First To Find is a card game with a "Geocaching" theme. If you are curious as to just what "Geocaching" is, check out the web site Geocaching.com.
First To Find comes in a nice tin box. Inside the tin box, an insert holds a single deck of cards. Remove the cards and insert and the tin box would make an interesting geocache container itself.
The deck consists of fifty-five (55) cards. The First To Find deck is essentially a standard deck of playing cards. There are four suits (Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter instead of Hearts, Spades, Clubs and Diamonds) of 13 cards (2-10, J, Q, K, A) and two Jokers. The rules are printed on both sides of the final card.
A "difficulty" number between two (2) and six (6) is selected before the game begins. This is the number of points a player will need to score to win the game. Five cards a dealt out to each player. The remaining cards make up the DRAW deck. The top card of the DRAW deck is turned over to set the starting season (suit).
On his turn a player draws cards from the DRAW pile until he holds six cards. Then the player plays a card, if possible. The card played may depend on the card played by a previous player. When playing a card, the card played must match the current or subsequent season. (For example, if the face up card is a "Summer" card, then the player must play a "Summer" or "Fall" card.) If free to do so, the player may play a MOVEMENT card. In each suit the MOVEMENT cards are numbered from 1 - 4. When the player plays a movement card, he scores one point. Instead of playing MOVEMENT card, the player may play an OBSTACLE card. After playing a MOVEMENT or OBSTACLE card, the player's turn is over and play passes to the next player in clockwise order.
If the previous player played an OBSTACLE card, then the current player must play a GEAR card to overcome the OBSTACLE. In each suit the OBSTACLE cards are numbered 5 - 9 and the GEAR cards are numbered 10 - A. The card numbers appear to serve no purpose within the game. If the current player cannot play a GEAR card to overcome the previously played OBSTACLE card, the player loses one victory point and may discard a card.
This last rule immediately led to two rules questions: 1. Can a player's score go negative? 2. Where do discarded cards go? If discarded to the play pile, do they change the season? Or should there be three card piles (DRAW, PLAY and DISCARD)? The rules do not address either of these questions. We played that a player's score could go negative and we used a separate discard pile.
If a player is able to play a GEAR card to overcome an OBSTACLE, then the player may play a second card, presumably a MOVEMENT or OBSTACLE card. If not required to overcome an OBSTACLE, a GEAR card may be played to simply change the season. The rules did not make it clear if this play of a GEAR card also allowed a player to play a second card as when a GEAR card is played to overcome an OBSTACLE. (We played that in this case, the player may not play a second card.)
The game continues in this manner until one player scores enough points to win the game. The number of points needed to win the game was determined at the beginning of the game.
The rules do not address the use of the JOKER cards. The JOKERS are GEAR cards and appear to be "wild" in terms of season (suit).
There is no relationship between OBSTACLE cards and GEAR cards. If the OBSTACLE is Flood, for example, any GEAR card may be used to overcome the Flood. (A Hat Gear card, for example, will overcome a Flood OBSTACLE card.)
Another question not addressed by the rules is what happens when player A plays and OBSTACLE card and player B is not able to overcome the OBSTACLE CARD by playing a GEAR card. Is Player C then required to overcome the OBSTACLE card? Or is Player C free to play any card? (We played that Player C was free to play any card.)
The rules are brief, fitting on two sides of a card. Perhaps they are too brief as too much is left to the imagination (and assumption) of the players. A second rules card with the space used to more clearly explain how to play the game, or even a printed rule book with examples would have been helpful. We did have to make some assumptions as to how to play the game. Perhaps we assumed wrong. Should it turn out that we were playing the game substantially wrong, I will be sure to update this thread with the latest information.
It seems clear that each player is responsible for hindering (by playing OBSTACLES) the player on his left. If left undisturbed, a player can freely play MOVEMENT cards and quickly win the game. Of course this is only possible if the player has any MOVEMENT cards and this reveals that the game is largely won on the "luck of the draw." Game play is determined by the cards drawn and by the cards played by the previous player. A player must play to overcome an OBSTACLE and can only chose to play MOVEMENT or OBSTACLE cards himself if the pervious player did not attempt to hinder him, or if hindered by an OBSTACLE, then by having a GEAR card in the appropriate seasons and having a second card to play. Player decisions are minimal as the hand of cards and current situation determines what the player will do.
Final Thoughts:
I bought First To Find because it was a Geocaching themed game. I was not expecting much in the way of a game and I was not disappointed. The value, for me, of First To Find is simply that it is a "Geocaching" game. The game itself is no great shakes and won't be winning any awards, but for the price ($10 plus shipping) the "Geocaching" theme by itself makes it worth adding this game to my collection.
Afterword:
Ryan Thiegs, the designer of the game First To Find, made the following reply to my questions:
Hey guys,
Sorry for the confusion with the rules. I had a pretty limited space to work with so I tried to include the basics. Now that my website is up I'll get some more details in place there soon.
But to answer your questions;
1. There are 3 card piles, Draw, Play, and Discard. Discard pile is totally seperate and do not affect the game, so seasons do not change when discarding a card.
2. Jokers are wild in that they can be played during any season.
3. The next player is free to play any card if the previous player cannot overcome an obstacle.
4. A 2nd card may only be played after a Gear card when you overcome an obstacle.
5. Yes, you must ALWAYS match the current season or the subsequent season.
Thanks again for checking out the game, hopefully this email will help.
Ryan
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