A couple of weekends ago, I had the opportunity to attend a game day with the Cardboard Edison couple at their house in New Jersey. I had a great time playing games and play testing their game — Sultana. One of the many games I played caught my attention. That game is Why First? by Simon Havard.
Why First? takes the concept of a typical race around the board mechanic and twists it. Each player is dealt a hand of five cards and each turn (except the last card) is playing a card onto another player or themselves. The last card that is played in a round is used to advance the player’s pawn. Players now evaluate what place they came in. The player who came in second place earns points equal to their position in the race. The race is reset and another round of play commences. There are a total of five rounds of play. At the end of five rounds, whoever is in second place is the winner.
Image Credit: Board Game Geek
When I played Why First? the first time, I played with three players. The game was engaging because you are trying to determine how to advance or retract to ensure that you land in second place to score points. However, you have to track how many points you are collecting because you don’t want to be in the first position, but the second position as far as total points. The game has a very subtle aspect to it whereby you are trying to balance your progress in the game. The second time I played was with five people and that really made things interesting. It might have been a bit too much, but still was a hoot.
My overall impression of Why First? is that it is a great filler style game presenting some interesting mechanisms with how to manipulate your place in the race. The game reminds me of Dog, but in a smaller package.
Rating: 7 out of 10
Availability
GameSurplus: n/a
