War. Spit. Slap Jack. Egyptian Ratscrew. The fun kids can have with a standard deck of 52 cards is pretty endless, but these games can sometimes go on forever. Smack it!, from Santa Maria Group LLC, is a new card game that takes a cue from these classics. However, with the Smack it! deck of 56 cards, game play only lasts an average of 7 to 14 minutes.
The entire deck is dealt evenly between two and seven players. The player to the left of the dealer begins play by placing the top card from his or her deck face up in the center of the play area. Players then go around in a circle quickly placing their cards on top of the center pile. If a player throws a number card, nothing happens. However, if he or she throws a Challenge card, then each player much throw one card on top of the pile and the player who throws the card with the biggest number wins the pile. If a player throws a Smack it! card, the first to gently smack the center pile wins all the cards. The last player with cards in his or her hand is the winner.
Smack it!’s fast game play keeps all of the players on their toes, and helps kids ages 6 and up with hand-eye coordination, quick-thinking, and number comparison. Since the game play ends quickly, players who lose all of their cards early on won’t have to wait very long before getting back in on the action.
The cards are simple, yet thoughtfully designed. The color of the numbers changes every 10 cards, for example, cards 1 through 10 are red, 11 through 20 are dark blue, 20 through 30 are green, and so on. Each card also features the number in large numeral form, as well as the number spelled out in English. Kids can use the cards when they aren’t playing Smack it! to practice counting, sorting, and more.
In the entire deck, there are only two Smack it! cards and four Challenge cards, and while they do get used over and over again, game play may be a bit more exciting if there were a few more action cards scattered in.
The game takes about two minutes to learn, and while it’s easy enough for young kids, it will also have parents and other adults anxiously trying to grow their card piles. Perfect for parents to throw in their bag before a vacation or tuck into a pocket for easy entertainment on the go, Smack it! will engage the whole family.
