In the face of a bazillion foreclosures throughout the country, and a economy that doesn't look so hot, it takes strong conviction in your idea to release a card game geared around real estate. However, that is exactly what local resident Emily Garrett has done with Tri-Casa, a card game aimed at families that get down with Rummy or Uno.Gameplay is very straightforward. Each player starts off with 7 cards and each regular card has a house with an address. When you collect 3 houses on the same street or 3 houses of the same color, you can lay those cards down for points. However, special cards can give you an advantage or ruin your competitor's day.
You can spook another player's property by playing the Haunted House card or place a pestilence on their property (alliteration!) with a "You have termites!" card. These prevent that player from scoring points until they find a Medium or Exterminator.
This slight twist in an otherwise straightforward card matching game allows the game to captivate kids while still making it interesting for parents to play. We can't recommend it for hardcore card gamers, but it is certainly a game that can be played casually with people of many ages (...and multiple languages - the cards and instructions are in English and Spanish). And, with the holidays right around the bend, those types of games always come in handy.
Right now, Tri-Casa is available at The Villager gift shop in Mariemont, but look for it to reach a few more local businesses before the year is through.
We've played this game many times now as a family - our 5 year old loves it and has become adept at beating all of us! This is a good game for kids learning to read because they can play using the pictures and with repetition, they begin to recognize the words on the cards.
Congratulations to Emily Garrett for getting TriCasa out there so the world can have fun with it!
I introduced this game to an UNO playing crowd and it immediately took off. The game was easy to learn, and the ghosts and termites brought an added strategic element.
The graphics also made the game fun to look at.
I bought several decks as Christmas presents.
We LOVE this game! Our son has the whole family playing it. We play it after dinner every night after clearing the dishes. It is great fun for all of us.
He likes it so much that he bought several decks to give to his teachers for the holidays this year.
Just a fantastic game!
He can even stick it in his pocket when he goes to meet friends.
I highly recommend everyone to try it at least once!