Players: 2-6
Age: 7+
Duration: +- 15-25 minutes
Distributor: Pegasus Spiele
Why First? – Board Game Review
As human beings we love being better than our fellow man, be it in our society, when playing games or just appearance wise. We love to taste success and bask in the warmth of the spotlight, and simply show that we made it in life. In all of our glory we often forget about the person who came in second, grasping close to victory, which barely slipped through his/her fingers. How about, for once, we just stop right in front of the finish line, because after all – why first?
Contents
- Rules
- Game board (2 pieces)
- 6 Pawns
- 6 Color cards (matching the pawns)
- 32 Race cards (numeric values)
Seeing the game comes at a very low price, it was to be expected that the overall design would be quite minimalistic and this was confirmed upon opening the box. That being said, the cards have simple, but fun animations on them. The board itself is in two pieces and you can connect it the same way you connect two puzzle pieces, which makes it quite appealing. We would have loved to see pawns with a bit more detail, or with a funny face, like on the box and cards, nonetheless they get the job done.
As the game requires you to write down scores after every round, it would have been fun if a pen and scorebook would have been added to the overall package.
Mechanics
Suit up and get ready to do some running, but don’t try too hard. In Why First? you’ll win by accumulating the second most points. Whoever said second place just states who the first loser is, must regret his harsh words by now. Each game consists out of five rounds, each having five turns. There’s hardly any preparation to consider before being able to start playing. Each of the players (2-6)will have to choose the pawn they want to have as their ‘runner’ and the corresponding color card. All players will begin from the start position, every new round.
As the board has positive spaces, as well as negative ones, it means you can either move forward or backwards, depending on the cards you’ll receive, use or get forced to use. Every round each player will have to draw five cards, which he shows to no one else. Every turn, except for the last one, you’ll have to choose one card, which you either use on yourself or another player. When a card is decided, you, as well as all other players, will have to place it in front of yourself or your victim simultaneously (a countdown helps). Each of the players flips the card(s) in front of them and moves as instructed on the card(s). This gets repeated for four of the turns in a round, whilst you’ll have to keep in mind that the last card in your hand will have to be used on your own pawn. After all five turns, the player who came in second, will receive points corresponding with the value of the tile he ended on. This process will get repeated for five rounds and even then, the player with the second most points will win the entire game. This means you’ll have to do your best in not finishing second all the time, because you’ll end up first and thus lose the game (easy, right?).
The game offers a small variation, where players can simply choose which player gets to move first, by having the highest value on a card (small number at the bottom), but this mode is pretty straightforward. Other than that, the game has a special rule when you’re only playing the game with two players. As the game is advised to be played with a total of three players, ‘Why first?’ will add an imaginary third player, named Leo. Leo will function as the imaginary friend you probably never had, and will also compete for the second place. The only difference is that Leo will only receive four random cards and he can only use them on himself. That being said, you can still screw Leo around, as he will also receive points if he finishes second. After all, it would be a disgrace to lose against a small wooden pawn (we lost several times) which no one could ever overcome.
Luck or Strategy?
Even though luck determines which cards you’ll receive, as well as how many players will try to ruin your plans, there is a decent amount of strategy to be found in this small game. Every turn (and round) you will try to use your cards to outsmart your opponents, or just prevent them from finishing second. Sometimes you’ll just do an attempt to try and use your card, to keep them in the second place, in order to give them too many points, causing them to lose when all five rounds have ended. Whilst this sounds quite simple, things will get a bit trickier when you’re actually playing the game.
Conclusion
Why First? is a simple game, that is easy to understand and accessible for people that are into many different genres. You’ll be playing in a matter of minutes and the overall fun experience lies in the concept, as well as being able to push your fellow players in a ‘first place’, causing them to lose, which is very uncommon in the world of board and card games. Overall: simple, easy, perfect for in-between other games and witty. Ready? Set? Go! – but not as fast as you can.
Why First? - Board Game Review,
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