Up or Down?

Up or Down? is a simple card game from from the master duo Wolfgang Kramer and Michael Kiesling which is not as simple as it looks. You collect up to three sets of cards, and within each set the cards must be played in ascending or descending order. Cards come in 6 different colours and every card has a different number. The cards in the game go from 1 to 126, but the range you use depends on the number of players. First let's talk about how the scoring works. 

For each of your sets, your score is the number of cards in the set multiplied by the number of cards of the colour you have the most of. So from the screenshot above, the three columns score like this: 8 x 3 (yellow) = 24, 2 x 1 (either colour) = 2, 8 x 5 (blue) = 40. On your turn you must take a card from the centre of the table, and add it to one of your sets. The cards in the sets must be played in ascending or descending order. In case you can't add your new card to any existing set, you must discard one of your sets to start a new set with your new card. Discarded cards go to your personal discard pile. They are still worth points, but at a measly 1 point each. 

Here is how a turn works. You always have a hand of three cards. On your turn you must play one card to the centre of the table. 

There are always six cards at the centre of the table, ordered in a circle in ascending order. When you play a card, it is added to this circle of cards, inserted at the appropriate spot. You must then take one of the two cards next to the card you just added. This is how you claim a card from the centre. At the end of your turn, you draw a new card from one of the two draw decks in the middle. One of them is face-up, and the other face-down. 

The game is played until the draw decks run out, and after everyone has played all their hand cards. Only then you check your scores to see who wins. 

So far all this sounds pretty straight-forward. Only upon playing I realised this game is a little trickier than I thought. Despite the simple rules, the correct tactics to employ are not easy to figure out. What's a good play and what's not? I must admit after two games I still have not fully figured out the game. My first thought was I should have one ascending set and one descending set, and the third can be either. However I soon realised this might not be necessary. 

Which card should you play? At first I only cared about it helping me to get a card that fit well with my current sets. Later I realised it's important to watch what cards your opponents are collecting and try to avoid putting out a card they want. The card you play will affect the circle of cards. It might become a card you can take on your next turn. It might interfere with your plans to take another card on your next turn. These are all things to think about. When you need to take a card from one of the draw decks, although there are only two options, it is not always easy to make a decision. My first thought was I should have a wide range of numbers in my hand, so that I always have more options. Later I felt that might not be right. Depending on the numbers I'm trying to collect, I might need to take cards close to those numbers. 

I think the most effective way to score well is to take many cards of the same colour for the same set. What this means is you'll need to watch what other players are collecting. If they are going for the same colour, you will have competition. You also want to deliberately take colours which others want for the sake of denying them. I realise it is important to watch what numbers and colours are useful to your opponents. 

One strategy I thought about was focusing on making only two high-scoring sets, leaving the third as a burn set. You try to keep those two sets as pure as possible, while the third set is for you to dump cards which don't fit. Expect the third set to be discarded often and to not score much. I tried this and it somewhat works, but I'm not sure whether this is the best strategy. Maybe there are others. 

The end game can be challenging. You will have to play all your hand cards eventually. Ideally you want to avoid discarding any of your sets, because cards being discarded will score fewer points. If you are not careful with the end game, you might be forced to discard a set, and you may end the game with fewer points than you have during the game. 

Up or Down? reminds me a little of Take 5 / 6 Nimmt, the classic by Wolfgang Kramer. I am intrigued by how it works and I am curious to figure it out. I think ultimately you can't have tight control over how well you do. Luck is a factor. Yet there are tactics you can employ. An experienced player will most likely beat a new player. I like Up or Down? because it gives me a good mental workout, and it brings something new to the table. I am liking smaller games like this compared to those run-of-the-mill heavy Eurogames with tons of resource collection, resource conversion and contract fulfilment.