How I was first introduced to Ghost Blitz, Charlene and Kaitlyn were insistent I play this new game they just tried. They said something along the lines “We want to see how good you are at this game because it involves quick thinking, deduction, and a bit of counter-intuitiveness… and since you are so unbelievably smart, quick witted, and good looking we thinking you’ll love it.”

….Ok, so I admit I don’t know what my looks had to do with anything… and my memory of what was said might be a bit off… but they were right, it was right up my alley.

If you haven’t seen this game played, or maybe you watched it, but didn’t fully get what was going on, then check out our How To Play Ghost Blitz (1 &2).

Essentially you have 5 items to choose from, each with 2 physical characteristics (it’s shape and color). There is a stack of cards that will be played one at a time, some of them with 4 out of 5 of the items represented. Your goal is to quick figure out which item is not represented on the card and grab it before your opponent. Other cards have one of items represented correctly (with both it’s characteristics), and you must grab that one.

Sounds super easy, right?

Wrong.... Well kind of anyways...

This game is much more challenging to play than what is actually presented when you first lay it out. Challenging, not because it is a difficult game to understand, but more so because it will tax your brain.

There is something about the stress of having to make a quick decision in a race against your opponent that really gets your heart and brain going. This game goes from 0-60 instantly!

With each card being worth 1 point, and a limited deck, you can’t afford to have a slow start. This is something I really like about the game, no build up time… Straight to the action!

In the same breath of mentioning it’s all action all the time; the games don’t take very long. Only a few minutes for each game. Which, again, is a good thing, especially for how intense this one is.

The game says it is for 2-8 players, but we prefer it with 2. We tried it with 2 teams and also with lots of people trying for the cards/items. Both of those versions seemed like there was way too much going on, and lowered the amount of action you would get during the short games. Don’t get me wrong, they can be fun, but we just prefer the head to head variation. Might partially because of the mental break you can have when other people are playing the game.

The variety in cards is great. There is no way someone could memorize all the cards and be able to know which item is coming next. Thus giving it some good longevity on your shelf. On that same note, the way the game is designed it doesn’t allow your brain to get into a comfortable groove. Some cards you are looking for the correct item, others the missing item. You will find yourself constantly changing your strategy of how to find the item the quickest way possible.

That said, sometimes it is stupidly hard for your brain to figure out which item to grab! Even after my opponent had successfully won the card, I still sat there baffled from time to time. In fact, sometimes I would just randomly guess an item in hopes of getting it right. This is another great aspect of the rules. You get it wrong, your opponent gets the point. This prevents people from just grabbing item after item until they are right.

This game is accessible by nearly anyone in that it is a concept that almost anyone would be able to understand the rules and the concept. However, if you aren’t particularly quick or decisive, you might have a bad time playing this game. For some this ability comes easy, for others it can take some time and training. If you are part of the latter, you might find yourself losing lots, getting frustrated, and possibly embarrassed. If you can find someone who is around your same skill level, you can play them and still have a good time.

This is a very quick and fun little game. There isn’t a lot to this game, but that is part of its beauty. You can take this anywhere if you really wanted, even camping. It is a great starter game for your games night, but most likely won’t be the featured game of the night. This is a good go to game to ramp up the intensity and energy of the night if you are feeling you need to. It’s a fairly cheap one to add to your shelf, plus it doesn’t take up much room, so you pretty much have to buy it 😉 !