Scream! card game review

If a tree falls in the woods, does it make a sound?

How about, If a camper screams in the woods because they spot strange creatures throughout their campsite, will they be heard?

Well, you better hope you can clear your campsite of those creatures before the end of the game. Because the player with the safest campsite will be declared the winner in this new game from Bezier Games called Scream!

A couple of years ago, Bezier Games published a card game called Scram! The setting in that game is players returning to their campsite after a hike to find their campsite ransacked by woodland critters. They need to clear their campsite of those pesky critters.

Well, now its night time and these campsites are teaming with a beings that are a lot worse than pesky mice and squirrels. In Scream! players are dealing with werewolves, zombies, aliens, and more.

And perhaps even worse, they’ll have to deal with other players potentially bluffing!

How to play Scream!

The goal in a game of Scream! is to have the lowest score after 3 rounds of play. The numbers on the cards (1-13) represent the fright factor of the creatures that have invaded each player’s “campsite” (their row of cards in front of them). So, lower values means a safer campsite.

After shuffling the deck, each player is dealt 1 face up card and 5 face down cards. Players look at their face down cards and then place them back face down in any order in their campsite.

On a player’s turn, they either:

Draw a card
Scream

1. DRAWING CARDS & CHALLENGES

When drawing a card, the player can take from either the top of the draw pile or discard pile. If they take it from the top of the discard pile, they must replace 1 or more cards in their campsite.

If they take it from the draw pile, they look at the card and then either:

Replace one or more cards in their campsite
Play it for the action
Discard it and do nothing

Adding to their campsite

If they choose to add their drawn card to their campsite, it will take the place of one or more cards in their campsite. If they’re only replacing one card, they simply place the card from their campsite on the top of the discard pile in the same orientation it was in their campsite – face up or face down.

The player may also replace two or more cards in their campsite if those cards are the same value. They first slide those multiple cards forward and then in turn order, each other player can challenge that the cards match.

If not challenged by another player, the active player places the replaced cards on the discard pile in their same orientation (face up or face down). They then place the drawn card into their campsite into one of the vacated spots. It also keeps the orientation as when drawn (face up or face down).

If the player is challenged, they reveal the cards they’re discarding. If the cards match in value, the challenger failed and must draw a card from the top of the draw pile, view it, and add it to their own campsite as a penalty. The player who was discarding the cards, now does so and adds them to the discard pile face up (since the cards are now revealed). Plus, they can discard an additional card from their campsite as a bonus.

If the replaced cards don’t match (meaning the active player was bluffing), the player places those cards back in their own campsite plus draws a card from the top of the draw pile, views it, and adds it to their own campsite. The player who challenged gets to discard a card from their own campsite as a bonus for a successful challenge.

Playing a card for its action

When a player draws from the draw pile, they may choose to play the card for its action. The cards numbered 5 through 13 all have an action listed on them. The player places the card face up on the discard pile and performs the action.

The actions include things such as looking at other cards, flipping cards, swapping cards, discarding cards, etc. Unless otherwise specified, the action can be done on cards in any campsite or even cards in the draw and discard piles.

One specific card we’d like to point out is the number 7 card. When played, it allows the active player to use the action of one of their face down cards.

Since the card is face down, the player simply states what the value of the card is that they’re going to use and slides it forward from their campsite row. Then, before the player actually takes the action, each other player, in turn order, may challenge that the value of the card is actually what the player says it is.

The challenge plays out the same as described above.

2. SCREAM

Once a player is down to 2 cards or less in their campsite at the start of their turn, they can choose to “Scream” for their turn. This is the only thing they will do on their turn. They won’t draw or replace any cards.

Every other player gets 1 final turn and then the round ends.

The other way for a round to end is to have no more cards in the draw pile.

Scoring and Game End

At the end of each round, the players reveal all their campsite cards and add up the value of the cards for their score.

If a player Screamed to end the round, and they have the lowest score, they instead score 0 points for that round. If they Screamed and don’t have the lowest score, they will take a 10 point penalty in addition to the face value of their cards.

The player with the lowest score for the round will be the start player for the next round.

After 3 rounds, the players total their scores from all 3 rounds and the player with the lowest final score wins!

Can the whole family enjoy playing Scream!?

When I first read the Scream! rules, I thought it sounded a lot like Silver – another fun card game by Bezier Games. Since we love playing Silver, we’re very familiar with the game play. And I quickly saw the similarities between Scream! and Silver.

However, upon my first play of Scream!, I also quickly discovered that it was a very different game experience than Silver.

Here’s a quick list of similarities between Silver and Scream!:

Each player starts with 5 face down cards in front of them.
There’s a memory element to knowing which cards you have in front of you.
Numbered cards go up to 13 with the cards numbered 5 and above having special actions to play when you draw and then discard them.
You can discard multiple cards from your campsite together if they match (or you say they match).
On a turn, instead of drawing a card, a player can choose to call the end to the round. In Silver it’s called a Vote and in Scream! it’s called Scream. That’s all they do for their final turn.
It’s played over multiple rounds and players want the lowest score.

But the big difference in how the game plays out revolves around bluffing (and/or potential bluffing).

Rather than just taking a turn and moving on, in Scream! many player turns take longer because you’re frequently checking with each player in turn order if they’re going to challenge what the player plans to discard. And that leads to the others players pausing to consider if they want to challenge or not.

Yes, it slows the game down a bit. But even more impactful is how it makes all players feel. It’s a totally different game experience. Because successful and unsuccessful challenges include penalties and bonuses.

The game encourages players to challenge because if successful, it’s a great way to get rid of a card when it’s not even your turn. However, they also run the risk of being wrong and getting more cards instead. It’s quite the tricky balance. And it leads to a lot of second guessing.

The other game element that leads to a lot of second guessing is the memory aspect. Players get to look at and arrange all their face down cards at the start of the game. But after that, the only time they get to look at their face down cards is when they play an action that lets them do so. Which means players need to remember which cards they have and where they are in their campsite.

That also leads to nervous discarding. You may think you’re replacing matching cards from your campsite and then someone challenges you. You confidently flip them over and discover that they don’t match. Now, instead of winning the challenge, you’re forced to take those cards back and add another card to your campsite. Ouch!

(Of course, it’s pretty funny when that happens to the other players instead.)

I’ve played Scream! at work a few times with coworkers over lunch and they’ve absolutely loved it. They love the bluffing aspect of the game and how it turns a simple card game into something more thoughtful.

On the flip side, in our family, mom doesn’t like bluffing games. So while she may enjoy playing Silver, she has checked Scream! off her game list. But the rest of the gang gets a kick out of it.

The recommended age on the game box is 14+. That’s probably also due to the bluffing element of the game and the nuances that come into play when choosing what to do on your turn.

While it’s still a relatively simple card game, first time players struggle a bit getting their minds around the main flow and challenges. So the included reference cards are a big help. One side includes the list of actions for cards 5 – 13. The other side describes Challenges and the rewards and penalties of the result.

How does Scream! score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

Scream! gets mixed results on our “let’s play again” game meter with the groups I’ve played with.

My coworkers want me to keep the game at the office because they’ve really enjoyed playing it at lunch and want to keep doing so. And even though my kids enjoy this twist on a familiar card game play, since my wife doesn’t enjoy bluffing games, it won’t get as much repeat plays at home.

So, Scream! is definitely a keeper. But I’ll be keeping it on the office game shelf where it will get many more repeat plays.

If your family and friends enjoy light card games with an element of bluffing, grab a copy of Scream!.

The Board Game Family would like to thank Bezier Games for a review copy of Scream!

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