Every few months a small box card game comes out that seems to capture the collective consciousness of the gaming community, Scout, The Crew, The Mind to name but a few. The latest in this long line is a little game called Trio and honestly I can see why.
The conceit of Trio is simple, reveal three 7's and win the game, failing that have two trios that can be combined to make 7 (5 minus 12 or 3 plus 4 for example). Play is simple too as it's really just multiplayer memory match, On your turn you can reveal either a card from the centre or ask any player including yourself to reveal their highest or lowest card. Repeat and hope for a match, if you get a match, play again looking for that elusive Trio. If you find a trio you claim it.
And it's that simple, of course, you're looking to find a trio of 7's and the game has cards from 1 to 12 so you're unlikely to do it turn one. So you're looking to shed your cards, getting down to the point where you can call for 7's, however as everything is public information you have to be careful because you might just be setting another player up instead. And of course, because you can win by getting two trios that combine to make 7 you can also just aim for that, or deny that victory to an opponent.
This one is super simple to play, really quick but satisfying. It also looks gorgeous but it does commit a cardinal sin and that's black bordered cards. After our second play we already had white scuffs on the borders and in a game with memory as a key component of the gameplay, you really don't want to play with marked cards. An obvious solution is sleeving but it does seem like a shame to do so when the matt finish of the cards, with the gold foil effect on the 7's is really beautiful.
So, if you're looking for a new "end of the night filler", Trio is a great and inexpensive choice. It will also work well with non-gamer family members too.