Renegade Game StudiosAggretsuko Work/Rage Balance

I am a huge fan of modern day card games and devote a lot of room to keeping and trying many that I come across. I’m lucky to have brought this same passion and love for card games into my family and we’ve recently found Aggretsuko: Work / Rage Balance a vibrant and welcome addition to our collection.Being a huge fan of the Netflix Anime series Aggretsuko I was initially hesitant about this one, would it be faceless IP dump onto a standard card game or could it possibly link two things I love into one experience. We almost get there I’m happy to report, there is enough tie in to the show and one specific mechanic where player’s can Rage to pick up a card from the current round of play and add it to their hand that I’m satisfied with how the IP was used. The game isn’t built from the ground up trying to be an Aggretsuko game, but instead pulls our favorite characters, superb art and colors, a subtle nod at a five day work week and the game being five rounds, and lastly the already mentioned Rage mechanic and merges them well into a climbing style card shedding game. I probably could have been entirely sold on this just because of the art and the IP implementation into the game, but it has provided a fun introduction to this type of card game that we previously did not have in our collection. As these type of games are often the lead or finale game of a long day with friends and family we’ve had fun adding this to our rotation and have had good results since the game is both easy to understand, but has satisfying decision making moves to make as a player.Players receive 13 of the previously mentioned amazing cards, and those will be in values of 1-10 and in four different suits/colors with a limited number of suit less cards numbering 11, 12, and 13. In the five day/round work week players will attempt to shed cards from their hands until one player reaches zero cards and ends that work day. Scores are then tallied for that day and players left with cards will incur points that will add to their score, in the end the player with the lowest score wins so getting your hand to zero or as few cards as possible each day will be your goal.You’ll do that by following the lead player and the card count/combo that they played and increasing its value, essentially climbing to a higher version of their play. You’ll recognize familiar card game combinations as the available plays and a handy reference sheet for which combinations you can work towards, one of a kind, two of a kind, three of a kind, four of a kind, straights, flushes, etc. Play continues climbing until all but one player passes and that player starts the next round of play with the combination of their choice.There is a lot to keep track of going around the table, you may be dealt a few multi card plays that would be useful to lead a play with in order to remove those cards from your hand, but if you are not able to balance your plays so that you take over as the leading player you may not get the chance to play them. Is it worth it to hold onto a big five card play when you may never get the chance to lead with it, or is it better to split your hand into smaller pairs or even individual cards when needed in order to stay active longer in each round? Even though you may shed cards at a slower pace this way, you may find this a great way to become the lead player and maintain control over each round. One special trump play that will always beat any other combination is the Rainbow Bomb; this is only four cards in sequence each of a different suit/color, if you play that only a higher Rainbow Bomb played by the next person can then take that lead from you. I’ve found this to be an important play to always keep in mind and try to focus on, the use of your Rage token in a round to secure a card you need for later in that game day to drop a Rainbow Bomb can shift one day’s hand of cards highly in your favor.So five long work days later of you and your opponents constantly one upping each other and you’ll come to the end of a great game. Hopefully you’ve had a bit of luck on your hands, maybe used some feint moves early on if you’re the lead to perhaps trip up other players, playing singles if you are confident you can win can force each opponent to possibly break up larger plays they are set up for and that may play to your advantage. In the end you’ve taught a great card game mechanic to those at the table and had a good time trying to balance work and play. Aggretsuko filled a perfect spot on our shelf, we did not have a card game of this style and it’s themed in an IP we adore, it’s been well received by those I’ve taught it to and we’ve found some interesting back and forth decision making in whether it is best to hold onto big plays or always be fluid and able to adapt to other players. Having a big play and never getting the chance to use it in a round is disappointing, but stealing the lead with a Rainbow Bomb and then dropping a five card play that no one else can follow is extremely satisfying and at least at our table has caused a few players to RAGE!