The Big Cheese Game Review

The Basics:

• For ages 10 and up
• For 3 to 6 players
• Approximately 20 minutes to complete

Geek Skills:

• Active Listening & Communication
• Counting & Math
• Logical & Critical Decision Making
• Strategy & Tactics
• Hand/Resource Management
• Auctioning, Bidding, & Trading

Learning Curve:

• Child – Easy
• Adult – Easy

Theme & Narrative:

• Manage your resources to complete projects quickly to get that big promotion!

Endorsements:

• Child Geek approved!
• Parent Geek approved!
• Gamer Geek mixed!

Overview

Tom Wilson, American cartoonist best known for his Ziggy cartoons, said, “I wouldn’t mind the rat race – if the rats would lose once in a while.” In this game, you have to work your little rat butt off in hopes of catching the favorable eye of the retiring CEO. And while hard work usually pays off, you are not alone in your attempt to please the Big Boss. Others are in hot pursuit of the opportunity to earn clout and favor. Get ready to earn that promotion and be the next Big Cheese!

The Big Cheese, designed by James Ernest, Jon Wilkie and published by Cheapass Games, is comprised of 36 cards. The cards are as thick and as durable as your standard playing card. Illustrations by Carol Monahan are cartoonish and simple, giving the game a unique look that plays well to the game’s theme. Not included with the game, but necessary to play, are 10 counters per player (these can be anything you have around you), a small assortment of dice (two-sided, four-sided, six-sided, ten-sided, twelve-sided, and twenty-sided), as well as a means to keep score. Admittedly, it is always a letdown when you open a game to play it and immediately find out you must provide missing components.

Heading to the Office

To set up the game, complete the following steps.

First, take all the cards and shuffle them together. Place the deck of cards face down and draw the top-most card, placing it face up on the deck. All the cards in this deck represent projects the players will attempt to complete as soon as possible to earn big points with the boss.

Second, give each player 10 counters. These counters represent individuals who report to the player to complete the projects.

Third, place the dice off to one side of the playing area and within easy reach when needed.

That’s it for game setup. Determine who will go first and begin.

Project Management 101

The Big Cheese is played in rounds with no set number of rounds per game. A game round is summarized here.

Step One: Flip a Card

The player for the first round is determined when the game is set up. After the first round, the first player is the player who took the last project.

The first player now flips over the top-most card from the deck and turns it face-up. If the deck is depleted, shuffle the discarded cards to make a new deck.

Step Two: Bid

The first player of the round now bids on the face-up card. Bids are placed by using the player’s available counters. Players can only use the counters that are not currently in use. After the first player plays their counters for the bid, the next player, in turn, places their bid. There are only a few rules when bidding that are important to remember and fairly obvious.

1. Your bid must exceed the current bid
2. You cannot bid more counters than you currently have available

A player may pass on their turn. However, they can no longer bid in this round by doing so.

If a player has a “Veto” card won during a previous round, they may use it now, but only if they have not passed. When the “Veto” card is played, it and the current card being bid on are discarded. All players return their counters, and a new card is flipped over. Every player can now bid again, regardless of whether they passed during the current round.

Bidding continues until no other player wants to bid or cannot outbid the current highest number of counters. The winner of the card is then declared. That player takes the card, places it in front of them, and then places all of their counters used in the bid on top of their newly acquired card.

Step Three: Advance Projects

All previously acquired projects advance and mature when a new project is taken. Each player takes back a counter from their previously acquired projects, placing the retrieved counter back into their personal pile.

If a card has its last counter removed, the player takes it. A different action is taken depending on the card that is now counter-free.

If the card has a number, roll the die indicated by the card. For example, a card with the number six would mean the player would roll a six-sided die. The number rolled is the number of points the player has earned for completing the project. Record the player’s point using whatever method you decided when setting up the game. Optionally, if you are using a six-sided die (meaning you did not add a special die per card value, which is just fine), roll the die and multiply it by the value on the card. After recording the points, discard the card into the discard pile.

If the card was a “Veto” or a “Big Cheese,” the player takes it for later use.

If the player has the “Big Cheese” card in their hand (meaning it does not have any counters on it), they may discard it to re-roll their die. Whatever the new number value is, it must be used.

This completes the round. If the winning condition has not been met, start a new round and continue.

Getting the Big Promotion

The game continues until any player meets or exceeds 40 points at the end of the round. The first player to do so wins the game. If two or more players earn 40 or more points during the same round, the player with the most total points wins the game.

To learn more about The Big Cheese, visit the game webpage.

Final Word

The Child Geeks really enjoyed this game, finding the bidding element and the completion of projects very satisfying. From my perspective, the “Veto” card was used often and used correctly. One Child Geek said, “I liked this game because you could play with your friends and not get in each other’s way unless you wanted the same card.” Another Child Geek reported, “I thought the game was funny because I pretended I was a cat and the mice were my little workers. I also liked to pretend that the projects were cheese and all my mice were eating it!” When the last project (or cheese) was completed, the Child Geeks took a vote, and everyone agreed that The Big Cheese was a big win.

The Parent Geeks enjoyed the game, finding it to be fast, fun, and engaging. The casual game play allowed for easy transition from game play to conversation, while never slowing down the game or causing others to lose track of “what is next.” According to one Parent Geek, “The game is light and breezy, but still has elements of competition. I enjoyed it and found the game perfect for my family and friends at the dinner table or out on the deck.” Another Parent Geek stated, “It was a lot of fun for such a little game. It was a big hit with my family and my friends. If I might suggest, this game of cheese and projects pairs well with a good wine or an even better beer.” When the biggest cheeses were voted on, it was found to be super tasty with the Parent Geeks.

The Gamer Geeks appreciated the speed at which the game was played, rolled their eyes at how their points were determined, and found the game, more or less, agreeable. There was grumbling about “luck” and “randomness,” but none of the gaming elitists flat-out disliked the game. According to one Gamer Geek, “This is what I remember best about the games published by Cheapass Games: they were fast, fun, light, and not at all something you should take too seriously. This game delivered. I would welcome it back as a game filler, but I would stop short of suggesting to anyone that this game was worth putting on the schedule. You have to be in the right mood for it.” Another Gamer Geek said, “It was fine. Nothing great. I could take it or leave it. Most of the time, I’m sure I’d leave it, but for what it was and what it did, it was, like I said, fine.” When all the votes were counted, the Gamer Geeks were of a mixed mind when it came to the game’s value. No one disliked it, but no one really enjoyed it, either.

I have very fond memories of the games released by Cheapass Games. Some of my very first “real gamer games” were from this publisher, purchased with a great deal of excitement at gaming conventions. The thrill of opening up such a small game – that most of the time came in a plastic bag – was always palatable as my friends and I would dump out the game’s contents and get to playing. The Big Cheese did not disappoint and called to mind all the excitement and fun I had as a Child Geek.

Nostalgia aside, the game is nothing spectacular. It has merit, however. I enjoyed it enough to want to play it with all three of our groups as often as I could. There was just something about it that I enjoyed, and it felt very unpretentious. Again, this might be due to my fondness for games like this. And make no mistake, there is a lot of room in this game for those who want to overthink it. You don’t have to, but diving a bit deeper than the game requires to find some true depth to a breezy game is fun.

I can recommend this fun little game that I still enjoy. It is hard to come by, but you can find PDF files to download and create your own. Do, as your effort will be rewarded with a good time and many smiles at your gaming table.

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.