Animal Poker Game Review

The Basics:

• For ages 8 and up
• For 4 – 8 players
• Variable game play length

Geek Skills:

• Counting & Math
• Logical & Critical Decision Making
• Hand/Resource Management

Learning Curve:

• Child – Easy
• Adult – Easy

Theme & Narrative:

• Climb the corporate ladder as quickly as you can and then attempt to hold your seat of power

Endorsements:

• Child Geek approved!
• Parnent Geek rejected!
• Gamer Geek rejected!

Overview

American Rock musician Tom Sholz said, “Sometimes I actually start to think human life is just as cheap to corporate America as animal life, so long as there are big profits to be made.” In this game, players will compete to climb the corporate ladder by stepping on the backs of others to reach the highest office in the company: the CEO. Along the way, they’ll have to outplay and outwit every other player attempting to get the big promotion, along with competing directly with the current CEO. If you want to win in this game, you best be ready to fight like a highly ambitious animal with a deep desire for stock options and a healthy 401K.

Animal Poker, designed by HeidelBÄR Games, is comprised of 115 cards. The cards are as thick and as durable as your standard playing card. The illustrations on the card depict cartoonish animals fulfilling various jobs you’d expect to see in the corporate world.

Welcome to the Office

To set up the game, complete the following steps:

First, gather and build a complete set of 13 Number cards for each player, including three “Freelancer” Number cards, which do not have a number value. Any cards not used to build sets are returned to the game box.

Second, set aside several Job cards based on the number of players in the game. Shuffle the kept Job cards and deal one to each player, face-down, in front of them. Any Job cards not used are returned to the game box.

Third, as a group, determine the approximate length of the game. The game will end once the time runs out. For example, players could collectively agree to play for 20 minutes. Once 20 minutes have passed, the game will come to a close.

That’s it for game setup. Time to climb the corporate ladder!

Corporate Life

Animal Poker is played in sessions and rounds, with no set number of sessions per game. The game ends based on the time played, not the sessions completed. A session and game round are summarized here.

Step One: Rearrange Seating Order

Each player takes their Job card and turns it over, revealing their current standing in the company. Players must physically position themselves around their opponents based on their Job card number. The only player who does not move is the one with the “CEO” Job card. To the left of the CEO sits the player with the next highest Job card based on the position of the card icon. When completed, the next highest-ranked Job card should be sitting at the CEO’s left, and the lowest-ranked Job card should be sitting at the CEO’s right.

Step Two: Trainee Deals the Cards

The player with the “Trainee” Job card now takes the Number cards, shuffles them, and deals thirteen to each player. The remaining three cards go to the Trainee, bringing their hand up from 13 to 16.

Step Three: Exchange Cards

Cards are now exchanged with higher-level jobs, giving their lowest cards to subordinates and subordinates who give their highest-valued cards to their superiors. “Freelance” Number cards are considered the highest number when evaluating what cards to exchange.

Who exchanges with whom and the number of cards to be passed is based on the rank and the symbols on their Job card. The “Star” icon ranks consistently exchange cards with the “Circle” icon ranks of the same number. The number of cards passed is based on the number of “Star” and “Circle” icons.

For example, the CEO ranked with three “Star” icons will pass three of their worst cards to the Trainee ranked with three “Circle” icons. Likewise, the Trainee will pass three of their best cards to the CEO.

Two job cards do not have a “Star” or “Circle” icon. Players with these Job cards do not pass or receive any cards.

Step Four: Play the Rounds

Now that all the cards have been dealt and passed, the game can begin in earnest. Several rounds will be played during the session. For the first round, the CEO is considered the “starting player.” This title will be passed to a new player as the rounds progress.

The “starting player” of the round must play one or more cards from their hand with the same number, which can include “Freelance” Number cards. If a “Freelance” Number card is played, it becomes whatever number value it’s played with unless they are played by itself, in which case it is considered the highest possible number for the round. Note that it’s not mandatory to play all your cards with the same number.

Each player after the “starting player” must now play the same number of cards played by the “starting player,” play only one card of the same number, or play cards of a higher number than the previous player’s cards. Or, if the player cannot do any of these three plays or chooses to do so, they may pass the action to the next player.

