Pyramid Review
Bella Sara
Published by Hidden City Games
Five horse and/or energy cards, rule card; full-color, foil-wrapped; $1.99
If you have a 10-year-old girl -- or if you are a 10-year-old girl -- read on. If you're not, you might want to move on to the Shooting the Moon review down below. We're about to enter the saccharine world of Bella Sara.
Hidden City Games says there's a demographic of society not yet hooked by the collectible card game phenomenon, so it's reaching out to the kiddies, and since the subject matter is ponies and horses it would seem to be targeted at the girls. Each card has an illustration of a horse; a name (things like Charlie, Blackie, and Kio); a set of symbols at the top (horseshoes, hearts, some flowerish-looking thing); a quote at the bottom (more on that below); and an alphanumeric code. There are also energy cards that offer equipment like halters and riding hats. These allow the cards to be used in a variety of ways.
Among the games provided in the package: Leonardo's Game is really just warmed-over Crazy Eights. Different symbols appear at the top of each card, and in numbers from one to four. Each player draws seven cards from the top of his deck and they alternate turns playing something that corresponds. Your play has to match in the type or number of symbols -- if the person before you put down a card with four horseshoes, you have to play a card with four of any symbol, or any number of horseshoes. . . .
This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.
Article publication date: February 9, 2007
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