If you’ve been following some of board games largest and best creators on social media, you may have noticed that trick taking games are enjoying a bit of a renaissance at the moment. With dozens of fascinating games appearing, all with their own interesting spins on the genre, it can be a little intimidating if this is a genre of game that you haven’t spent a lot of time with. From Cat in the Box, to The Crew, to Jekyll and Hyde, to Ghosts of Christmas, all of these games are “Trick taking +” for the new millennium.
Going WAY back to 1997 for a moment, I want to introduce NYET! by Stefan Dorra to the mix. NYET! is a semi-coop trick taking game where the players determine the parameters for the round. Let me explain. In a round of NYET!, all the cards are dealt to the players. Then, beginning with the dealer, players take turns choosing one of the aspects of the round to be covered up. It’s less bidding for what to do, and more vetoing. Maybe your hand is void of blue cards, so you ensure that blue is not the trump for the round. Maybe you have nothing but low cards, so you really don’t want each trick to score for much, so you cover the 4 point spot. Around and around the table, players place their tokens on a little board, determining 5 aspects. The first player, how many cards are discarded, which suit is trump, which suit is super trump, and how many points the round is worth.
Once the parameters have been set, the first player chooses their partner, and the game commences! Like any other trick taking game, a lead card is played, players must follow if possible, if not possible, can play any card from their hand. The highest value card played that matches the lead suit takes the trick, unless a trump is played, then the highest trump card takes the trick, and the winner starts the next round. One more hook, if you take a 1 from an opponent, it’s kept as loot. Once all cards have been played, score points based on the board for every trick and loot you and your partner managed to capture. The first player to pass 100 points is the winner.
There’s a few things in NYET! that are just fascinating to me. First, the board offers a dramatic, dynamic game. Each round, you assess your hand and then veto the aspect that would be most devastating to you. Some rounds you’ll have several things in your hand that, if they go right, means you’ll have a killer turn. On the other hand, someone arbitrarily vetoing the yellow 1’s as super trump can leave you with a handful of loot that you might have to give away. Those 1’s can either be the most valuable thing in your hand as a super trump, or, the worst thing in your hand as loot for your opponents.
There is no way this ends well
The next thing that makes NYET! shine is the fact that the start player every round chooses who their partner is going to be. Shifting alliances means the scores will rise unequally, and there’s a surprising amount of information that can be gleaned from what your opponents chose to veto. There will be times when you think the player across from you would meld well with your hand, but they’re in the lead. Are you going to assist them in earning more points, or do you choose one of the other players in the hopes you’ll close the gap?
The other fascinating aspect is that your partner won’t always be across the table from you. There were a few times in our plays where we got caught in a nasty pincer trap. The first player would lead a card, my partner and I would follow, and the lead player’s partner would come in with the hammer and win the trick. Not leading or concluding a hand felt like a tough position to be in, but I find it fascinating non-the-less.
There are lots of moments of tension in NYET!. When playing with odd number of players, the group with fewer players gets a doubler card, which creates some amazing come from behind victories. If you’re not careful, a round could end up with every trick and loot being worth -2 points, causing chaos and strife as everyone tries desperately to slough off their best cards at the right moment. Because the teams are ever-changing, players are playing for themselves. Moments of comradery are short-lived as you immediately stab each other in the back. There is humour and excitement in this trick taking game, especially when someone slams down their super-trump and completely changes the temp of a hand. A game of NYET! never fails to get me and my friends shouting.
NYET! is a fantastic game from a by-gone era. I’m sad that more people haven’t played this, especially as Trick-takings games continue to rise in popularity. NYET! is a game that I love to play, and while I’m not particularly good at trick taking games, the auction board makes me feel like I have just a little bit of control. And the chance that each trick in a round could be worth -2 points adds a tiny bit of chaos that I absolutely love.
