{"id":310437,"date":"2024-12-28T08:00:57","date_gmt":"2024-12-28T14:00:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/?post_type=reviews&p=310437"},"modified":"2024-12-28T08:21:52","modified_gmt":"2024-12-28T14:21:52","slug":"circus-flohcati","status":"publish","type":"reviews","link":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/circus-flohcati\/","title":{"rendered":"Circus Flohcati Game Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n \n
\n \n <\/div>\n <\/span>\n
\n \n Circus Flohcati - Fun Press Your Luck Card Game by Reiner Knizia for 2 to 5 Players - 25th Century Games<\/span>\n <\/a>\n
\n $14.99<\/span>\n <\/span>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n Buy Now\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n

2016 was a much different time for me. I was newly into my love of board games, Meeple Mountain was not even a year old, I\u2019d never heard of Reiner Knizia, and the selection process I used for games was a mix of \u201cdid it look good on Tabletop\u201d or \u201cthat cover looks really cool\u201d. The latter criteria was what I used to decide on Kickstarting an unknown to me game called Circus Flohcati<\/i>, by the aforementioned Reiner Knizia. I ended up selling it several years later, unplayed, because the game just never spoke out at me.<\/p>\n

Fast forward to this past October when I received a box of games to review from our friends at 25th Century Games. Included were Tasso Banana<\/i><\/a>, Sausage Sizzle<\/i><\/a>, and Circus Flohcati<\/i>. But this time I was ready: the good Dr. Knizia had become one of my favorite designers, my love of light card games had grown immensely, and it didn\u2019t hurt that the cover and graphic design was still eye-popping!<\/p>\n

Let me tell you about Circus Flohcati<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Greatest Show On Earth<\/s> a Dog\u2019s Butt<\/h2>\n

Ahem! A quick reminder that Circus Flohcati is a game about literal fleas in a circus.<\/p>\n

In gamer parlance Circus Flohcati<\/i> is a \u201clight press luck card game mixed with set collection\u201d. This means that on your turn you get to flip over cards from a shared deck, deciding when to stop (and taking a card), or possibly busting and being forced to stop (with no card for your troubles). The goal of course is to be the player with the highest score, and taking cards is the only way to score, so let\u2019s try not to bust hmm?<\/p>\n

As cards are flipped over, they are laid face up, so that they are visible. If you choose to stop, you take any card from the open tableau, including ones which might remain from a previous player\u2019s turn. In fact, you don\u2019t even have<\/i> to flip. If there\u2019s a card you particularly want, you can just take it and your turn is over. If, however, you flip over a card whose suit (color) is already showing on the table, then you bust. The card you just flipped is discarded and the next player takes their turn in the spotlight.<\/p>\n

\"\"
This player chose….poorly.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So why exactly are you taking cards, and how do you choose?<\/h3>\n

There are three main ways to score in this game. Collecting any three of the same number, and playing it in front of you will score a \u201ctrio\u201d, earning you 10 points.<\/p>\n

You also score face value for the highest numbered card of each suit, so if you have a 1, 3, and 6 Tightrope Walker, then you\u2019d earn 6 points for that suit.<\/p>\n

Finally, if you have one card of each suit, you can call a Gala Show and end the game, earning you a 10 point bonus.<\/p>\n

It should be noted that this version of Circus Flohcati<\/i> also includes a number of action cards to shake things up. These are generally related to stealing cards from other players, flipping over more cards from the deck, and generally being a source for laughs, or groans depending on who turns over the action card.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

What the heck is a \u201cflohcati\u201d anyway?<\/h2>\n

Circus Flohcati<\/i> features ten different suits, each with their own color and performer name, with cards numbered from 0-7. The colors are bright and vibrant, and several of them are pretty close to each other (making the illustrations critical). The Grail Games version I owned previously was pretty cool as well, but the illustrations were\u2026weird to say the least. But this new version is fun and exciting, and a bit silly, which fits the game more so that the earlier version.<\/p>\n

This is a fun game, and you shouldn’t take it too seriously.<\/b><\/p>\n

In our first play, we didn\u2019t realize we could take any card we wanted, which meant we busted a lot trying to draw cards we wanted\/needed. But after re-reading the rules, we realized we could take any card from the display, and things skyrocketed from there. If you\u2019re collecting 0s for a Trio and someone flips over a 0 and just skips past it, you\u2019re cheering on the inside. When it gets to your turn you snag the zero, play the Trio for a cool 10 points, and your turn is over.<\/p>\n

While I\u2019m not the sort of person to count cards, it is worth a few mental cycles to pay attention to what other players are picking up. If they\u2019re lucky enough to snag a green 7, that\u2019s a definite 7 points, and will certainly not be added to a Trio. But if they\u2019ve picked up two 1s on previous turns, then you might want to consider denying them that 1 you just flipped over.<\/p>\n

The player count on Circus Flohcati<\/i> is 2-5, and is one of those rare games that take the same amount of time to play no matter how many people are sitting around the table. You\u2019re going through the entire deck, so you can be assured that the card you\u2019re looking for will<\/b> get drawn. But you\u2019re certainly not assured to get it.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019re looking for a light and fun game for your collection, you can\u2019t go wrong with Circus Flohcati.<\/i>\u00a0 In the words of Ernest Hemingway \u201cThe circus is the only fun you can buy that is good for you.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ever wanted to manage an honest to goodness flea circus? Now\u2019s your chance! Check out our review of the Reiner Knizia game, Circus Flohcati.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":310438,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"MSN_Categories":"Uncategorized","MSN_Publish_Option":true,"MSN_Is_Local_News":false,"MSN_Is_AIAC_Included":"Empty","MSN_Location":"[]","MSN_Add_Feature_Img_On_Top_Of_Post":false,"MSN_Has_Custom_Author":false,"MSN_Custom_Author":"","MSN_Has_Custom_Canonical_Url":false,"MSN_Custom_Canonical_Url":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"coauthors":[895],"class_list":["post-310437","reviews","type-reviews","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-animal-board-games","category-card-games","designers-reiner-knizia","mechanisms-open-drafting","mechanisms-push-your-luck","mechanisms-set-collection","publishers-25th-century-games","publishers-abacusspiele","publishers-amigo","publishers-grail-games","publishers-muduko","publishers-new-games-order-llc","publishers-oook-game","publishers-openn-play","publishers-play-smart","publishers-playte","publishers-popcorn-games","publishers-rio-grande-games","publishers-suddeutsche-zeitung","publishers-twoplus-games","publishers-university-games","artists-franz-vohwinkel","artists-heiko-gunther","artists-jbj","artists-lukasz-silski","artists-yusuke-mamada","release_year-1236"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nCircus Flohcati Game Review — Meeple Mountain<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Ever wanted to manage an honest to goodness flea circus? Now\u2019s your chance! Check out our review of the Reiner Knizia game, Circus Flohcati.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/circus-flohcati\/\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/circus-flohcati\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Board Game Reviews\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Circus Flohcati Game Review\"}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Circus Flohcati Game Review — Meeple Mountain","description":"Ever wanted to manage an honest to goodness flea circus? Now\u2019s your chance! Check out our review of the Reiner Knizia game, Circus Flohcati.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/circus-flohcati\/","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/circus-flohcati\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Board Game Reviews","item":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/reviews\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Circus Flohcati Game Review"}]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/310437"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/reviews"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=310437"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/reviews\/310437\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/310438"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=310437"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=310437"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.meeplemountain.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=310437"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}