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Mosquitoes. Nobody likes them, but here you actually get to play as them. In 10 to Leave, you’re part of a buzzing swarm trying to annoy a sleeping child called SleepKid. Each mosquito card has a number that shows how irritating it is, and your job is to sneak them into the right spots without getting swatted. The aim is simple: get as many mosquitoes as possible out through the window to safety and try not to be the player left with a pile of squashed insects. At the end, whoever has the lowest total of swatted mosquito cards wins, while the loser gets the shameful title of being the easiest mosquito to catch.
👥 2-5 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designer: Kula
🎨 Artwork: Kula & Ping Tseng
🏢 Publisher: Compound Eye Fox Studio & JJ Board game (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
Everyone begins by picking a colour for their swarm of mosquitoes. The SleepKid board goes in the centre of the table with the marker showing that they are asleep. The human defence tokens are shuffled, one is revealed and the others stay face down. The little window card sits nearby as the safe place. In one of those rules that is oddly fitting, the player most recently bitten by a real mosquito gets to start.
Depending on how many people are playing, there are either two or three queues around SleepKid. Each queue can only fit four cards. On your turn, you secretly place one mosquito face down into a queue that still has room. You also get to do one little extra thing, like taking a peek at a card that is already on the table or moving the first card in a queue to the back. If every queue has at least two cards, you can even wake SleepKid yourself, which is usually a bold move but sometimes the right one.
When someone wakes SleepKid, or when all queues are full, the swatting begins. Cards in each queue are flipped one at a time, working from the inside out, until the total value of the revealed cards is ten or higher. If the total is less than ten, the biggest mosquito in that queue gets caught. If it is exactly ten, then all the mosquitoes in that queue fly off to safety. If it is more than ten, SleepKid uses the human defence token to decide which ones get swatted.
Any cards that are swatted stay face up in front of their owner as penalty points. Cards that escape go to the window. SleepKid then goes back to sleep and the whole cycle starts again.
The game ends when every mosquito card has been played. At daybreak, SleepKid wakes up one last time and the queues are resolved until there are no mosquitoes left. If only one mosquito is left in a queue, it gets away automatically. Everyone then adds up the value of their swatted mosquitoes. The lowest score wins, while the highest score proves that not all mosquitoes are good at their job.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
For a small game, 10 to Leave has quite a striking look. The box is bright red with a simple black mosquito on it. It is hard to miss on a shelf, although you might get funny looks if someone spots it in your bag and wonders why you are carrying a game about insects.
The cards are bold and colourful. Each swarm has its own pattern on the back so you always know which colour belongs to who. The mosquitoes on the front are drawn in thick black lines, with long legs and big eyes that make them look half funny and half unsettling. It suits the theme and you will not mistake them for anything else.
The SleepKid board shows the poor child in bed. It is cartoonish and a bit over the top, but that works for a game about mosquitoes. The round marker that goes on top helps everyone keep track of what state the child is in.
Then there are the human defence tokens. These are thick cardboard tokens with drawings of big hands and objects that SleepKid uses to swat. They’re over the top in a funny way, but they do the job. The little window card is where your survivors end up, which is a nice touch, and there are also small player aids to keep things organised. Nothing is fancy, but it all fits the playful mood of the game and it is small enough to throw in a bag if you want to bring it along.
Our Experience
When we played 10 to Leave, the first few turns were calm enough. Everyone tried to be sneaky, tucking cards into queues and pretending they were harmless. After a while though, the queues filled up and the tension grew. Suddenly every placement felt risky. Should you risk slipping in another card or should you wake SleepKid and see what happens? There is a lot of second guessing, and plenty of suspicious looks across the table.
The theme really adds to it. Mosquitoes bothering a child is a bit absurd but it is also something everyone can relate to. The rulebook even teases the loser with the line “you’re just not great at being a mosquito”, which made us laugh. The game never takes itself too seriously, which is part of the charm.
The most exciting part is always the reveal. One by one, the cards are turned over, the total creeps up, and everyone leans in a little closer. When the number lands exactly on ten and the whole queue escapes, it feels brilliant. When it goes over and the defence token comes into play, there is usually groaning and laughter in equal measure.
There are also small details that keep things interesting. Some of the cards have tiny markings on the back, so you sometimes know what they are before they are flipped. This gives you extra information, but it also opens the door for bluffing, since people might use that knowledge to mislead others.
The extra actions on your turn are simple but clever. Peeking at a card gives you secret knowledge, while moving one changes the order of the reveal. It is just enough to make you feel like you have a bit of control in a game that is otherwise quite chaotic.
We found that the game works best with more players. With four or five, it is noisy, chaotic and full of bluffing, which feels right for a swarm of mosquitoes. With two or three, it becomes a bit calmer and more about memory, which some people may prefer, but it loses some of the energy.
Our Thoughts
10 to Leave is a light card game that is all about tension, luck and laughing at the results. It is not the kind of game where you carefully plan ten turns ahead. It is the kind where you drop in a card, cross your fingers and then either cheer or groan when it gets revealed.
There is a nice mix of bluffing, memory and risk. Low cards can lure people into mistakes, while high cards push things toward danger. Deciding when to wake SleepKid can save you or ruin someone else. The rotating defence tokens also stop things from feeling too repetitive.
It does come with a lot of luck. You can bluff brilliantly and still see your swarm flattened because of one bad reveal. That might put off players who prefer games where skill is rewarded more consistently. For us though, the swings are part of the fun.
In the end, we think of 10 to Leave as a filler game that works best in the right mood and with the right group. If you enjoy bluffing and are happy to laugh when your plans collapse, it can be a lot of fun. If you are looking for deep strategy, you will probably find it frustrating. For us, it created the kind of moments where the whole table reacts together, and that is exactly what you want from a short, funny little game about mosquitoes.
By the way, if you’re going to Spiel in Essen this year, you’ll be able to play and buy the game at Hall 2, Booth 2D325 with JJ Board Game.
📝 Our copy of the game was kindly provided by the publisher.
