Games Unplugged
November 2001 (#13)
Michael Lichucki
P. 30

Advertised as the world's fastest game, BLINK is inappropriately named. The game is so quick; blinking costs valuable nanoseconds that may be the difference between winning and losing. Perhaps that is an exaggeration, but an entire game of 3 rounds can easily be completed within 10 short minutes.

BLINK is comprised of 60 cards containing various shapes, colors and numbers. Players divide the deck in half, drawing three cards into their hand. With a flip of the card from the remaining decks, the race is on. Players may place cards from their hand on either discard deck, one at a time. To play a card on a discard deck, it must agree with the last card played. Cards can agree by being the same color, the same number of symbols regardless of type, or the same symbol. The winner is the first player to exhaust their deck. With two decks to play upon and three cards in each player's hand, the game rarely pauses. There are rules included to handle situations in which neither player can continue.

BLINK's portability, ease of learning, and speed are all elements that make BLINK the next play anywhere game. In test play, there was a varied demographic that found BLINK to be an enjoyable time. Young children enjoyed the shapes and colors, while the grandmother that played the game found it a nice change of pace from some of the card games that she played with her friends. Everyone enjoyed the first several games, but interest quickly waned. In summary, BLINK is a nice time filler, but lacks substance for extended playing sessions.

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