Review: Get the MacGuffin (Looney Labs)

The story started simply enough, just like they always do: A beautiful French resort filled with beautiful people, beautiful paintings, and ugly secrets. And one of those people had what I was looking for.

I noticed the grand marshal first, waving to the crowd. Just then, the spy slipped past me. She had the MacGuffin! I moved to intercept but she slipped into the casino. The wheel of fortune spun a bad turn for me, and I found myself facing the thief. He did a switcheroo and before I knew it, I was out of the game and the MacGuffin was long gone.

And that’s how a round of Get the MacGuffin goes. This fast playing group game from Looney Labs, puts a clever twist on every “get that thing” chase movie you ever saw.

Here are the five top things you need to know if you want to get the MacGuffin.

Types of cards

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Cards in the game come in two basic flavors: Objects and Actions. Action cards either accomplish some action in the game, make you do something, or make other people do things. After play, action cards go into the discard pile.

Object cards stay on the table in front of the player — at least until someone smacks one with The Fist of Doom. Once in play, objects can be used or discarded. Some of them can be used repeatedly to help the player stay in the game.

Card abilities range from powerful to pure puffery. The Fist of Doom, for example, discards an object currently in play. Compare that to The Shrugmaster, which instructs the player to shrug, and you’ll see what I mean.

Cards Explain Themselves

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In classic Looney Labs form, each of the cards explains itself with descriptive text and an awesome piece of artwork. The language is clear and simple, so younger kids shouldn’t face any problems figuring out what to do.

Pay special attention to the instructions on object cards so you know whether the card stays in play or gets discarded after use!

How The Game Works

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To start the game, players get a hand of up to five cards, depending on the number of players. When playing with a group of five or more, you deal as many as possible until everyone has an even number of cards. Since the whole deck only contains 23 cards, the dealer needs to pay attention as the deck gets smaller.

In turn, players play one card each and do whatever the card says. Using or discarding an object also counts as playing something for that round. Play continues until only one person can still play a card or fiddle with an object. There’s your winner!

Playing on the Go

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Because the game only involves putting a few cards on the table and managing a discard pile and a few leftover cards, Looney Labs included techniques on how to play Get the MacGuffin anywhere you find yourself.

To play an object, you simply turn it around in your hand so it faces the other players. (Of course, now you can’t see it, so don’t forget to use it when appropriate.) The dealer holds onto the card box, making a tiny table for the discard pile. Unused cards get slipped back into the box.

Keeping the discard pile balanced may take a bit of dexterity, but it’s certainly doable. To be honest, the thought of having something fun to do while standing in line at an amusement park this summer made me add this game to my packing list.

Last Person Standing Wins

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The goal in Get the MacGuffin is to be the last person who can play a card. The game stays delightfully true to the spirit of every MacGuffin in literature and film as well because getting the MacGuffin doesn’t guarantee that you’ll win. (It definitely helps, but it’s no guarantee.)

This is a straight-forward player elimination game, so if you plan to play it with your kids, make sure they understand and can handle the game’s “screw your neighbor” moments.

The Verdict

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Andy Looney works his magic again. Get the MacGuffin combines strategic choices, zany graphics, and sometimes goofy abilities into a wildly fun group game.

Because it plays between two and 11 people, you can use it on a quiet night with a friend or at a large game gathering to entertain the crowd. It works best (and craziest) for groups of four or more, but it’s absolutely solid fun for two or three. All of the art is family-friendly, so you can play this with anyone — even that stuffy uncle

Get the MacGuffen before someone else does!