Customer Reviews

Buffalo Games Nacho Loco Card Game

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of my sons rec'd this game as a birthday gift earlier this year. We tucked it away and forgot about it. This summer we found it and thought it might be a good boredom buster. We LOVE this game! It's easy to learn, fun to play and kids can play it unsupervised. They have to think and use strategy and logic. The game moves at a good pace and you have some flexibility in making the game shorter if necessary. I have 5 children. My oldest three (2 boys and a girl)are ages 9, 7, and 5 and they have LOVED this game. Now we want to stock up on Nacho Loco so we can give it as birthday gifts!

Buffalo Games bills Nacho Loco as a card game, but in truth it's a tile-laying game that feels like the love-child of Uno and dominoes. How much you like either of those games will go a long way in forecasting the fun you'll have with this one. The game is for 2-6 players, ages 8 and up, and should last about 20-40 minutes.


COMPONENTS

Nacho Loco consists of 94 triangular "cards" that are more appropriately deemed tiles. The high-quality, durable tiles are stiff cardboard printed on one side to look like a tortilla, while the other side splits the triangle into three smaller triangles, each section bordering an edge of the "tortilla."

A single sheet of clear, simple rules covers the gameplay.


GAMEPLAY

Each player is dealt six tiles. Each tile contains three sections: one of three colors, an action, or a black X. A central tile from a drawpile is laid in the center of the table. Players proceed in turn to lay one tile from their hand that will match a played tile along a section edge by color or action. Matching two edges forces the other players to draw a tile. The edges with a black X will "seal off" an edge, so no further matches may be made against an X (with one exception). If a player cannot play a tile on an open playfield, one tile must be drawn (and played, if possible), and play resumes with the next player.

Besides the colors, players may match actions: Go Again, Opponent Draws 3, and Skip Turn. An action does not occur when first laid, only working for another player after laying its match.

The lone Closer tile contains three Xs, and MAY be matched against another X. Playing the Closer ends play on that playfield. The playfied tiles are discarded, a tile is laid from the drawpile for the start of the new playfield, and the player who played the Closer tile plays again. Playfields are also closed if no further plays can be made by any player after all have drawn one tile. The last player to lay a tile before a playfield closes plays again once the playfield is discarded and a new one begun.

When a player has no further tiles, the round ends. The player who went out receives points summed from the number of tiles held by the other players. A game is 20 points.


PROS

* Inexpensive

* Clear, simple rules

* Quality components

* Quick play

* A good blend of luck and strategy

* Scales easily when adding players

* Can be played by children and adults

* Despite the "8+" suggested age, could be played by children as young as 5

* Not a real "brain burner" of a game

* Blends the best of Uno and dominoes


CONS

* The thick triangular tiles can't be shuffled like playing cards

* Has limited gameplay decisions

* Not a real "brain burner" of a game

* Blends the worst of Uno and dominoes


CONCLUSION

As a simple, inexpensive, family game, Nacho Loco works. It's not the greatest game ever made, but it's different enough (yet familiar in its gameplay mechanics) to satisfy anyone who likes abstract games. And for more hardcore gamers, it makes a decent filler between heavier-weight games.

This is a very unusual, challenging, strategically played card game. It reminds me of UNO in that you match numbers / colors, but you'll need a large playing area like for playing Dominoes because you will be arranging the triangular shaped cards over a good sized area if a round gets really intense. The geometric designs created from playing this game are like a work of art to look at and even mesmerizing. It is a very fun game! The only reason I did not rate this product high in durability is because it is a card game made of paper and the shape of the cards warrant using care to keep the deck in good shape. The shape of the cards is one thing that makes this game unique and different - I wouldn't have it any other way.

I bought this to keep at our cottage for a rainy day game. The first time we played it we had guests over, it was getting late, and the kids were getting bored. We had several children, ranging from as young as 4 and as old as 14 playing, along with 2 adults. We had a blast. This is an easy to learn, yet fun game. It's great for visual learners... Great value, too!

We enjoy playing Nacho Loco! It has a challenge to the game, yet is easy to play with children. Just an enjoyable game!

I purchased this card game believing that it was "Loco" and was disappointed when it arrived and I realized that I'd ordered the wrong thing. I decided to give it a try anyway and took it on vacation with me so that my friends and I could try it out. We were able to jump into the game pretty quickly and quickly discovered that, even though it seems simple, there is a decent bit of strategy involved regarding when certain cards should be played. We all enjoyed it and I'm already looking forward to my next get-together so we can play it again.

While I'm still on the hunt for Loco, I'm so glad I ended up purchasing Nacho Loco instead. It's fun, easy to learn and interesting enough to keep your attention. Considering that it's less than $10 you can't go wrong with this one!

We have had this game for a while, just broke it out on the 4th of July. I like it. I think we need to play it a few more times to figure out the strategies for winning. My kids don't seem to like it as much as I do, however my son-in-law (age 21 ) does really like it, so I guess I will have to play it with him!

If you are really into games and buy tons like I do, I would suggest this one.

This is a great teen/adult party game... got the room laughing and was great for an icebreaker after taking just a few minutes to get it going. Even older kids thought it was cool! For only $9.95, it was worth the laughter and was a lot of fun to play.