Are You My Mummy? A Review of Loot N Run

Brave the deadly pyramids, search for treasure, and run for your life, in this quick, attractive little filler game from IELLO.

Gameplay

The goal of the game is to be the first player to reach 35 (or in a six player game, 30) points. There is a deck of room cards which are shuffled and divided into two even stacks and placed in the center of the table.

On your turn you may choose one out of three actions. The first of these possible actions is to draw a room card from either deck. Each room card has either a green, yellow, or red back. These colors indicate how likely it is that there is a monster in the room, but also how likely it is that the room will include more treasure.

After drawing a room card you look at it before placing it face down in front of you. Each room card contains at least one treasure, and each treasure is worth one point. There are multiple types of treasure and if you happen to draw the same type of treasure on two different cards, they double in value when you score them. Room cards can also contain a monster or an amulet.

If you have at least one room card in front of you, on your turn you can instead choose to run or awaken. Running means that you flip over all your room cards and score them, before discarding them. Awakening means that you force another player to flip over her room cards. If any of her room cards contain a monster, and she has more monsters than amulets, then she loses any points the cards might have scored and, depending on what monsters she has, the player who forced the awakening gets a bonus. A Frank allows him to take an extra turn, a werewolf lets him draw two room cards and keep one, while the mummy lets him score the awakened player’s cards for himself. However, if an awakened player has no monsters or an equal or greater number of amulets, then she scores normally with her cards as if she had chosen the run action on her turn.

Review

Loot N Run is an extremely light game and great filler. It blends set collection, bluffing, and press-your-luck in an easy to learn and quick to play game, that both kids and adults can easily get the hang of. It’s easy to fall behind on points but equally easy to catch up quickly as all you really need is one good run. Plus, each game is so quick that everyone will probably be up for a rematch or two.

For such a simple game there are actually a couple of interesting choices that players are presented with. Choosing between two colored doors offers you both a chance to decide how far you want to push your luck but also gives you a chance to bluff other players. Choosing when to awaken other players is also crucial as the more cards they have, the more likely that they’ll get the bonus for having the same treasure on more than one card.

The game is quite simple and there is a lot of guess work involved, so Loot N Run isn’t going to be for all players. Nor is it likely to hold your interest for an entire evening. However, it’s light enough and small enough to be pretty portable and if you want something short and fluffy, it’s a great fit.

Pros: Quick to play and easy to learn, a great filler game

Cons: Some players may find it too simple