Fruit Fight

Flip cards, steal numbers from rivals and stop before you draw a duplicate that wipes your pile.

Designer: Reiner Knizia
Publishers: CMYK, Pixie Games
Editions by: KOSMOS, Mandoo Games, DV Games, Mercurio, Fractal Juegos, テンデイズゲームズ (TendaysGames), Maldón, BINCA, Pink Frog

Fruit Fight, also released as No Mercy and HIT!, is a press-your-luck card game where drawing more cards means more points, until it means none. The 90-card deck has numbers 1 to 10. On your turn you flip a card and put it in front of you, and if you like you steal every card of the same number lying in front of other players. Then you decide: stop, or draw again. Draw a number you already have, with at least three cards in front of you, and everything in front of you is gone. Stop in time and your cards slide face down into your personal score pile. It is short, loud and a little brutal, a game of nerve and sudden swings with a gunslinger flavor that suits the American West illustration.

Draw cards and steal matching numbersDuplicate with three cards wipes you outStop in time to bank your pile

Who it's for

You like short press-your-luck games with player interaction, and want something fast with four or five players.

Not for you if…

You want planning or control. It is pure nerve, and the swings can be harsh.

Vibe's take

Loud and nervy. You draw one more because the stolen pile is so tempting, and then you hit a duplicate and watch it all vanish. Plenty of groans and cheers.