Pyramid Review
ABUSE: the Final Insult
Published by Eos Press
Designed by Greg Stolze
Graphics by Carlos Samuel Araya
80-card deck, two rule sheets; $9.95
ABUSE: the Final Insult is the first all-new release from new publisher, Eos Press. Designed for two to four players per deck, this is the card game of dishing out slanderous quips, barbs, and insults to your opponents before they can do it back to you. Play is simple: Participants create their insults from the cards in their hands and then lay them down on the table. The insulted might be able to reply with an equally sharp riposte, but the way to win is to hand out the slander, in the process reducing both the size of a hand and its value by the end of a round. In other words, players win for sinking the lowest and delivering the most insults.
ABUSE consists of 80 cards and two single-sided sheets of rules marked "1" and "2," all done in red, black, and white. The cards are divided into 24 Start, 32 Link and Special, and 24 End cards. The various card types are boldly designed and clearly marked, with the white text of the insult laid over a black number on a red background. Start, Link, and Finish cards are also marked with a mixture of red and white arrows that must line up when making a sentence. Finish cards are marked with a fist symbol, while Comeback cards, used to block incoming insults and to strike back with a riposte, are marked with a double fist symbol. Furthermore, cards have that word on them and are used to link one . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: April 16, 2004
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