So you're thinking about purchasing the game, but before you fork out the bucks, you want to know how the hell does it play?

Let’s get this out of the way first before we actually talk about the game itself…this is not a game for kids. There is an explicit warning on this game and soundtrack for a reason. It has somewhat adult humor and subject matter that is not intended for young minds-of-mush. Now there is no nudity mind you, nor nothing we here at GamesGarble would consider dirty, gross, or obnoxious…or for that matter, no curse words (in the game that is) that we can really even remember…it’s just that this game contains a bit of sex, drugs, and alcohol. Simulated usage of the latter two being a somewhat key component in determining your success or failure in the game. More about that later. Lets move on to the good stuff.

The right stuff.

The Rock-N-Roll Stuff

This game rocks…and even better and more pleasantly surprising is the fact that the soundtrack included rocks as well! This is a first, a card game with a soundtrack. Clever, unique, and might we add, quite an eclectic collection of music...something for everyone...except cloggers. We have already been checking out the artist who appear on the soundtrack, and we are happy to report...they all have great material! One other note, the way the bands have been keenly used in the card game itself, is superb and something we were not expecting.

When we first heard about this game way back in November, we were curious as to how the game would actually play out. There is definitely more meat to this card based band-building game than we had ever anticipated. Takes a bit of thinking to play this awesome strategy game. Yep, there is strategy to this game. How and when you play certain cards in your own garage or against other opponents will be critical in your success or damnation, er I mean failure.

Three Games In One

This game in it's entirety felt like I was playing a multitude of games at the same time. While that may sound confusing, it is actually quite the opposite and what makes this game so damn fun to play.

• In the first part you are building your initial band in a pokersque (we made that word up, so no need to waste your time by looking it up in the dictionary) type of lightning round. This is a highly important facet of the game, so make smart decisions...that is, if you are smart. Otherwise...well, never mind it's not important.
• The second part is where you garner a following and add items to your garage in order to increase your bands overall performance level. It is during this phase where lots of good and bad things can happen to your band, or better still you can make those bad things happen to your opponent's band. This Second Phase is where the dice come into play as well. There is a Practice/Party deck where as you attempt to roll certain dice combinations to either practice or party successfully. (We must admit, this was one of our favorite parts of the game and after 2 playthroughs we added in our own little rules...hell we are all 21! )
• The final part is playing live at one of the Venues (More Dice Play)

The Skibbies

What comes with the game?

222 Poker Size Cards which consist of basically 3 decks

• Game Deck
• Party / Practice Deck
• Bandmates Deck
• Please note there are a couple of other cards that do not fit into those decks, such as PA System Cards & Live Cards

13 Jumbo Sized Venue Cards

4 Jumbo Sized Reference Cards

1 Jumbo Bonus Collectors 1st Edition Card

5 Custom Dice that consist of 3 different Action Dice and 2 Party Dice

In addition there are 80 round game markers that help you to keep track of your bandmates skill level.

8 Crystal Shards, which you only use if you have the optional Gaming Mat (Which we had and highly recommend you do as well as it made things so much easier to follow.)

CD (Game Soundtrack)

8 Page Instruction Guide

8 Page Soundtrack Guide

While the basic game does not come with any gaming mats, we played with the Pro Edition, which came with 4 (More expensive, most definitely, but well worth the investment as it truly helps keep track of all the cards...and it looks cool as hell as well.

Game Set Up

Having a picture at the end of the Instruction booklet of the game set-up is a welcome feature and one you must check out before you play. It puts everything into the correct context (especially if you have a gaming mat, though it is not a necessity. We played using the mats...all we can say is, it is much easier with them. A special note about the gaming mats...I have personally used many different mats throughout my life, and the ones for this game rank at the top. Not only for their resourcefulness, but the craftsmanship is nearly perfect. Stitched edging, 1/8 thick padding with a smooth finish, this is a gamer's dream mat. The artwork, very cool. 

Venue Cards are divided by type, shuffled and placed in the middle of the table. There will be 4 different Venue stacks.

The other three decks are shuffled and placed below or above the Venues so all can have easy access to the cards. The Deck types all have different colored backings which make this a no brainer issue when it comes to set up.

Each player gets one LIVE card and one PA System card.

If We Told You More

Just like Video games, Card games and Board games can easily be ruined for the gamer if you give away too much of the actual game play. At GamesGarble we believe half the fun of playing games is being surprised, experiencing it first hand the unique content, artwork and game play that makes a game so much fun to play. That is why we say go out and grab this game now.

In speaking to Mr. McClary, the founder of the company, we could not help but notice the excitement in his voice as he spoke of not only this project, but two other games his company is hard at work on. For a small company, he has big ambitions, and with this first game, When We Played - Garage Band Cards it looks as though those ambitions are off to a Rocking Start!

M. Cawley - Game Reviews & Previews