Set Game Review - Why It Makes a Great Christmas Gift

Set Game Review:

The Set game is a very unique card game that was designed in 1974 by Marsha Falco and later published by Set Enterprises in 1991. For those of you who don't know what Set Game is, or how it's played, here are the rules:

The Set Game Card Deck consists of 81 cards, all of which have 4 different features:

• Each card has a certain number of symbols ranging from 1 to 3.
• Each card has a certain symbol which is either a diamond, a squiggle, or an oval.
• Each card has a certain shading which is either solid, striped or open.
• And each card is either red, green or purple.

Each combination of a card only appears once, ie, a card with two red solid ovals appears only once, or a card with one purple striped diamond only appears once.

The dealer then proceeds to place 12 cards face up on the ground. Whilst the dealer is placing down a card on the surface, any player participating in the game can shout the word "SET!" if he or she sees 3 cards that form a set.

Those cards are then given to the player and the dealer again proceeds dealing 12 cards onto the surface. If there is no set made after the 12 cards are dealt face up, the dealer then continues to put down another 3 cards. This continues until a set is made, ie 15 cards, then 18 and so on...

If a player shouts "SET!" and is then found to be incorrect, he or she loses a point.

• How do you make a set you ask? A set must meet all of these conditions:
• They all have the same number, or they have three different numbers.
• They all have the same symbol, or they have three different symbols.
• They all have the same shading, or they have three different shadings.
• They all have the same color, or they have three different colors.

For example:

These 3 cards would make a set:

• One green solid diamond.
• Two red striped oval.
• Three purple open squiggles.

If you then put these 3 cards through all 4 conditions we see that they do make a set:

• They all have three different numbers.
• They all have three different symbols.
• They all have three different shadings.
• They all have three different colours.

Similarly, these 3 cards would also make a set:

• One red striped diamond.
• Two red solid diamonds.
• Three red open diamonds.

If we once again run them through our 4 conditions we see that:

• They all have three different numbers.
• They all have the same symbol.
• They all have three different shadings.
• They all have the same colour.

Quickly summarized, the rules of the SET Game are explained as follows: If you are able to sort a group of three cards into "Two of ___"
and one of ____" then it does not make a set.

Why Does The Set Game Make a Perfect Christmas Gift?

We received a Set Game for Christmas last year. At first it took us a while to get the hang of the Set game, but as soon as we did, our competitive instincts kicked in and before we knew it we were full blown into a game of Set that lasted for hours!

The game is very simple, a 6 year old can play it, but it is tricky at the same time, it can stump a 30 year old! You had to think hard about your decisions, as the cards can really play tricks on your mind!

And the best thing about this Set game? We could play it over and over again and it just didn't get boring. I think that's what makes it so addictive, besides the challenge of getting the most Sets. The rules were very easily to follow, and those who wanted to learn, could begin playing and learn while watching others as they made Sets.

I found this to be very useful as most of the other games required players to know the rules beforehand, otherwise in order for the rules to be explained during playing, other players had to see your cards, which would then, of course, ruin the current game.

Most of us have had that unlucky friend or cousin, sitting at the table during Christmas, that just couldn't seem to learn the rules, no matter how many times we explained them. Well in Set, if they get the rules wrong, they lose a point, allowing others to get on with the game at hand, with no interruptions!

I can honestly say, receiving the simple, affordable Set Game for Christmas, was the most popular, and most used gift we ever received! Since we have enjoyed ours so much, I guessed that a lot of others would enjoy this as a gift too.

A few last quick facts:

*The Set game has been in the top 100 Best Seller List on Amazon for over 3 years now.

*It has more than 200 reviews, most of which are 5 star reviews!

*It is a SMALL game and only takes up a little bit of space.

*It costs only 1/5 of what it would cost to take your family out to the movies. (On many occasions we have stayed in to play the Set Game over going to the Movies)

*It promotes a healthy, active, family atmosphere of playing together.

*It stimulates the brain enormously!

To see more details on the Set Game, Set Game Review videos, and Set Game customer reviews, go to: http://buysetgame.com