Overview
Released: 2013
Designers: Günter Burkhardt, Wolfgang Lehmann
Version Publisher: Geeks N' Orcs
Potato Man is a 2-5 player trick taking game where players can't follow suit. Once a suit is played, that suit is locked out for the trick. With 4 suits that have different ranges of values, Potato Man focuses on strategically playing cards that lock opponents into playing (or not being able to play) specific suits.
My Thoughts
I think that Potato Man is what I generally want out of a family weight trick taking game. None of the mechanisms feel especially unique or complex, but together it's a pretty solid package. For players new to trick taking games, explanation should be like 10 minutes or so max. And for players who have played trick taking games before, you can sum up the differences in a couple sentences and be off playing. Potato Man will almost certainly be joining me every time I bring a bag of games to someone's house.
If you like the sound of not being able to follow suit or you want a beginner friendly trick taking game in a pretty tight package, you should try Potato Man.
Hits and Misses
+ For some players, this is a very approachable trick taking game that could mark a good entrance to the genre. For experienced players, there might be just enough in this game to keep it interesting.
Potato Man feels like a 4 player game that technically can be played with 2, 3, or 5 players. The game sings at 4 and the other player counts feel ok, but didn't impress me as much.
I rarely play "the full game", which would consist of rounds equal to the number of players. Usually people want to play a couple rounds as an appetizer, then move on to the next thing.
