Have you ever tested your skill or tried to impress a friend at a carnival shooting gallery? Then you should try your hand at this game and become a duck on the smallest pond ever and outwit 6 other ducks to be the last duck swimming as the hunters open fire.
Game Play
You and a couple of friends sit down to play a game. The first game pulled out is Sitting Ducks and then you are taught how to play. You pick the color duck you like and the cards are dealt and the ducks are collected and shuffled together. Everyone watches as the Duck Deck is placed on the board and the ducks are revealed. An orange duck, a pink duck, a green duck, and 2 purple ducks you rest easily as your blue ducks are safely hidden away in the duck deck. You look at your cards as play begins. A couple targets are placed, one on the orange duck and another on purple. It’s your turn, you decide to save your Bottom’s Up card for later so that leaves you with 2 choices. Do you shoot a duck or play another card that moves the line forward. If you move the line forward your duck is bound to come from the deck and be under the target. You decide to shoot the orange duck and remove the target for the next duck. The duck and target are removed from the board and the next duck is drawn. When the duck revealed is one of your blue ducks, you breathe a sigh of relief from your good decision. Just when you thought you were in the clear, you realize that orange is eager to retaliate by placing a target on your duck. Now you see where this game is going, do you make orange your enemy or choose to stay low to try to keep your ducks from getting shot.
The Basics
The rules of Sitting Ducks are simple and provide for a unique gaming experience. To win players have to be the last duck on the pond. Sounds easy until you make enemies that can help decide your fate.
Players have a hand of 3 cards and a turn consists of playing a card then drawing a card. A card must be played if it is possible, even if the card played will penalize the player playing the card. The only instance that a card can be discarded is if there is absolutely no card that can be played in a player’s hand. To play a card players simply read the action on the card and perform said action then discard the card played if appropriate.
Ducks are drawn and laid out in a line on the board. The ducks revealed can be targeted and shot. Ducks move from left to right away from the Duck Deck. The right-most duck when moved forward returns to the bottom of the Duck Deck. Players can only shoot ducks that have a target above them, unless a card says otherwise. After a target has been placed with a card, then a shoot card can be played on the duck. When a duck is shot it is removed and the duck behind it moves into the vacated space. Each empty space is then filled by moving a duck into it until a duck is drawn from the duck deck and placed on the space next to the deck.
If a player loses all their ducks they are not removed from play but they cannot win. Players that have no ducks on the pond are allowed to keep playing and drawing cards to get revenge on the player(s) that eliminated them. This rule makes Sitting Ducks a fun competitive game that keeps everyone interested until the end of the game.
Review
Sitting Ducks is a game that is fun for everyone till the very end. What sets it apart is that no one is eliminated from play even though the victor is the last duck on the pond. It is a unique and family friendly game that I’ve experienced even kids as young as 5 to 7 can play the game despite the recommended age.
The best part of Sitting Ducks is the couple of unique rules that it has. For a last player standing type of game the rule that allows those eliminated to still play keeps everyone’s interest even when they can’t win. Sometimes it is even more fun for those that are eliminated because they can get the last laugh by trying to eliminate the player who eliminated you. The other unique rule forces a player to play a card regardless of the outcome of the card played. Most games you don’t run into a situation where the player has to play even if it penalizes themselves. Although it doesn’t happen often but the situation does come up, where a player may have only shoot cards and the only targeted duck is their own. So since a shoot card can be played they have to shoot their own duck. That rule can sometimes create some fun social banter amongst players.
On top of the unique rules the social aspect of Sitting Ducks is excellent because it is a light game and has an underlying aspect of diplomacy. Having only a few rules makes it easy for everyone to understand and get right into the game. Once the first couple targets are placed, everyone knows it’s game on. Rivalries can develop quickly with players going after each other. Alliances can even form openly or privately but the trust only goes so far in the end and can be quickly broken by other players. Those rivalries between players makes it fun for the players eliminated because they can still prevent their rival from winning. So not only do winners have to play the cards right but carefully choose their targets.
Downtime is minimal between turns because players only have to choose between 1 of 3 cards to play. The quick play keeps the game exciting for everyone because they do not have to wait long before it’s their turn. Besides that while they wait to play again, players eagerly watch what their opponents do.
Sitting Ducks is not a complex game which makes it great for a wide audience and age bracket. The rules are few and even the cards are quick reads. In the many games I’ve played, kids as young as 5 to 7 enjoy this game and can play it with some help the first couple of times. It doesn’t take long before they understand the cards from the illustrations. Often times kids find it fun to go after someone even if they don’t win. Over time even they will see some strategies and even win a few games. I think the recommended age is just based on having the text on the cards.
The replayability of the game is moderate; while it is fun and a quick game players are likely to want to play something different after the first or second game. It is likely to come off the shelf and not collect dust like other games but only when you have more 3 players.
Intimidation Factor
Sitting Ducks is less intimidating than an actual angry duck. This is one game that you can get anyone to sit down and play without much effort. The simplicity of the game play and game components lands greatly to its appeal. I would consider this a good gateway game to the hobby because of the hidden depth and great social aspect.
Components
Sitting Ducks has three components to the game, a board, cards, and target tokens. There are 2 decks of cards one deck is the playing cards and the other is the Duck Deck. The Duck Deck is composed of a maximum of 36 cards with 6 duck cards per duck color. Target tokens are 1 inch diameter in size and made of cardboard. The game board is 18” x 6” and is the same quality as your typical game board.
The artwork across all the pieces is excellent. Duck colors are very distinct from each other which makes sure there is no confusion in whose duck it is. Each type of action card has a unique illustration that goes along with the action and adds to the light hearted fun. Overall the artwork is sharp, has vivid colors, and easy to read text.
Mechanics
Sitting Ducks has two mechanics, card drafting and hand management. Both are found in your typical card game. Card drafting is simply drawing a card to refresh your hand. Hand management allows the players to make choices on what to play and provide more control over the different elements of chance in the game.
Diplomacy is not a driving mechanic of the game but it is one that can lead to being the last duck on the pond. Sitting Ducks is a surprisingly social game because no one stops playing. So players may often gang up on a particular player not realizing their actions may result in their downfall in the end.