Trio - First Play!

9th April 2023

​Sunday is here again and we're logged into Board Game Arena for some gaming fun.

'Triiiiooo, triiiio
I want a trio,
And I want now.'

I'm showing my age here, but this is not a game about a chocolatey biscuit, instead it's a set collecting card game.
Furthermore, Trio is apparently a reskin of a game called Nana, which disappointingly, is not about collecting grannies.

---

Caveat: We have only ever played this game digitally.

What's in a game?

• Cards: Trio uses​ a deck of 36 cards, numbered 1-12 three times.
  Along the bottom of each card will be 1 or more numbers that relate to the numbers on other cards which when added/subtracted mathematically reach 7.
  E.g.; the 1 and 6 cards are related because 1+6=7.
  ​Additionally; 4 and 11 are also related because 11-4=7 and so on.
  A 2 will be related to a 5 and a 9. 5+2=7 and also 9-2=7
  These sets of 2 related numbers are known as 'spicy' sets!
  
  

That's it for components.

Trio features cards decorated with quirky little monochrome illustrations with what appears to be a Mexican day of the dead theme? These illustrations are set against colourful backgrounds which are associated with each of the 12 differently valued cards.
I'm not sure how the them ties with the game but the cards definitely look colourful, dynamic and eye catching.

Cards are numbered 1-12, there's no other iconography. This is all very easily understood.

---

---

How's it play?
Setup

• Cards: Shuffle the cards into a face-down deck.
• Players: Dependant on player count deal 5-9 cards face-down to each player.
  All players should sort their cards into numerical order.
• Central playing area: All the remaining cards (Which will be 6-9 cards.) should be dealt face-down into a central playing area.
  This means all cards will have been dealt either to players or the central area.
• First player: Determine a starting player.

On to play
There are three ways (A trio!) (SIC) to win Trio. Each involves revealing cards to collect sets of identical values.

Trio follows the typical turn order with the active player taking their turn before play progress to the player on their left.
During their turn, the active player may reveal up to 3 cards by performing the following actions.

• 1st action: The Active player may choose 1 of the following 2 actions to perform which will result in revealing a card..
  • Reveal highest or lowest: The active play may ask any single player to reveal their single highest or lowest value card, the active player may also choose themselves to reveal a card.
    Any revealed card should be played face-up into the playing area.
  • Reveal from central area: The active player may flip a single card face-up from the cards in the central area.
• 2nd action: The active player now again chooses 1 of the same 2 actions above to perform, which will result in revealing a 2nd card
  • No match: The the 2nd card to be revealed does not have the same value as the 1st revealed card, then the active player's turn is over.
    Any card revealed by a player is returned to their hand.
    Any card that was revealed from the central area is flipped face-down again.
  • A match: If the 2nd card revealed matches the 1st card revealed, then the active player gets to take a 3rd action!
• 3rd action: The active player now gets a 3rd action and once again, must choose from the 2 actions described above.
  • No match: If the 3rd card revealed does not match the 1st and 2nd cards, then the active player's turn is over.
    Any cards revealed by a player is returned to their hand.
    Any cards that was revealed from the central area is flipped face-down again.
  • A match: If the 3rd card revealed matches the 1st and 2nd cards, then the active player has revealed all 3 cards of the same number! They collect all 3 cards and place them into their personal playing area.
• ​Next player: Regardless of whether the active player failed to match 3 revealed cards or managed to collect a set, play then progresses to the player on their left who now becomes the active player.

Endgame
​There are 3 ways a player may Trio.

• 3 sets of 3: If a player collects 3 sets of 3 cards they immediately win.
• Spicy set: If any player collects a spicy set, then they immediately win.
• Collect the 7s: If a player collects the 3 7 cards, they immediately win!
  Interestingly, the 7 value cards are the only cards not in a spicy set.

---

Overall
​Trio's has a fairly abstract theme but to be fair I don't it detracts from what is a fairly accessible game.

In fact, Trio is such a straightforward game that almost has nothing to write about. It mixes simple deduction and memory mechanics.

Players will want to remember what cards are revealed and where they are revealed from, allowing them to create sets of 3.
Players can also glean information from what their opponents reveal, either from their own questions of those of others. E.g., if someone is asked to reveal their highest card and it's an 8, then it's obvious they wont have cards of higher values. This is useful when deciding which sets to try and work towards.

There's also something mechanically interesting going on with the game's probabilities.
Generally, players should look to collect sets of either the highest or lowest value sets - simply by virtue of being able to only reveal the highest and lowest value cards of opponents.
This is why collecting the 7's insta-wins the game, because the 7's will likely be in the middle of players' hands and will be harder to collect
This becomes even more likely in games with lower player counts as each player will have bigger hand sizes. Conversely the distribution of cards will be less even in games with a higher player count, making it a little more unpredictable.

Talking of player count, we played with 3 players and I felt it was a little underwhelming. Trio can play with up to 6, I think the game improves with more players and the greater unpredictability adds to the experience.
We also played online which I feel detracts from a game like this which benefits from interaction between players.

Trio is obviously a lightweight game and will have crossover appeal to families and more casual gamers, it's set collecting, memory-based gameplay is something most people will be familiar with to some degree or other. I that's something that might appeal, them Trio is worth a look.

I would say it might be a bit too simple for seasoned games but truthfully, I think can serve as a filler game or an ender for the night.
It's something I would like to try with the physical version at a higher player count.