Two substantial wrestlers walk up onto a platform to the edge of the dohyo (ring). They both practice Shinto rituals to purify their bodies by rinsing their mouths and wiping their faces. They then perform foot stomps to ward off evil spirits and throw salt across the dohyo to purify it and to ward off injury. They then clap their hands to call upon the gods to show them favor and to show their opponent that they are unarmed. They finally stare each other down, hoping to gain the mental edge over their opponent before charging one another, trying to force each other out of the dohyo for victory.
This brings us to today’s review of Slambo! from Allplay. This Sumo themed hand management card game that has players trying to unbalance their opponents with negative and positive numbered cards to win bouts and ideally the match. Slambo! is for 2-4 players and plays in about 5-10 minutes.
Game Overview:
The goal of the game is to stay balanced and not go above 10 or below 0. Each round is a bout, and the first player will play a number card from their hand on top of the starting card. All red cards will lower (card range is -1 thru -7) and blue cards will raise (card range is +1 thru +8) the current number.
Once a number card is played, then the adjusted number must be shouted by the current player playing the card, and then their opponent will do the same, and so on. The bout continues until the current number is ever lower than 0 or higher than 10. When this occurs, the current player’s opponent will shout “Slambo!” and the current player takes the shame card(s) in the middle of the table. The next bout begins, and number cards are shuffled and dealt again..
Please note that if players play out both of their hands and the current number never goes below 0 or above 10 then this is called a break, and no player gains a shame card. Instead, one is added to the current shame card(s) next to the starting card, and cards are reshuffled and dealt so the next bout can begin.
Slambo! ends when a player gains 3 or more shame cards, and that player loses the match.
Game Experience:
Slambo! rules are simple and straightforward. You will play a card, trying to maintain balance, and then shout out the adjusted number. This makes Slambo! a rather light, filler game that players will master quickly. Slambo! is also a small box game, making it incredibly portable with a small table presence that you can play on most surfaces when you’re out and about. Plus, it takes up very little shelf space, which all gamers should appreciate.
Slambo! is also very mathy in many ways. The first is good for younger players (or even some older ones) who want to learn or sharpen their basic addition and subtraction skills. Plus, the game allows players to audit the current number if they believe that you or your opponent is in error. And the last is that the game comes with a great player aid that lists out all the number cards of each color, which can help layer count cards and try to figure out what might be out and what your opponent might be holding.
Unfortunately, Slambo! has some issues that need to be called out, and the biggest one is the 3-4 player variant. The game’s theme is a Sumo match (which is only ever 2 wrestlers), and you’re trying to unbalance your opponent to win. This 3-4 player variant goes against the theme and really feels like an artificial way to add more players. This variant also adds 6 special cards that break the basic card mechanics of only having blue cards raise and red cards lower numbers. I really didn’t understand why and what “value” these cards added to the player count or game.
Another issue in Slambo! was the silly and lazy mechanic of shouting out the adjusted number every round. I mean, I kind of get it if you’re playing with a younger player who might get a kick out of raising this voice without being disciplined, but with adults, I would think doing mental math would be better. The lazy part is that you’re literally telling your opponent the current number that might make you lose the bout. Personally, I’d rather make them work for it and pay attention or challenge my math than just give them the answer.
The last issue I want to make players aware of is that there’s more luck than strategy in Slambo! You’re just trying to stay in the 0-10 number range and mostly hoping for a balanced hand and playing a blue on a red card and vice versa most of the time. The player aid is great and helps you track the different cards, which can help you guess what your opponent could have. In any case, you play the hand you’re dealt and react more than plan for most of the game.
Final Thoughts:
Slambo! is a light and easy to learn and master, filler game that is portable and takes up very little shelf space. It also has many surprisingly mathy elements like addition and subtraction, auditing, and card counting.
Now what really holds back Slambo! from being a better hand management game is that the 3-4 player variant takes away from the theme and adds 6 special cards that break game mechanics. Shouting out the adjusted number after you play a card seems lazy, and there’s more luck than strategy in the gameplay.
Final Score: 2 Stars – A light, mathy filler hand management card game that should stay a 2-player game, but for some reason adds an artificial 3-4 player variant.
Hits:
• Straightforward & portable
• Mathy
Misses:
• 3-4 game variant
• Shouting out scores
• More luck than strategy
