Five Crowns: Game Review | Easy to Learn, Hard to Master

TL;DR - Easy to learn, hard to master. Each hand is a mini game that changes from the last hand. Good fun for wide range of ages. Also, don't be slack and just read the review - its not that long. Sheesh. 

Anyone who knows me knows I usually clean up at card games... so naturally I came dead last. Turns out Five Crowns is the perfect mix of skill, strategy and just enough luck to keep everyone in the running. Each round sees you increasing the number of cards in hand by 1 which means you need to be able to shift strategy each hand. Apparently I'm not as adaptable as I thought I was. 

Thats actually one of the main appeals of the game though - each hand was like a different mini game, keeping it fresh. That didn't work so well for my style of playing (I like to dominate in a single strategy - yes, I'm writing the review so it's all about me!) This style of playing suited Mark and Evie better and the scores reflected it. Am I a little salty? Maybe. I haven't won a game of Mario Kart in over 8 years so cards is usually where I maintain my dignity, but it was a bit of a novelty to have a new world order exposed by Five Crowns.

When I say its easy to learn, we were 2 cocktails in when we started playing and even my Mum Robyne picked it up straight away. That's not to say she's not an incredibly intelligent woman, she's just weaponised incompetence when it comes to playing (and cheating) games. "Oh I thought I did pick up 2 cards, shhh I'm old", "silly me, is that only 45 points? I thought it was 50". Don't be fooled by the grey hair and sweet Nanny face - the woman is stone cold and would cheat her 6 year old grandkid to win. 

I'll definitely be keeping this game in my handbag to whip out when the conversation lulls or the kids start annoying me. I'll also be packing it for a girls cruise later this year, minimal set up, can be stopped and started easily and is the perfect accompaniment for cocktails. 

⭐⭐⭐⭐ Kate-approved... even if my score says other wise.

We've got Five Crowns in store at The Dragon Hangar, and if you're looking for a game that's easy to teach, impossible to put down and guaranteed to get everyone involved, this one's an easy recommendation.