Game Review: ‘Timeline – Music & Cinema’
It’s safe to say there has been a recent resurgence in tabletop gaming, RPGs, board games, card games – you name it and nerds like me are playing it. Whereas gaming for the longest time remained the domain of the hardcore gamer, tabletop gaming and in particular card games have made the move into the mainstream thanks to the accessibility of card gaming on tablets and the likes of Cards Without Humanity. That offensively fun card game seem to strike a chord with people, at the same time exposing new audiences to tabletop card gaming; now more and more companies are tapping into the market and nowhere is that more prevalent than in the more casual end of the tabletop spectrum…
A few months back we reviewed Dobble, a fun Snap-like family game from Asmodee that was a perfect introduction to card gaming for kids and newcomers alike. Timeline, from the same company, is a series of card games that are not only is fun to play but actually encourages learning (in the general knowledge respect) in much the same way as the more well-known Trivial Pursuit.
Timeline is a card game where players are dealt cards, which have events on them, both sides have the same image but one also holds the important time. Players must take it in turns to place their card in the middle of the table, guessing whether it came before or after the already placed card chronologically (see where the name Timeline comes from?). If they placed it correctly then the card stays in place, if not the player must take another card from the deck; and the first player to get rid of all of their cards is the winner. Think of it as Trivial Pursuit meets Play Your Cards Right. The particular version of Timeline we played is the “Music & Cinema” edition, which features 110 cards adorned with various music and film related “trivia”…
Set-up is simple. Open the tin, take out the cards, give them a shuffle and deal a starting hand to up to 8 players. That’s it. It’s actually REALLY refreshing to be able to get a new card game and get playing as fast as you do with Timeline. Once you know the basics you can get cracking with playing the game and, of course, having fun.
Like Dobble, Timeline: Music & Cinema comes in a small (some might say perfectly formed) tin, making it completely portable – ideal for taking with you to conventions and other geeky events and having quick games with friends when you want a breather from the usual convention hub-bub. And, as with all the Timeline products, this version is compatible with the rest of the range so you can expand upon the game as and when you want.
To be fair, it’s probably a good job you can buy and expand your copy of Timeline as, like Trivial Pursuit before it, play the same edition over and over, once too often and for long periods especially, and you’ll start to memorise the dates on the cards, taking some of the fun out of the game (unless you like cheating/beating your “friends” at card games). But that’s a small niggle in an otherwise fun new card game.
Timeline: Music & Cinema is available from all good game stockists now.