If you're a Poker player, this is a game you'll either love or hate. Designed by Eran Agam and published by New Algo Gaming, Nuts N Guts is a Poker variant where players use a novelty custom deck rather than standard cards.
Nuts N Guts is a gambling game where the betting follows the rules of Poker. Instead tho' of hands made up of the usual cards, players are betting and bluffing on the poker hands represented on the individual cards in your hand. In this special Nuts N Guts deck these will include some but not all 52 of the standard playing cards (just one each 4 through to Ace). In place of the other cards, the deck features cards displaying poker hands ranging from a pair through two pairs, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house and four of a kind, to straight flush and royal flush.
If you're a complete novice at Poker, then the rankings of each card is shown on it. So the 10/J/Q/K/A royal flush card is ranked 1/63, going down to the card showing the solitary 4 (in this case, of diamonds but the suits don't really enter into it) ranked as 63/63. The cards are illustrated with comedic cartoons by Yvette Gilbert.
There's more. In addition to the cards with rank order there are cards with text on them that are played to take the associated action. Most have a 'take that' function, so, for example, Mind Reader forces another player to show you one of their cards; Trash Talk forces a player to discard his two card hand and draw two new cards; Shark Attack forces a player to fold; Bare Naked forces a player to plat with his cards open! Try bluffing in those circumstances! There are also cards that give you a direct advantage: Poker Face, for example, allows you to rebuff another player's attack card; and Lucky draw lets you draw two more cards - upping the odds of you having a winning card.
Nuts N Guts isn't going to replace Poker any time soon - nor, we suspect, is that the designer's intention. It's intended very much as a fun game - perhaps played over a couple of entertaining hands to round off your Poker Night. And if you collect playing cards, you'll certainly want this Nuts N Guts deck for its novelty value alone.
Nuts N Guts comes in a tin box. The Poker chips shown in the Board's Eye View photo aren't included - but any chips (or real cash) will do for your betting and bluffing. It's the first game we've come across tho' that has its own rap song, and the game is coming to Kickstarter on 14 October. Click here to check out the campaign.