more cards for the middling numbers, and fewer at the extremes. During the course of the game, you get to manipulate your tableau of cards. Some actions force you to turn cards face-up. The game ends when anyone has all cards revealed. You compare scores to see who wins (lowest total wins). 

You have two actions on your turn. You can draw cards from the deck or the discard pile to swap with cards in your tableau. You can swap positions of cards in your tableau. Some cards have special powers, e.g. they let you peek at your face-down cards. Some actions force you to reveal one of your cards. This is basically forcing the countdown towards game end. 

When you have three or more cards of the same number in a row, you must remove them from your tableau immediately. Now this is a great way to reduce your points, but you have to be careful not to leave ugly gaps in your tableau. Rows and columns automatically collapse. If you remove a whole row, those below it automatically move up to fill the gap. However if you remove all but one card in a row, that remaining card blocks the rows below from collapsing. Making rows and columns is a tricky thing to plan. You also need to watch what numbers your opponents may want. What you discard can be picked up by others. The card distribution is uneven. This affects your decision on which numbers you want to collect to make rows. The middling numbers are easier to collect. 

 

That eye icon is a special power

The Play

There is an ongoing challenge trying to know what cards you have and then manipulating them to clear rows of cards. There comes a time when you need to decide whether to take higher cards to complete sets or to take smaller cards to minimise your total points, giving up on trying to complete sets. Orchestrating complete sets is not easy. You don't want sets of three, because that will leave you with that awkward single card. The game feels slightly solitairish, but you do need to pay attention to other players' tableaus. You need to know how many cards of each number are already out there, because that affects your chances of drawing specific numbers. You also need to avoid discarding numbers which your opponents want. 

It's actually not easy to coordinate your card movements to complete the rows in a good sequence. It takes some careful planning. I certainly fared poorly in my first venture. 

I cleared my cards in a poor manner, leaving an ugly F. F for fail! 

Chen Rui (opposite) did much better. Now she had a neat 3x2 grid. 

The Thoughts

I am not familiar with Golf so Allegra Grande is novel to me. Everyone is playing with their own tableau of cards, so there is no direct confrontation. However you do have to watch what your opponents are doing. Managing your tableau is interesting and challenging. There is excitement in drawing cards and hoping to get the right number. There is also excitement in revealing your own cards and finding out you have that number you need all along. These are what make card games fun. Some uncertainty and surprise. There is certainly luck in the game, but you do have some control over how best to solve your problem.