Almost like New Year’s Eve – a review of the cooperative game “Hanabi. big show”

The specificity of cooperative games suits me very well. Players do not fight against each other, but together they strive to achieve a predetermined goal. That’s what Hanabi is like – inconspicuous, addictive and with a more or less happy ending.

 

Purpose of the game and preparation

In the game, we play the role of absent-minded fireworks makers who accidentally mixed different types of gunpowder, fuses and rockets. Meanwhile, there’s a big fireworks show coming up! Panic begins to spread among the pyrotechnics. Will they be able to save the show from a total disaster if they join forces? I would say that everything is in your hands!

Before the start of the game, give each player (2-5) a card stand, and place a themed bag on the table (there should be 8 clue tokens on it). We need 3 more error tiles in a row (blue side up) and 50 shuffled firework cards (these make a face down deck). In a 2- and 3-player game, 5 firework cards are dealt to each player; if more people are playing – 4 each. Importantly, players cannot view the received cards, so we place them in the stand in such a way that their content is visible to everyone except their owner.

The course of the game

Sitter. The player with the most colorful clothes starts the game. Each person in the game must perform one of three actions: give information, discard a card, or play a card. During the game, the player tries to create one firework in each color – the cards of a given color must be in exactly ascending order – 1, 2, 3. The one who completes the challenge receives a bonus – he regains one clue token.

The game can end in one of three ways: if the third mistake tile is flipped, players complete five fireworks before the deck runs out of cards, or if a player draws the last card from the deck. Scores are calculated against the value of the card in each firework, and the gameplay experience is rated based on the International Federation of Fireworks Makers’ scale.

Accessories

The latest release of Hanabi. The big show from Rebel includes three expansion packs – Color Avalanche , Black Powder and The Magnificent Five . They allow you to use previously unused elements of the game and undoubtedly diversify it. In addition, players can choose to combine the additions: The Magnificent Five and Black Powder or Color Avalanche , which can give an interesting effect! Well, people hungry for excitement can even try to combine all three add-ons!

A few thoughts

Hanabi. Grand Show is an interesting cooperative game. It was made with attention to the smallest details, which undoubtedly can be liked (although some colors, depending on the light, seem to be similar, which sometimes makes it difficult to play)! The format of the fireworks cards is interesting – very non-standard, but also easy to shuffle. After the first round, you will easily notice that the game mechanics are very simple and I assume that you will quickly reach for the add-ons.

I have to admit that the three-player game suited me best. When there were five of us, it was much more difficult to choose the person for whom the clue would be the most valuable. In addition, one player was discarding cards almost all the time to give clues to others… And also – the fireworks cards were running out far too quickly. A bit boring. The great advantage of Hanabi, however, is its small size – you can take it on vacation, on a picnic or use it at home during meetings with loved ones. So if you’re looking for a casual co-op game that’s just for gameplay, don’t hesitate. I recommend it for players over 8 years old (according to the publisher’s recommendations) and more for younger than older.