Nerdful Things – Get Bit! Review

Following on from a previous post, we tried out ‘Get Bit!’ later in the evening after we had a few rounds of ‘Zombie Dice‘.  We restarted after realising we had started out a little wrong but that was my mistake for misreading the rules!

‘Get Bit!’ is a game published by Mayday Games.

“You don’t have to be faster than the shark, just faster than your friends!”

‘Get Bit!‘ is a card game where players are competing to stay alive as the others are being eaten by the shark.

The order of the swimmers is determined by simultaneously playing cards face-down then revealing the values. The number on each player’s card determines position in line (higher numbers in front, lower numbers in back), however ties don’t move. The swimmer at the back loses a limb to the shark and is flung to the front of the line! The process is repeated until only two swimmers remain on the table. When this happens, the swimmer at the front of the line wins the game!

First Impressions

I decided to go for the deluxe edition because it sounded better.  I mean, who wouldn’t want a deluxe edition?  It sounds exotic and superior.  The only difference, aside from the tin container, seems to be that you get stickers to put on the little figures.  Decoration and customisation – I’m in!  In reality, it doesn’t work very well.  The prints are great quality but the stickers come away and started to peel away mere minutes after application and before we even started the game!

The chest and back pieces stick down fine, the head-wrap is the issue.  I haven’t opened the tin since we played it that once so I have no idea if their faces are still there or if they are like little multi-coloured ‘Questions’.  Oh alright, I’ll open the tin now…(see the below images)

So, the stickers are a pain in the ass and a bit of a let-down.  Guess I’ll have to glue these faces on…

The cards are good quality.  Nicely printed and a nice glossy feel to them.  Each coloured character has their own corresponding cards numbered 1-7.  The cards determine your placement in the game – more on that later.

The shark looks almost like it’s just been taken from a LEGO set – that’s not a bad thing as I love LEGO sharks!

 

Gameplay

The game starts with each coloured character in a random order with the shark at one end.  The shark doesn’t get any flesh in round one – round one determines the proper starting places.  As we were playing with three players, we had two colours each.  To play, you pick a card from your hand and the idea is to move your character to the farthest side away from the shark (we had the shark on the right-hand side so the character farthest left was at the front).

Each player picks a card and reveals them at the same time.  If two or more players have any card with the same number, their corresponding character remains in place.  The lowest individual number moves to the front and play proceeds upward to each single-played number.  Play continues as such and, from round two onward, the player closest to the shark loses a body part.

As we had two characters each, we played it so that if any one of our two characters lost all of their limbs and torso so their head was all that remained, the player was out of the game.  We played it so that a leg was removed, then the next, then an arm and then the other and, finally, the torso.  Each character has multiple removable parts (feet, shins, thighs, hands, forearms etc.) so the game can be played for much longer if desired.

Once all the cards have been played, players collect them back up and continue until one remains.

 

Verdict

Aside from the sticker issue, ‘Get Bit!‘is really good fun and, as I mentioned previously, it can be played with a number of variants to extend/shorten as you see fit.  The gameplay is simple and the game requires little set up – no card shuffling or anything.  There is an element of strategy, especially if you run the risk of getting bit – play the same value card as an opponent and CHOMP!  Once cards have been played, they’re out for all to see so you can try and make an informed decision knowing what your opponents have played already and what they have left in their hand.

A family friendly game that’s as fun as it is simple and suitable for ages 7+, it is a thoroughly enjoyable game and will certainly get a lot more play from us in due course!

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‘Get Bit!’ on BoardGameGeek

 

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