Pyramid Review
Bull in a China Shop
Published by Playroom Entertainment
Designed by Michael Schacht
Art & graphics by Steve Nazar, Elisa Anya Jaeger, & Jessica R.E. Bethke
99 cards (30 Bull Cards, 40 China Cards, 10 Starting Cards, 10 Money Cards, five Pass Cards, four Score Cards), score pad, rulebooks in English, Spanish, & French; full-color, boxed, three to five players, 30 minutes playing time; $10
It's an old simile, and a scenario not likely to happen, but when you have a colorful phrase like Bull in a China Shop you do the English language a disservice if you don't get at least a little mileage out of it.
The object of the game is to have the highest score from your fine china.
Game play involves collecting sets of valuable china, all the while trying to avoid the attentions of a bull conveniently but inexplicably loose in town. Everyone starts with a couple of pieces in their assortment and some seed money in the form of a Money Card. It uses two decks, one for the Bull Cards and one for the China Cards, and a row of five cards is dealt from each.
On his turn, a player either pays a Money Card to add one of the China Cards to his set, or takes a Bull Card. If he takes a Bull Card he gets a Money Card for his troubles. He also gets a one-ton bull rampaging through his shop (that's the "troubles" part). The shards on the card have colored bull heads in different sizes that determine which suits of china are trashed in the ensuing chaos. . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: August 31, 2007
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