A Rapid Review of Hooyah

Hooyah, by U.S. Games Systems, Inc., is a card game in which 1 to 4 players cooperate to complete a Navy SEAL mission. Along the way, players must prepare for and carry out several ops leading up to the final step of the mission. Random events occur during each op that can destroy health and provisions, so careful planning is a must. The number of turns available during each op is also limited, causing players to lose health if planning goes on for too long.

Fail an op, and all accumulated provisions are discarded and players give it another go. Succeed, and players face the next op until finally the mission is accomplished. If one player loses all his health tokens, the mission has failed and the game is over.

Hooyah is a well-designed game with fantastic components. The suspense is almost tangible as the game progresses toward the final mission, and each player’s special abilities and private hand of cards keeps everyone engaged throughout the game. Several different missions of increasing difficulty are included, adding to the replay value — but even on the most basic mission, winning is a challenge and there are close calls to keep hearts pumping. This game is definitely worth a look.