Long Cow
- Board's Eye View
- 23 hours ago
- 2 min read
This game's title says it all. This is a card game designed by David Yakos where the 2-5 players are assembling long cows. It's essentially a children's game where players are drawing cards and playing the cow part cards and positive action cards on themselves and the negative 'take that' cards on other players to sabotage their cows and steal other players' cards.
Around 60% of the cards in the deck are specific or 'wild' cow parts (front, back or middle). On your turn you get to draw two cards from the draw deck or you can search the discard pile and take one cow part. You can play down any completed cow (ie: with a front, back and any number of middle cards) and/or other cards. Cows that have been laid out may be subject to action card rustles from other players but you can't just retain all your cards in your hand because players are subject to a maximum hand size of 10 cards.
There are three breeds of cow and you ordinarily can't mix parts from one breed with another but there are also wild-card cow parts that can be used in any cow. Completed cows score points for each card used in them, and you also score a point for all calf cards (played to your tableau as singletons). There are bonus points to be scored for being first to complete a cow, for having the largest herd and for having the longest cow, tho' the measly 1, 2 or 3 points respectively on offer for these doesn't give enough incentive to players to bother with them. To make them worthwhile they ought to be worth at least 5 points each, and that can easily be house ruled.
For one or two of the older members of the Board's Eye View team, Long Cow evoked fond memories of Ogallala (Pelikan), which involved building and loading up long Native American canoes rather than long cows. That game was first published more than 50 years ago and went through several editions under a variety of names, including the less charming Up The Creek (Waddingtons) version. There's less strategy in Long Cow, and it's a game with a high luck factor, but if you're looking for a light filler-length 'take that' card game then Long Cow offers an entertaining alternative to the more widely known Exploding Kittens. The game is at its best at higher player counts but even with a full complement of five players you can expect to play in around 20 minutes.
Shown here on Board's Eye View is the Outset Media/Cheatwell edition of Long Cow. The game was originally published by Gamewright in 2018 and that edition had the distinction of being boxed as a milk carton. It also included a sound box that made a 'moo' sound whenever the box was tipped. There are no such fripperies in the Outset Media edition - more's the pity - but this edition, in an admittedly more practical regular box retains and builds on the cute and eccentric art from David Yakos and Steve Downer.
