It all began in 2015…
…with nothing more than a simple idea that Steffen Bendorf, the author of THE GAME, brought to Nürnberger-Spielkarten-Verlag. The author-publisher duo, who had only been nominated for Game of the Year two years previously with Qwixx, joined forces once again and went for the double whammy. And indeed – The Game was also nominated. The Game has since become a modern classic among card games and has sold over 2 million copies worldwide.
And because so many people have already become enthusiastic about this game and it is simply so much fun, there are now several variants of it:
2015
PLAY THE GAME – OR THE GAME WILL PLAY WITH YOU!
The original from 2015. Perfect for anyone who prefers to play games in their pure form. No frills, no fuss, just a tough fight against… yes, against whom? The game itself – The Game – is your adversary. You can defeat it as a team! Coordinate and act together, that’s the only way to get all the cards on the piles.
The principle of the game is very easy to explain: four rows of cards are created in the middle of the table as the game progresses. Two rows are
ascending (numbers 1-99), two rows are descending (numbers 100-2). You all play together as a team and try to place as many cards as possible, ideally all 98, in the four rows of cards.
Not so easy, because each person has to discard at least two cards in their turn. If luck is not on your side and The Game doesn’t deal you the right cards, it can be quite unpleasant… You can only maneuver your way out of such tricky situations with a lot of finesse – and with the infamous backwards trick. But we’ll tell you what this is all about in the rules of the game!
2016
The Game is old hat for you? Beaten 100 times and no longer a challenge? Then get ready for something, because barely a year after its initial release, The Game is back – stronger and meaner than ever! In The Game – Extreme, the original rules remain completely intact, but a total of 28 special effects printed on the cards provide a breath of fresh air.
But don’t expect any help from these effects, quite the opposite: they are all there to make your life difficult. Suddenly you have to play even more cards in your turn – or the backwards trick is no longer available to you! Your joint battle against The Game reaches new heights and becomes even trickier. It almost seems impossible – but only almost… Achieve mastery over The Game – Extreme and glory and honor will be yours!
2017
All together against The Game is not your thing? Would you rather experience a crisp duel? No problem!
In Face to Face, the two-player version of our top title The Game, you no longer play with each other, but against each other. The ingenious thing about it: if you want to be victorious in the end, you have to keep helping your opponent. Without that, nothing works.
You both have your own cards that you want to get rid of by the end of the game and your own piles that you can discard to. The trick is that you can also discard cards onto your opponent’s discard piles – you are even rewarded for this by being allowed to draw more cards. However, the cards you discard must help your opponent. It is therefore important to weigh up carefully when you want to be helpful and when not.
Just because you’re fighting with each other now, The Game isn’t holding back. Once again, it has its fingers in the pie and while you fight with each other for the most favorable position in the game, The Game puts the noose around your neck and slowly tightens it…
2020
After a short breather, we shifted down a gear with The Game in 2021. The Game – Quick and Easy is still tricky, but is now also suitable for those who like it less extreme. This version of The Game really brings a lot of color into play! Lay a card, draw a card, it really couldn’t be easier. But don’t be fooled, even though it’s called QUICK & EASY this time – The Game is still not easy to beat!
There are only the numbers from 1-10, but in five colors. Cards of the same color allow you to do the backwards trick – so everything is a bit more relaxed than in the original. Here, too, you can only make it as a real team!
2021
Sustainable packaging for the sake of the environment: in 2021, the NSV decided to produce our classic completely plastic-free. 100 % Spielspaß bei 100 % Nachhaltigkeit – das ist das Prinzip unserer NATURELINE-Produktlinie.
In addition to plastic-free packaging – both inside and out – only sustainable, environmentally friendly water-based paints and varnishes are used for the game material. But even with all the friendly facade, The Game remains as merciless as ever!
Did you know that even more of our games are plastic-free and therefore environmentally friendly?
