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Game Overview
Ouch! is one of those quirky little games it’s worth picking up and adding to your library. It’s easy to learn, easy to play and yet sufficiently tactical to appeal to older players as well as younger. While it’s not got going to be a game that you will play for an entire play session, it’s quick play time makes it perfect either for starting a session to break the ice or to round one off if you don’t have time for a longer game. Ouch! is also perfect for younger players looking to make the leap to more complex games, which I suspect might be the market it was aimed at originally. Especially with its variable rule set that allows players to start with a simplified version of Ouch! then move on to the enhanced version once they are familiar with it.
Components List
Befitting it’s simple play style Ouch! doesn’t boast an extensive list of components. 44 Cactus cards and a rulebook. Well, technically five rulebooks since this is a multilingual product. While I’m no linguist, we have rules in English, French, Italian, Spanish and Mexican maybe? Yet I suspect the majority of players will only use one. Breaking things down a little in regards to the cards themselves, 36 of the cards only feature Cactus Flowers on the reverse while the last 8 feature an animal as well. All cards also feature Cactus spines on at least one edge. Ouch, right? Well, that is where Ouch! gets its name. I’ll go into more detail on those features during gameplay.
Setup
Setting up for Ouch! is fairly simple. No matter which version of the rules you are playing, the steps are the same. Using your preferred method, shuffle the Cactus cards then place them so that the Cactus side is face up to make the draw pile you will be using. Then draw 6 cards and place them in the centre of the playing space again with the Cactus side face up. That’s really all there is too it.
Gameplay
As I mentioned earlier, Ouch! can be played with variable rule set depending on how complex a game you are looking for. To start with I will give you a quick run down on how Ouch! is played then explain the optional advanced rules. First up you need to choose a starting player. By the strict letter of the rules, this is either the youngest player or the player who last one a game of Ouch! There is nothing to stop you from shaking this up a little and choosing your own method. Once this has been decided, play will pass clockwise from the starting player. The current player will choose one of the six cards in the centre of the play space, announce which side they will touch to turn it over (top, right, bottom or left) then flip the card by only touching that side. If that side of the card shows cactus thorns then they have pricked you. If this happens the player must immediately say Ouch! and then discard the card they selected. If the side of the card selected shows no thorns, then you have won the card and may put it in front of you. Then you draw cards from the draw pile until there are six cards once again and play passes to the next player. Players will continue playing and passing turns clockwise until either 1 player has won 8 cards or until all cards have been drawn from the draw pile. Now comes the business of adding up each Player’s points. The basic Scoring Rule is ‘So many pretty flowers.’ Any game will always use this rule. Most Cactus cards will have at least 1 flower on the back. Each flower on a card a Player has won equals 1 point. So if you have cards that total 5 flowers then you have 5 points. The Player with the most points wins.
Additional Scoring Rules
Once you have played Ouch! a few times, there are some advanced rules for scoring that you can decide to include, which are marked in the Rulebook with a darker background. It’s worth noting that you can add or ignore any of these rules you like at the start of the game. If you just want to add one, then you are completely free to do so. ‘Wild Bouquet’ allows Players to earn 4 additional points for each set of 4 flowers of different colours they have in front of them. So if a Player has 4 blue flowers, 4 red flowers and 2 white flowers they will earn 8 additional points. ‘Red Flowers’ grants an additional 5 points to the Player or Players with the most red flowers. If Players are tied for the most red flowers, they each get the additional 5 points.
Additional Gameplay Rules
Along with the above Scoring Rules, there a couple of additional rules that can be added to make Ouch! that little bit more challenging. Rules that can either help or hinder a Player as much as they can an opponent. The ‘Dangerous Red Flowers’ Rule means that if you are pricked by a card that displays a red flower, you must discard both the card you revealed and another card you have won. If you have no additional cards to discard, then you only discard the card you flipped over. The ‘Desert Animals’ Rule allows you to use special effects connected to cards that show either a Snake or a Fennec Fox, providing you were not pricked when you revealed the card. If a Player has a Snake Card in front of them and the Player who takes the turn immediately after them gets pricked by Cactus thorns, they must give the Player who owns the Snake card the card they would have discarded. If a Player owns a card with a Fennec Fox they may choose to immediately take an extra turn. However if that Player is pricked during this extra turn, they must also discard the Fennec Fox along with the card they just flipped over.
Ratings
Overall Rating - 97/100
Artwork - 4/5
Complexity - 5/5
Replayability - 5/5
Player Interaction - 2/5
Component Quality - 4/5
Likes
Ouch! is what it is. Not the most in-depth or challenging game out there but that’s what I like the most about it. It’s quick to setup, quick to play, yet surprisingly challenging for a game aimed at a younger audience. Which also makes it a perfect choice for a game to introduce to the little ones in your life, when they are ready for something a little more complex. One thing that is always a strong point in my book is portability. And Ouch! is certainly that, just the right size to slip into a travel or holiday bag. Lastly I’m a huge fan of the artwork, something that offers a reminder of games from my youth. Nostalgic I guess you could say.
Dislikes
With a game this simple, it’s hard to find fault with Ouch! really. And honestly I can’t find one. Normally some detail of the components or a nuance of the rules would give me something to work with. Since Ouch! is just a pack of cards and a five page rulebook, there isn’t much that could be improved. If I really stretch to find one it’s that the cards can be a little tricky to turn over using only one edge, mostly due to how thin they are. Something that could have been solved by making them slightly thicker. But that’s really it.
Final Thoughts
Ouch! is the perfect game if you are looking for a short diversion or something you need to setup quickly. I’d recommend that any parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or godparent grab a copy of Ouch! even if it stays at the back of a drawer or cabinet for most of its days. Likewise any gaming club or group should have a copy at their disposal.
