The table hushes for just a moment while your opponents slide their cards into their hands. You’ve gripped a nice hand for going out fast, a hand flush with a single suit… Schoolgirl, Carpenter, and Unicorn! You’re also charged with making sure no one puts their elbow on the table, a common and nasty habit. You look over and the opponent to your left is already in violation. Impulsively you call their name, and then realize… they might be the Rock Star. You’ve played before, a veteran of this ever-changing game, and you know if you don’t applaud when you penalize them, you’ll be penalized instead! “Nevermind,” you say. Perhaps it is best to bide your time and see how the game develops… and then drop “Da Bomb!” Suddenly you’re interrupted by the first turn of the game… an opponent saw you looking at that elbow, and they’re playing the Fisher… a card you know will ruin all of your best-laid plans.

The game of Wench is played by 4-8 players, more if you’re a little crazy! Its 52 cards are brilliantly splashed with original art by artist Monte Michael Moore, known for his work in Playboy, for LucasArts, and Wizards of the Coast. Cutting edge game developers at Myndzei add game play that is easy to learn, difficult to master, and impossible to dominate. Because the game is well-balanced and a little random, it turns out differently every time, and anyone can win!

When played with penalties such as losing a jelly bean to the pot, a sip of your favorite tasty beverage, or just about anything you can imagine, Wench becomes a game of calculated defense on the way to an empty hand. Once you’ve emptied your hand, the player with the most points in their hand is the Wench, and has to pay a new penalty all players agreed on at the beginning of the game. They might have to drink milk standing on their head, or sing a nursery rhyme while doing a jig. Whatever will teach them their lesson, and that’s part of what makes the next game of Wench that much more interesting.

You know the basics, now get in the game. Then when that girl who catches your eye winks at you, you can confidently say yes when she says, “Come play with me.”