Falling

The premise behind this card game is fantastic; everyone is falling from the sky and the winner is the last person to hit the ground. While that may pique one's interest into playing, it is Falling's combination of simple rules, a fast pace, and a large player group that make it such a great game. Even those who aren't gaming aficionados will find themselves enjoying this.

I've actually had a deck of Falling for quite some time. When I originally bought the game and sat down to read the rules, I couldn't wrap my head around it's turnless structure and real-time play. I ended up tossing it on a bookshelf, resolving to figure it out someday. Well, that day came this past weekend. Rereading the rules, it didn't seem as daunting as it did back then and I couldn't believe I'd procrastinated so long on learning how to play.

With a group that shifted from 5 to 8 people who ran the gamut of gaming experience, it took about 3 to 5 games before everyone started to feel comfortable with the rules and the gameplay style. Once things got going, the consensus was they were liking it. The combination of sort game length and large group involvement made it ideal for causal game, especially while knocking a few back. It's well worth tracking down a copy.