Hasp: Review

Hasp: Review

Information:

Mechanics: Team, Trick Taking, Betting

Player Age: 10+

Player Count: 2 - 4 Players 

Time to Play: 20 - 30 Minutes 
Designers: Dennis Kirps, Christian Kruchten
Artists: Joseph Canouil

Publisher: Agie Games
Year Published: 2018

Disclaimer: A review copy for the game was provided by the publisher.

Objective:

The world of Zura has returned in this trick taking game with a unique trick bidding aspect that has you raising the victory point pot before a hand is played out. The objective of the game is gain the most points through winning several rounds of tricks.

Card Anatomy:

Children:

There are four children suits going from 1 to 6, with no card duplication. Each child will have a point value on the left side of the card which will help determine the winner of the hand.

Adults:

There are four adults in the game that have their own grey suit. The adults are numbered 7 to 10 and will always trump over any of the other suits.

How to Play:

In the four player game there will be two teams of two players. Teams will combine their trick pile at the end of the round to see who won the hand, but at no point before this are they allowed to share what they have in their hands. A two and three player game will have each person on their own team.

Determine the Dealer:

For the first round the dealer will be decided randomly. However, on future rounds the player who decided the trump for the previous round will be the dealer.

Announce Trump:

Each player is dealt three cards and the player to the left of the Dealer will decide if any of the four child suits are trump or if there are no trumps for this round. Remember that the adult cards will always be trump, and if played in the same trick will beat the chosen trump.

First Card and Prediction:

After the trump is decided every player will be dealt their remaining four cards. The first trick will begin with the player that decided trump. They will place one point into the pot and choose any card to lead the trick. Every player will have to play the same suit if they have it, or else they will have to play a trump suit if they have one. Lastly, if they have neither option, they for will play any card.

When each player plays their first card they have a choice of making either a prediction or to pass. This point is the only chance to make a prediction during each hand. Predictions will increase the winning pot (similar to raising the pot in poker). There are four predictions that can be made: minor find, great find, find all, no find. To make a minor find, add one point to the pot and reveal the 7 and the 8  adult card. The great find is the same but you will be revealing the 9 adult card. The find all and no find are unique in that only one of these can be predicted and both of these will add two points to the pot. The find all is the prediction that your team will win every trick, where the no find prediction is your team losing all tricks this hand.

The winner of each trick is the highest value in the trump suit, or the highest value of the suit that the starting player lead with. The winner of the trick will take every card played this turn and start the new trick by playing a remaining card from their hand. This will continue until all seven cards are played. Then, the dots on each card will be totalled in both of the players trick piles for each team. Whichever team has the highest point value will win the pot. If someone predicted that their team would win/lose all the tricks and they fail to do so, the round will end prematurely and the other team will win the pot.

Starting a New Round and Game End:

The game will continue with changing the dealer and trump selector until one team has gained 12 victory points from the different pots (each round has a different pot).

Rules for a 2 or 3 Player Game:

There are several differences with a 2-3 player game. There will no longer be teams, instead each player will be individual, the 1 and 2 numbered cards of each suit will be removed, the hands dealt will be increased to 8 in a two player game, and there will be no trump suit (besides adults) in a three player game.

Final Thoughts:

Pros:
- Raising the pot based on your hand is a unique way to bid on each hand.
- Great entry level rules and gameplay for a trick taking game.
- It is a trick taking game that plays well at two players.

Cons:
- Doesn't add a lot of new things to trick taking games.

'Hasp' is a great introductory trick taking game. It adds a little bit of complexity from the original trick taking games with the bidding, determining trump and the team play but it does this in a very natural and easy to learn way. The most original part of hasp is that the pot for each hand can be used to bet for a win all the tricks or lose all the tricks helping that player score a large amount of points on a single round. You could simply add a small amount to the pot or no addition at all if you do not think you have a strong hand.  If you enjoy classic trick taking games and enjoy bidding elements from other classic games like poker then hasp is a great addition to classic trick taking games.

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Agie Games
Hasp on BGG
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