And finally, we reach the last game from my big Dig & Find haul – Capture the Flag. Now, the game of Capture the Flag is near and dear to my heart. I remember many days and nights spent as a child playing Capture the Flag with the neighborhood kids. Finding the best new hiding places, discovering hidden paths to the other teams’ side, and playing at night kept the game so fun and exciting. So when I saw a board game version, I knew that I had to give it a shot. This game definitely falls in our Kids Table family of reviews, and you’ll see why!
| Capture the Flag (2020) | Buffalo Games |
| 2 players | 10-20 minutes |
| Ages 6+ | BGG Weight – Not yet available |
Capture the Flag is a real-time racing game for 2 players, in which each player is attempting to capture the flag of their opponent, while defending their own flag. At its core, this game is a matching game, as color matching is how you make progress towards the end of the game. I’ll get to that in a little bit though. For starters, lets talk about the game setup. Each player selects a Flag and places it in front of them. Randomly shuffle the deck of cards into a rough pile towards the side of the table. Each player draws 4 cards and places them face-up in a line towards their opponent, away from their flag. This line serves as their Wall in the game, and is their flags defense. Pictured below is the setup for a game.
Played in real-time, there are no alternating turns in Capture the Flag. Both players act simultaneously, drawing cards and resolving them. On the signal to start the game, players will each randomly draw a card from the pile and flip it face-up. Depending on the colors of their chosen card, they may choose to Defend their Flag by adding the new card to their existing Wall, or they may choose to Attack their Opponent, by breaking down their wall. The game continues in this simultaneous play of Defending and Attacking until one player has depleted their opponent’s wall and grabbed their Flag!
It all comes down to colors. The cards of the deck either show one solid color, or is divided in half showing 2 different colors. If the card you drew has a color matching a color on your top-most Wall card (the card closest to your opponent), you can add it to your Wall, thus extending your line of defense. If the card you drew has a color matching a color on your opponent’s top-most Wall Card, you can choose to remove that card, which moves you closer to their Flag. If the card you drew matches no colors on your Wall, or your opponent’s Wall, simply Discard it and draw again. The decision whether to Defend your Flag or Attack your Opponent is up to you, so strategize wisely!
Overall, this is a neat little game! I think it’s great for younger gamers as the gameplay is easy to grasp. There is no reading or iconography to learn, you just have to be able to match colors to play. The real-time element elevates the excitement of play, as you must make snap decisions with every card you draw. You can’t linger too long at the risk of falling behind your opponent! That being said, I think a good way to adapt this for even the youngest gamer is to take turns drawing/resolving cards. It slows down the gameplay and makes it more manageable. Then, once they get the hang of it, start playing faster and get back into that real-time racing.
When you’ve got a chance to play one-on-one with your kid, I would definitely recommend Capture the Flag. It’s a cute game that is easy and fun to play, but offers a good introduction to light strategy. Like I said earlier, you have to decide whether to Attack or Defend. Having those two options, and seeing what happens when you choose one or the other, is a good way for younger gamers to start learning the nuances of making strategic choices!
I’m happy with Capture the Flag as a card game. It has that nostalgic element or excitement that just makes me happy. I think it’s a great game for kids, and I look forward to trying it out with Travis’s kids. Don’t sleep on this game – I think it could be a hit.
