Game Review: Nacho Loco

By Greg Schloesser
July 12, 2007

Publisher: Buffalo Games
Players: 2-6
Ages: 10+
Playing Time: 30-45 minutes
Rules Language: English

I’m always on the lookout for fun games that can be played in a family or casual gathering environment. For me, games that fit this genre should be easy to learn and fun to play, yet have at least a modicum of strategy and not be totally reliant upon luck. Unfortunately, oftentimes games that are aimed for the family market are sadly lacking in one or more of these aspects. That is why it is always a joy to discover a game that does contain all of these qualities, and Nacho Loco from Buffalo Games is one of these little gems.

Nacho Loco is sort of a cross between dominoes and UNO, the popular card game from Mattel. Participants play cards to the table and must match at least one side of the card to a previously played card. Matching special cards can give a player an additional turn or force an opponent to draw extra cards or lose a turn. Victory each round goes to the first player to deplete his hand of cards.

The game consists of 94 cards, each having the appearance of a triangular nacho. Each of the three sides of a card will depict a color, an “X”, or a special action. An initial hand of six cards is dealt to each player, and one card from the draw pile is revealed to form the starting “nacho”.

Players then take turns placing one card from their hand to the playfield, if they are able to do so. A card must be placed adjacent to a previously placed card and must match at least one side of that card. If a player is able to match two sides, all opponents must draw one card into their hands; if a player matches three sides—a difficult task—each opponent must draw two cards. On the other hand, if a player cannot legally play a card, he must draw a card, playing that card if able. Otherwise, he places the card in his hand and his turn ends.

If a player matches two “special” segments, he immediately executes the action granted. As mentioned, this can force an opponent to draw three cards or skip a turn, or give the active player an additional turn. It is difficult to plan for this, and it really is a matter of taking advantage of plays made by your opponents.

Making placement more difficult is the rule wherein a player cannot match two “X” segments. Since these “X” segments are plentiful, placement options can significantly decrease as the board grows, depending upon how it develops. It is possible, however, to use the “X” sides to “close” the playfield. If a card is played so that no other cards can possibly be played—meaning that “X” segments are along the entire edge of the playfield—the board is closed. You can also close the board by successfully matching two “X” sides with the one “closer” card, which is a card with three “X” segments. The final way the playfield can be closed is if every player cannot legally play a card.

When the playfield is closed, the active player’s opponents must all draw one card. All of the cards in the playfield are then discarded, a new starting nacho is revealed, and play continues. A round concludes when one player depletes his hand of cards; this player then scores one point for each card remaining in his opponents’ hands. Subsequent rounds are played until one player achieves 20 or more points and claims the victory.

No, there isn’t a wealth of strategy present, but Nacho Loco isn’t totally devoid of tactics. Players should try to keep their options open by retaining cards in their hand that will allow them to play on multiple colors. It is also wise to retain special cards, playing them only when matches can be made. If a player has an abundance of one color in his hand, he should play those colors quickly so that he can match them on subsequent turns. And, of course, a player should also try to play in a manner that will limit the placement options of his opponents.

These tactics aren’t complex, and the decisions aren’t very taxing. No one is going to be comparing the game to Puerto Rico, Caylus or Squad Leader. But it isn’t meant to be a highly detailed strategy game. Rather, it is clearly meant to be a light, family game that is fun to play, yet not devoid of meaningful decisions. In that respect, it accomplishes its goal quite well. Fans of dominoes, UNO, and other family games will likely find Nacho Loco to be quite palatable. Just resist the temptation to dip the cards in the salsa!

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