PASS

PASS from Taiwan is a climbing game, i.e. like Tichu, Big 2 and Fight the Landlord. One special aspect about it is the cards have two different halves. Well, actually this is no longer that unique by now. Several other popular games have this, for example SCOUT and Panda Spin. 

Like Panda Spin, in PASS, one end of a card is designated the basic side, and the other is the upgraded side. By default you can only use the basic side. So you hold the cards white side up. 

Most of the game is the same as common climbing games, so this is easy to learn. There is no concept of suits, thus there are no suit related combos like flushes or straight flushes. The game has bombs, i.e. four or five of a kind. Bombs can ignore combos. Normally in climbing games everyone may only play the same combo as the lead player. In PASS, if you play a bomb, you are allowed to break this rule. 

The main difference between PASS and other climbing games is the Pass tokens. When you pass, you get a token. You may not re-enter play and you must sit out the rest of the hand, until someone wins and starts a new hand. Pass tokens can be used in two ways. When you play a combo, if you want to rotate some of your cards to the upgraded side, you have to spend a Pass token. 

Referring to the photo above, if I spend a Pass token, I can turn around my Q and A to create a bomb of five 4's. The other way to use a Pass token is to augment a combo you play. Normally if your combo in hand is the same as the currently strongest combo on the table, you can't play it. You need something stronger. What you can do is attach a Pass token to augment your combo. If the combo on the table already has a Pass token, you can still play yours, by adding two Pass tokens. 

The two sides of the Pass tokens are different, to remind you of the two different functions.

Compared to SCOUT and Panda Spin, PASS is a simpler game and it is closer to common climbing games. This means it is easier for non-gamers to pick up. Gameplay is quicker. I am not specifically a climbing game fan, but I like all three games. SCOUT and Panda Spin are more radically unconventional and innovative, and the gamer in me like that. PASS is more in the comfort zone. It is familiar and soothing while offering a little twist. It's the kind of game you can easily teach your old friends who are not gamers, and you can have a relaxing evening playing and catching up at the same time.