Money

Money is a set collection card game, essentially. It has an element of bidding and of hand management. You usually make two decisions each round: what are you going to bid and what are you going to "buy" with your bid? These decisions are not overly complex as you usually only have one or two realistic choices, and so the rounds flow quickly and smoothly, and the game usually plays quite fast.

The main game depth comes from deciding which currencies you will collect. Nothing will hold you back like having your main currency collected by another player but, of course, there are not enough currencies for everyone to take two each, so you need to watch the other players and see which currencies are up for grabs. This may change throughout the game.

Generally the game is simple to teach and easy to learn, with the exception of the scoring system. Basically, you get more points for focusing on two currencies. That's simple enough, but the exact scoring mechanism is filled with fiddly counter-intuitive details. Understandably, people want to know exactly how they will be scored, so new players have to struggle through a lengthy numerical explanation, which makes the game seem more complex than it really is.

Money has not fared well over time in our group. Whilst it is a quick and easily learned game, I can't say that anybody shows much excitement when playing it, and it certainly doesn't generate any talking points. In a group of mathematically minded gamers I think it would show its merits best, but for others there are more stimulating alternatives.

Money is and easy-to-learn card game with a money theme. Players simultaneously bid cards from their hand, with the current highest bidder getting first choice - pick their cards back up, exchange them with those bid by any other player or exchange them with cards from a central pool. Points are earned at the end of the hand by collecting cards of the same currency or sets of the same denomination.

It's simple, fast to play and can be interesting and tense - often you're forced to bid cards you'd prefer to keep in order to pick up something else.

The current version is quite expensive for a deck of cards, but Money is well worth owning and playing.