Instinct: Duell der Tiere might sound like the title of the German translation of a Hollywood horror film, but it is the name of one of the latest additions to the game stable of Board Game Circus, the German-based publisher that regularly releases new games with the most beautiful illustrations and a particularly deep gameplay layer. Instinct is once again such a game. Instinct is a game for two players, where players compete against each other by placing nocturnal animals in a grid. Players try to cleverly place their cards to earn the most points or to activate effects, but players do not know which cards their opponent will play…
Players simultaneously choose a card from their hand, reveal this card, and, starting with the player who played the highest card, place their cards adjacent in a grid. The game ends as soon as there is a grid of 4 by 4 cards on the table, and then a scoring follows.
Players shuffle their cards and draw three cards at the beginning of a game. They jointly select a card from their hand and reveal it. Players refill their hands, and the chosen cards are played. Cards have conditions for earning points depending on their location in the grid. Some cards score points for specific locations (such as the corners), but some cards earn points for adjacent cards or cards in the same row or column.
There are also cards that do not earn points but activate special effects when played. Some cards, for example, allow you to move or shift other cards.
Players play their cards, and when the grid is full, players score each card. The player with the most points wins, but a game of Instinct is short enough that you quickly want to play multiple duels in the dark in a row. This is not only fun but also useful, especially at the beginning, as players need to get used to the conditions of the different nocturnal animals. A small game with a lot of gameplay experience, just like other games from Board Game Circus such as Fika.
