How to Fix Animal Rummy Games

Also in our thrift shop haul was this cute Animal Rummy game of "Dinosaurs and Prehistoric Animals" from F.X.Schmid of Germany, circa 1980.  You can probably find a game like this in any gift shop in any zoo.  And the tradition goes back to the old (c.1900) topical matching games of Authors or Cities, et cetera.

The idea here is that there are 32 cards in 8 sets of 4.  It's meant for more than two players, and you take turns asking for a card you need until all your cards are in full sets of 4 and you go out, rummy style.  I did try showing that version to Anne, but when I dealt the cards there were only 30, so even the basic dull game of asking for cards (a Go Fish variant) couldn't be played.  And the reason you need more than two players is because with just two players you know what cards you need and what cards the other player needs.

I tried adding a rule where you can't ask for a specific card, only for a number, but it was still too obvious who had which cards.  I tried another variant where if you asked for a number last turn you have to ask for a letter this turn.  That might have made it interesting but that's when we discovered the two missing cards.  So it could not be completed as written.

 

But whenever you have one of these decks of cards with factoids with a few sets of numbers, you can turn it into a "stat dueling" game.  In this set, each creature had three stats: Age (how long ago they lived), size and weight.  That's an instantly playable situation.  Each player starts with some number of cards -- we chose 5.  Players take turns putting one card down with a challenge: which stat to duel with, and whether to go high or low.

So, Anne would say "highest weight" and play a card face down.  I then have to look at the stats of my creatures and either try to beat it or just throw away a card.  Reveal the challenge card and see who won the challenge.  Winner takes the pair and both players draw a new card.  When the cards run out, see who won the most pairs.  That IS fun, and since we both play a few video games/apps with dinosaurs in them it's a good way to reinforce the names and put some stats and history to those ancient animals.

I thought the artwork on this set of cards was a quaint historical reflection of what we thought these animals looked like back when I was in high school.  It has a 1980s vibe to it, and it fun to toss some cards in our hotel room the last night of our trip.