" Detailing such useful information as how long to starve snails before eating them..."

      Title: Survivor CCG by Upper Deck

      Format: Collectible Card Game

      Reviewing Monkey: Chimpan-A

      The Hype: If you took part in all the rage that was Survivor a few years ago, here's a game to bring back all those good memories. Here we basically have a card game based on the show. Take people from the show and survive Immunity Challenges, until one player has had all of their castaways voted from the game. Curious? Play on through…

      What This Monkey Thought...

      Playability: You know, I'm still trying figure out the key demographic for this game. I mean, if it's where I think it is we're talking about the twenty people who both watched Survivor and play card games. That being said, the game is actually kind of fun. Far better than you're likely expecting from such an obvious marketing ploy. Basically each player gets some castaways; the castaways have their own statistics. You play through Immunity challenges, playing various cards to give your characters stat bonuses, or just screw with your opponent. The winner of the challenge gets to vote off an opponent's castaways. You keep going until one player has no more castaways. There's just enough strategy to the game. Deciding which opponent to vote off, when to play cards, whom to use for challenges. It's a simple system, and is actually fairly entertaining. 4 out of 5

      Aesthetics: Well, if you weren't a fan of the show, you're not going to recognize the pictures used on the cards. All of them are real world pictures, there's no artwork. On the background of the cards is the same palm tree, it's all pretty boring, nothing that will really spark interest. The big points for this category come from the survival tips found at the bottom of most cards. Detailing such useful information as how long to starve snails before eating them and how to get rid of sharks in the water. These tips are far more interesting than just about anything else on the card. Otherwise, the cards are fine. It's easy to find the information about how to use the card. 3 out of 5

      Learning Curve: This is one of the easiest games I've picked up in a good long while. Ten minutes after picking up the instructions you can pick up a deck and start playing. It's that simple. Even learning what cards to use is easy. Probably the hardest thing will be selecting your castaways, selecting a good spread of stats. Some cards affect different people in different ways, and you'll want to know your deck well enough (once you get into deck building) to know who works best with your deck. 4.5 out of 5

      Balance: The starting deck is about as balanced as you can get, since both sides get pretty much the same cards. They have different names, but they do the same things. Once you get into deck building, it still stays fairly balanced, there are no super cards, and immunity challenges can go either way in a lot of situations, most of the challenges I went through were decided in one point. 4 out of 5

      Value vs. Cost: If you're a fan of the show, and can't stand to be without your favorite first-season survivor, this is a pretty good game. Those less interested in Survivor may still find a fun experience. The starter is a great way to get two people into the game easily. Booster packs can help you real collectors get those additional survivors, with the expansion pack necessary if season 2 is your cup of tea, but otherwise add very little. 3 out of 5

      The Verdict:

I will admit I was quite skeptical when I first heard "Survivor the Collectible Card Game". Now that I've played with it for a while though, I have to say it was fairly entertaining. It's probably not going to outdo any of the big names out there, simply because it's far too much of a niche game. It's not really going to appeal to anyone who isn't a fan of the show. It is however simple to learn, and a starter pack give you everything you need for you and your friend to get started.

      The Good: Easy to learn and relatively entertaining.

      The Bad: Very limited appeal.

      The Overall Ugly: If you've got a huge survivor fan you've been trying to get into card games, this is the game to do it with. If you're just looking for something to entertain for a little bit, this isn't a bad choice.

      What it's Worth: The going price seems fair.