Gamewright has impressed me with getting their games into the larger market – I’ve seen it at stores such as Target. The reason for this is probably multifold, but I’m sure that it’s partly because their games are simple and easy – ones that can be taught to a large variety of people with a degree of success. However, this has the effect of gamers usually ignoring or scoffing at their games – because of their fluffiness. I recently received a pile of Gamewright games and was smiling, as I went through them, marking them as children’s games or party games.

And then I came across Ka-ching! (Gamewright, 2007 - Klaus Palesch and Horst-Rainer Rösner), which is a remake of Combit by Winning Moves. The name was fun to say, but the rules made it sound like it might be a clever little two-player game, so it was one of the first that I tried. And I played it again, and again – amazed at how this two-player game was so much fun! Ka-ching is a game in which both players have perfect information and must buy and sell cards with expert timing, making sure that they do not allow their opponent to get a winning combination. Taking only fifteen minutes, Ka-ching is one of the most satisfying two-player games I’ve played in a long time – and has a remarkable appeal in its presentation and game play.

Each player is given $20 in money cards, with the remainder of the money cards (in $10, $5, $2, and $1 denominations) placed in sorted piles on the table. A deck of thirty-five stock cards is shuffled, composed of five colors (purple – computers, yellow – oil, green – technology, red-agriculture, and blue – science), each with a numerical value (2,2,3,3,4,5,6). These cards are dealt in five face-up columns, each with seven cards that are laid down so that they overlap. The card that has no card overlapping it is known as the “last card” in each column. Players are given a face up wild card with a value of “2”, and the player who recently got paid starts the game.

On a player’s turn, they have one simple choice. They can either buy the last card in any of the columns, paying an amount equal to the value of the card; or they can sell two cards of the same color, discarding both cards. When selling, the two cards are multiplied times each other to find the total amount. (i.e. I sell a “4” and “5” purple, receiving twenty dollars). Players can use their wild card once during the game, and all cards that are bought and sold are left face up.

The game continues until there are only two columns left in play. When this happens, each player gets one turn to sell one last pair of cards, and then the game ends – with the player who has the highest amount of money winning. Players can decide to play to a certain amount of points or rounds if they wish.

Some comments on the game…

1. Components: I love the illustrations that Gary Locke does – the front of the box still makes me laugh when I see it. The game is simply a deck of cards (hooray for using cards for money!), and each card is differentiated by a different color and symbols on the card. They are of good quality and fit easily into the plastic insert in the small box.
   
   
2. Rules: The rules are printed on five pages on a small foldout, with color illustrations and an example of layout. The game can be taught with only a couple of sentences (buy for the price, sell for two cards multiplied), and I think this is one of the strong points of Ka-ching, as people will enjoy the simplicity.
   
   
3. Tactics: There isn’t much to say about the strategy for this game, as it’s fairly obvious. Players want to grab the high cards quickly and multiply them by other high cards. Obviously the best card combination is to get the “5” and “6” of one of the colors, for a cool payout of thirty dollars. However, I’ve only seen this happen once – because players are constantly watching their opponents like hawks and will buy the card the other player needs first. It is possible to maneuver the cards so that another player is forced to allow you to buy a good combination, but we’ve found that the most popular combination is the “3” times “6” for eighteen dollars – a doubling of investment. There is also a question of timing. A player can wait and wait to sell, but if the game ends before they sell all their pairs, they will lose valuable money. Also, sometimes it’s best to simply sell cards and force your opponent to buy the next card if none of the last cards are currently worthwhile.
   
   
4. Other stuff: The wild cards are nice, but I’ve played many games in which they were not used, simply because a “x2” multiplier isn’t as critical as you might think – players are usually attempting to get a better deal than that. The initial random layout of the cards might favor the starting player, but I haven’t seen this become a big problem, and playing multiple rounds easily solves this. Speaking of which, the game reminds me a bit of Lost Cities, in which it seems as if you should play three rounds and then total points to see who wins.
   
   
5. Fun Factor: A lot of the fun comes from the ease and simplicity with which the game plays. Ka-ching is a game that simply flows, and players are faced with tough but simple choices in which they decide which card to buy, taking note of the card under it that their opponent will now have access to. There’s also a time limit that the players control, and someone who is ahead may rush to buy up a column, leaving only two and ending the game. Scores are often close, and the entire experience is one of light enjoyment.
   
   

I’m not claiming that Ka-ching is a strategic milestone, but it does contain a lot more tactics than initially meets the eye, and it’s fun and simple. It’s one of the best two-player games that I’ve played in a while, and one that I would recommend highly to those seeking to get a “non-gamer” to play a game. It’s fast, easy, and has high replayability due to the random initial setup. Ka-ching is one of the best games Gamewright has put out.

Tom Vasel
“Real men play board games”