Review – Got Five!

Got Five! is a lightweight deduction game in which players try to guess the values of tiles in front of them. In the vein of games like Code 777 and Hanabi, players can see everyone’s tiles except their own, and they must use logic to figure out what their own numbers are. Put on your thinking cap and let’s check it out!

Review

Yoann Levet has established himself as a master of deduction game design. Given his work on titles like Turing Machine and Kronologic, I was excited to try Got Five!, a lighter deduction game aimed at families.

Got Five! is centered around a pool of tiles numbered 1 through 60. The tiles come in 5 colors, and each one has 1, 2, or 3 dots on it. At the start of the game, everyone draws 1 tile of each color, without looking at them. Then, each player arranges their neighbor’s tiles in order from low to high, such that everyone can see their opponents’ tiles, but not their own. Everyone also receives a dry-erase sheet for deductions, as well as a privacy shield.

On a player’s turn, they begin by flipping a tile from the supply of unclaimed tiles. Then, they ask their opponents to either:

• Place the drawn tile in front of their display wherever it fits on their number line, or
• Compare the drawn tile to a tile from their display and ask whether the tiles have the same number of dots.

As players reveal tiles and ask questions, they use their dry-erase boards to note their deductions. When someone thinks they know all of their numbers (“Got Five!”), they make a guess. If that guess is correct, they win, and if it’s incorrect, that player is out and the game continues on.

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Got Five! is another excellent logic game from Yoann Levet, possibly his best yet. It’s simple — not nearly as brain-burning as his other games — but the puzzle is great fun. It is accessible enough that I can play with my 7-year-old, and that’s not something I can say for most deduction games.

I like the internal monologue I get from this game, something along the lines of: “Okay, my opponent put the 35 there, so the tile next to it has to be either the 38 or the 48. If I ask about the number of dots on that tile, I’ll be able to tell which it is, and if it’s the 48, then my last tile would have to be the 51.” As in any deduction game, it’s satisfying when a piece of information makes other things click.

On the topic of deductions, Got Five! has a key strength not found in many games of its type: namely, mistakes don’t ruin the experience. Often in deduction games, if a player makes a bad logic leap, their whole game falls apart and it can be hard to back-pedal enough to find and fix the error. In Got Five!, however, a player can easily erase their board and start over. All the pertinent information is already face-up, so it’s no problem for someone to just reset mid-game.

One aspect that may bug some folks is the luck. Sometimes, a newly-drawn tile doesn’t provide much new information for the active player. For instance, if I know that my first tile is lower than 12 and my second is higher than 19, then drawing a 17 doesn’t tell me anything new (but it may help an opponent!). Sometimes, this can feel like a wasted turn, but it doesn’t bother me too much, because when that happens, I just use the tile to compare dots instead.

In terms of production, Got Five! looks terrific, with Azul-style tiles and sturdy dry-erase boards. The pieces feel great, and the compact box is just the right size for what comes inside. When placed into their holders, the tiles fit snugly, such that they won’t fall out if the table gets bumped. Blue Orange products usually look great, and Got Five! is no exception.

I have long considered Kingdomino to be Blue Orange’s best game, but this one might dethrone it. Got Five! is a superb deduction game. It works well with kids, but I would not hesitate to play it with adults, either. It’s simple, but engaging, and it’s more forgiving than many games in the deduction genre. With an easy ruleset, a quick playtime, a strong production, and an engaging puzzle, this game has all the hallmarks of a major hit. Don’t sleep on it.

A review copy was provided by Blue Orange Games.