Why did I take so long to try the Bogey?

Since I tried out Card Capture, a game designed to be played with a traditional deck of cards, I decided to learn another one that I kept reading about, the Bogey. While Card Capture felt like a ‘modern’ game that uses traditional cards, the Bogey felt to me like an traditional solitaire game with a ‘modern’ twist.

The rules are freely available and are only one page but here’s the thumbnail. You have a hand of five cards and are trying to sort the deck into columns of decreasing values (you can skip cards or it’d be bloody impossible) of the same suit. BUT after ever move, the Bogey gets a move. You take the top card of the draw pile and do your best to play it to your tableau. You can only have twelve columns so if the Bogey forces you to start a thirteenth column, you lose. 

In other words, it takes a traditional solitaire concept and adds an AI :P

My first reaction was that the designer has taken Lost a Cities and turned it into a solitaire. Which is a hysterical idea since Reiner Knizia made Lost Cities by turning a solitaire paradigm into a two-layer game. The Bogey embraces one of the basic paradigms of solitaire card games, sorting cards by suits and ranks. But it adds what seems like such a simple and obvious touch with the Bogey and that gives it its own spark.

It’s pretty obvious, i like the Bogey. While having an AI making trouble for the players is a more ‘modern’ idea, the game feels kind of timeless. It’s a game that I can see working for non-gamers and gamers alike. I’m annoyed with myself for not trying it sooner.

The Bogey isn’t super innovative but it works really well and its fun.