Coloretto (cover art may vary)

I’ve had Coloretto for fifteen years and still play it today. It aged well and remains a solid set collection game. What I like: Easy to teach, quick to play, and still interesting after countless rounds. The color set collection is simple but creates small, tense choices that keep everyone engaged. It works with any group size and always feels balanced. What I don’t like: The luck of the draw can sting sometimes, and a few rounds can feel decided early. But it’s also part of its charm, since it’s fast enough that a new game resets the table mood. Still one of the few small box games I’ve kept, even after going deep into big box territory as a hobbyist.

As of this writing, I have three kids under the age of six. As a gamer Dad I love playing games with my kids, but most of the games I enjoy are over their heads. Sure, I could numb out to CandyLand or something equally inane, but why not try to find a game that is easy for them to play and yet deep enough to hold my attention? Enter Coloretto. This little gem was the inspiration for Zooloretto (of 2007 Spiel des Jahres fame), and plays like a simplified version of its award-winning big brother. Each round you have a very simple choice to either put a card out or take a row of one or more cards. But where it gets interesting is when you consider the results of your choice, especially when it comes to other players. If you make a particular row too lucrative your opponents may steal it from under your nose, but if you make it too unattractive you may end up getting stuck with it... It's simple enough (and the turns are fast enough) that my kids can play it without loosing interest, but engaging enough to keep me entertained as well. And as a game snob of sorts, that's saying something! THE BREAKDOWN Decisions: 4/5. It's not about complex choices, it's about considering the results of very simple choices, and that's what keeps this game interesting. It's especially intense when you play using the advanced scoring rules---it makes for a surprisingly challenging game! Artwork: 3/5. The cards are all basically the same illustrated chameleon with a different colored background. I would say that the artwork in this game does its job well, but does not go beyond that. Replayability: 4/5. Despite what I would have expected, this game stays fresh and playable despite many, many rounds. And of course, add in the advanced scoring option, and you get a game that is so different that it can hurt your brain a wee bit. Awesomeness: 4/5. It's not legendary by any means, but it's a solid little game that is well worth is $11 price tag. Bottom line: Coloretto's easy choices and simple rules make it almost the perfect kids' game, but it's smart enough to keep adults entertained as well. Geek Dads and Moms, give this one a shot and let us know what you think!

I actually didn't intend to buy this game. I'm looking for small card games and I wanted to buy another game "Parade" which seems to be fun and exciting. I knew Coloretto was famous so I just included it in the purchase. I played "Parade" and while it is fun, it felt obvious and not exciting for me. Then, I read the rules of Coloretto and felt meh, nothing special. I played it with severely low expectations, and then WOW!!! How wrong was I! Right after my 1st game, I immediately looked for expansions that would make the game even more fun and exciting, and found some official expansions that are very easy to integrate with the game that you don't even need a copy of those expansions as long as you have the image of the extra cards on your e.g. phone. Pros - Easy and fast to learn and teach. I learned this game on a park while talking about other things with my girlfriend, and I don't consider myself as good at multi-tasking, it is that easy. Taught it to her afterwards easily. - Fast to play. Would take around 15 minutes. - Fun and exciting to play! It is fun to collect what you want. But it is also fun that you collected what you didn't want. It is exciting to see what cards will appear from round to round and how you will adapt. - Flows smoothly. Doesn't feel heavy, thus you can play it to relax after a long day at work. - Highly interactive. Mean, but in a fun way (not mean as in Dominant Species: Marine levels of mean). You can influence what your opponent takes. You can force your opponent to make a tough decision on taking negative points. - Replayable, mainly because of the competition. The push-your-luck feeling also adds excitement and makes you wanting more. For more variety, it has expansions that can be easily integrated to a game which changes the rules a bit, causing everyone to adapt a new strategy . You don't even need to buy or print anything for the expansions, just open the extra cards' pictures on your phone and select 1 randomly that would take effect in a game. It is that easy. - I don't usually like games where luck is the biggest factor (I don't like The Quacks of Quedlinburg), but here it just works for me. I don't know why I find it exciting the draw-or-take cards here, but extremely dislike the continue-or-stop mechanism of Quacks, which by idea is actually very similar. - Playable with 2 players. Cons - The red and orange cards look very similar. Some more cards look similar. They should have chosen better differentiating colors. - The expansions / promos are very easy to add in the game as they are just a few cards, I wonder why they just didn't simplify things and put everything on the base game box considering that this is already a very old game that may not anymore see custom future reprints. - As good as the game is, is how poor the thickness of the box is. If you put card sleeves, there will be a huge lid lift. I don't know why publishers continuously create boxes or inserts that doesn't fit sleeved cards. - The cards with special effects such as the joker cards should have their effects written in the card, instead of having the players consult the rulebook. So my cons, overall, are just on production. In terms of gameplay, none! Just buy it.

This game couldn't be any simpler to learn but packs a great deal of strategic thinking and fun into a small package. It's truly a great accomplishment to create a game that depth to complexity ratio. This is one of those games. You will find yourself agonizing over the best play to make but you won't have to have your mind clouded by trying to remember a ton of rules. This is one of those games that will having people saying: "let's play that again". The games are not too long - just long enough. The artwork on the cards is intriguing and its simplicity allows the players to focus on the strategy of the game. After playing this game, I am very interested in finding a copy of the company's zoo themed game. Sometimes a successful game like this is an advertisement for another game. I look forward to finding and buying that one as well.

Great art, good player interaction and strategy with a simple decision space. The box leaves some to be desired, it comes open too easily and doesn't divide cards.

It's a great game with a fixed length, which is how I like it. The box says for ages 13+ but my two are only 8 and it's perfect for them. I'm not claiming my kids are super smart or anything; just the opposite if anything. i.e. that it's not for ages 13+ but for normal intelligent 8 year olds...and the whole family

Coloretto is an awesome little card game that's all about matching cards of the same colour. Every players wants to match as many cards of the same colour in their score pile as they can. The more cards, the more points they receive, but watch out since too many different colours cause you to lose points. The game is best played with 3 or 4 people and it only takes a minute or two to explain the rules. While you can play with 2, it loses some of its magic and the, dare I say, tension that comes from deciding whether you want to stay in a round for the chance to go big or cut your losses and let the other players sort it out. The rounds play pretty quickly, and a full game can last under ten minutes. It's a great ice breaker to play with new people at the table or to warm up at the start of any game night with kids or other adults.

Grandioso diseño de las cartas, fácil de aprender y divertido de jugar en reuniones casuales. Buena calidad de impresión y de material, ha tenido uso constante por varios meses y las cartas siguen en muy buen estado.

Great little game, quick to learn and easy to play

Very fun game. Easy to learn and great for family gatherings. It is one of my go-to games.