Disclosure: We were sent the 7 Ate 9 game free for the purpose of this review. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links see our disclosure policy for more information.
7Ate9 from Ideal is a fast, fun number-crunching game where the race is on to get rid of your cards as fast as possible. You simply add or subtract 1,2 or 3 to the number shown on the card pile to see if you have a card that can be placed next, it sounds easy but when everyone is racing to get rid of their cards the numbers are constantly changing.
John Adams recently sent us 7Ate9 to review, so Daisy and I spent some time challenging each other one Sunday afternoon. Each game on average takes around 10 minutes to complete, ideal if you are looking to fill some time or want to play something that’s fast but lots of fun.
7Ate9 Game Review
The game itself is really compact comprising 73 playing cards, an instruction card, and a handy storage egg this isn’t a game that takes up a lot of space which is always a good thing. I think this game is ideal for travel, you could easily play it in the car or on a train or plane journey and it would easily pack away into a suitcase or bag.
How To Play 7Ate9
After shuffling the cards the dealer places one card face up on the table, and the remaining cards are dealt between the players face down. The player must stack their cards without looking at them until it’s time to draw. The dealer shouts ‘Go’ and the players must then draw their cards one at a time there’s no limit to how many cards a player can have in a hand.
The card that’s face-up on the table determines which card from the player’s hand can be played, so for example, if the card has the number 10 (large number in yellow) you can add or subtract the smaller (white) number from the corner, the sum on the player’s card must match the answer or the difference for them to be able to discard it.
On occasions when the number required is greater than 10 or less than 1 players may need to “go around the corner” which involves subtracting or adding 10 to be able to find a corresponding card.
In this game there are no turns to take, cards can be played as soon as the player finds the required number which makes it a real quick-thinking game of mathematics if you want to be the winner. 7 ate 9 really gave both mine and Daisy’s number skills a workout. We loved the challenge but did get ourselves confused a number of times during play, we did need to play a few rounds to fully understand what we needed to do in order to win.
If a player is left with just one card they can play it regardless of the yellow number, they simply place the card face down on the top of the pile to end the game and declare themselves the winner.
We really enjoyed this game once we fully understood the rules properly, I would say it’s definitely a game for older kids with confident maths skills. The game really gets you thinking and I love the fast-paced competitive element of play.
WHAT WE LOVED ABOUT 7ATE9
- How fast-paced the game is
- That the game is compact and fits away into the storage egg
- The game encourages quick thinking and improves maths skills
7ate9 is suitable for ages 8+
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