Players continue to play cards or pass until all the players have taken their turn. The round ends, and the player with the “Trainee” Job card collects all the cards played, putting them in a face-down discard pile.

A new round begins with the new “starting player” title given to the player who played the highest cards.

During the rounds, if any player should play their last card, they collect the highest-ranked Job card available and put it in front of them face-down. They then wait for the session to end.

Step Five: Ending the Session and Starting a New Session

The session ends when only one player has cards left in their hand. This player is the new “Trainee” and collects all the cards played and not played. As noted above, a new session begins, starting with Step One.

TGIF

The game ends as soon as the determined playtime runs out. The current session is then completed. Game over.

Game Variant

Instead of ensuring a set number of cards in the game, take all of the cards, shuffle them, and then deal out 13 cards to each player and then an additional three to the “Trainee.”  Any cards not used are set aside until a new session begins.

To learn more about Animal Poker, visit the game’s webpage.

Final Word

The Child Geeks enjoyed the game, finding the game rules to be easy to follow and the games to be quick, especially when they decided on the game’s length. According to one Child Geek, “I think the game reminds me of other games where I put cards down that need to be higher than the last. I liked those games, and I like this one, too, especially because it has funny animals.” Another Child Geek reported, “The game is fast, and I like how everyone gets new jobs and changes to be the boss of all the other players.” When the last memo was written and the day ended, the Child Geeks took a vote, and all decided that Animal Poker was worth the gamble.

The Parent Geeks were less enthusiastic about the game, finding it easy enough to learn and fast to play, but they all felt they were either missing something in the rules or the game forgot something. One Parent Geek explained, “The game was fine but repetitive. I liked how the roles changed, but that didn’t impact the gameplay much. This is a great game for my kids, but I don’t think I would play it with just adults.” Another Parent Geek said, “Where’s the Poker here? This doesn’t play anything like the game it suggests; I spent a lot of my time trying to figure out if there was any real strategy other than making sure I was the CEO before the time ended. That’s a certain kind of fun, but not my kind of fun.” All the Parent Geeks took a vote and agreed that Animal Poker felt like a bad Monday.

Quick note: The game box clearly states that the game is not a Poker game.

The Gamer Geeks played a few sessions and then voted it was enough. They didn’t care for the game, finding it repetitive and singularly unnecessary. As one Gamer Geek scathingly said, “This isn’t a game. It’s an exercise in futility and boredome. If that is the case, it succeeded in both. Mission accomplished.” Another Gamer Geek said, “This card game has some of the bones of a better game. Feels hollowed out, rushed, and, worst of all, gutless. Nothing of real interest in this game other than the jokes you can make about the funny animals on the cards and how we can all relate to one if not all of them.” When the last employee was fired, the Gamer Geeks took a vote and agreed that Animal Poker was a quickly forgotten game.

There were some fun design choices made in Animal Poker that kept making me laugh. For example, each depicted animal perfectly personifies certain personalities and working types in the corporate world, and the Job cards look like ID badges (complete with a slot to put a lanyard). If you bother to scan the QR code on each job card, it will take you to a webpage with more details on each individual depicted on the Job card. For example, here is additional information on the Trainee.

Behind all these cute and entertaining design choices lies a game that I didn’t find very interesting. Like the Parent Geeks and the Gamer Geeks, I felt the game fell flat and didn’t do much to entertain me. My turns lacked any luster or excitement. Worst of all, this game seems to have made the conscious choice to allow players to end it as quickly as possible, subtly suggesting that players should take as little time as they like to play it. The worst sin, however, is that the game rules mean that the fun is found in winning the sessions and that there is no winner unless you want there to be one. That isn’t good. Are we meant to play Animal Poker for 20 or more minutes because it’s fun? Not nearly enough.

All the reasons I disliked the game are all the reasons why the Child Geeks enjoyed it, reinforcing our group’s belief that “there is a game for every player and a player for every game.” Animal Poker was a big win with our younger and less experienced players and fell as flat as roadkill with everyone else. Who knows, you might enjoy it. Give it a try and see if this game of climbing the corporate ladder feels more like a slippery slope of disinterest.

This game was given to Father Geek as a review copy. Father Geek was not paid, bribed, wined, dined, or threatened in vain hopes of influencing this review. Such is the statuesque and legendary integrity of Father Geek.