If the internet is to be believed, the greatest enemies of cats are not dogs, but cucumbers. I have seen enough videos of cats being startled by cucumbers, attacking cucumbers, or toppling over at the sight of this watery culinary vegetable / botanical fruit, that I almost think I ought to be worried about these pre-pickles myself. Fortunately, I am not a cat and experience little Cucumber Catastrophe.
In this fast-paced trick-taking game, you try to avoid cucumbers, as they count for negative points. Players compete over a total of four rounds, and each round consists of ten tricks. Unlike more traditional trick-taking games, there are no suits to follow, but players play according to the rule in effect.
A player starts the trick, and the next player determines the rule. If this player plays a lower card than the first card, the rule is that the lowest card wins. If this player plays a higher card, it naturally follows that the highest card wins the trick. The winner of the trick takes all the cards in hand, including those with cucumbers. Bad stuff.
During the game, however, certain actions can “break” the current rule, causing the outcome between the highest and lowest trick to be reversed and completely change the intended outcome. At the end of the game, the player who has collected the fewest cucumbers is the winner.
Cucumber Catastrophe is a very brisk trick-taking game with a unique twist due to the way the rule is followed and the changing rule system. Additionally, it is also fun to avoid tricks and to tease other players by (hopefully) saddling them with cucumbers.
