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Quando is one of those games that looks very simple at first. A small deck of cards, numbers from 0 to 10. You get a hand of cards, play a few rounds, and try to keep your total score as low as possible.
Each round, players start with seven cards, or eight in smaller player counts. Over time, you’re trying to get rid of cards and avoid ending up with high numbers. Once someone reaches 50 points, the game ends, and the player with the lowest total wins. It all sounds pretty straightforward. And for the most part, it is. But the timing of your decisions ends up mattering more than you might expect.
👥 2-6 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 15 minutes
📝 Designers: Reinhard Staupe & Jannik Walter
🎨 Artwork: Oliver Freudenreich & Sandra Freudenreich
🏢 Publisher: KENDi (review copy provided)
Gameplay Overview
At the start of a round, everyone gets their cards and holds them so only one side is visible. You play using that side, and that’s what you base your decisions on.
On your turn, you always do two things. First, you play cards. Then, you draw exactly one card. You can either play three cards in a row, like 4-5-6, or play one or more cards with the same number. That part is easy to understand and quick to explain.
After playing, you draw a card from the pile. You can take it as it is, or flip it and take the other side without looking first. So sometimes you go safe, and sometimes you just take a small gamble.
If you play exactly three cards with the same number, all other players have to react. Players with a zero must flip one of their zero cards. Players without a zero have to draw an extra card. It’s not huge, but it can be just annoying enough at the wrong moment.
A round ends in two ways. Either someone ends their turn with only zero-value cards, and the round stops immediately. Or a player decides to knock. When that happens, all other players get one more turn. The player who knocked is done for that round, so the timing really matters. You can only knock if you’ve already played at least two cards earlier in the round, so you can’t rush it right away.
At the end of the round, everyone adds up the values of the cards they still have. The player with the lowest total scores zero, and everyone else adds their points. If you knocked but don’t have the lowest score on your own, you get extra penalty points. So yeah, that can backfire. You keep playing rounds like this until someone reaches 50 points.
Artwork, Components, and Visual Design
There’s not much in the box, and honestly, that works in its favour.
You get 55 cards, and that’s the whole game. No extras, no distractions. It’s the kind of game you can just take out and start playing without setting anything up.
The cards are clear and easy to read. Big numbers in the middle, smaller ones in the corners, and each number has its own colour. The splash-style backgrounds give it a bit of a playful look, but nothing too much. It’s not a game you’ll buy for the artwork. But also, you won’t complain about it. Everything is readable and does what it needs to do.
Our Experience
For us, Quando is a game that just keeps moving. You play something, draw a card, and pass it on. There’s not much waiting, which makes it easy to bring to the table, especially between heavier games or at the end of a game night.
What stood out most for us wasn’t any single mechanic, but how the game flows from turn to turn. You’re constantly making quick decisions. Do you play it safe, or take a bit of a risk with a blind draw? Do you hold onto something for later, or just get rid of it now?
Early in the round, we mostly focused on reducing our hand and getting rid of higher cards. Later on, those choices start to matter a bit more, and then there’s the knock. That’s the moment everyone is waiting for. You look at your hand and think, “this is probably good enough”… but you’re never completely sure. Sometimes it works out, other times it really doesn’t. We had a few rounds where someone knocked confidently and immediately regretted it.
The interaction is there, but it stays quite light. The triplet effect can force players to draw or flip a zero, which can mess with their plans a bit. It’s not overwhelming, but it keeps everyone involved. The zero flips are also one of the few moments where you suddenly get new information about your hand. It doesn’t happen all the time, but when it does, it can change how you look at your cards.
We also noticed that the experience depends a bit on the group. Some players just go with the flow and play quickly. Others start remembering cards and trying to be more precise. Both work, but it gives the game a slightly different feel. Overall, we enjoyed it. It’s not a game that creates big reactions, but it keeps everyone engaged.
Our Thoughts
Quando feels like a mix of familiar ideas with a focus on timing. You’re playing sets, sometimes making runs, drawing cards… nothing here is new on its own. What makes it interesting is how everything comes together around one question: when do you stop?
That’s really the core of the game. Knowing when to knock, when to take a small risk, and when to just play it safe. At the same time, the choices on your turn are quite limited. You usually know what your options are pretty quickly. So if you’re looking for something deeper or more strategic, this probably won’t fully satisfy you.
We also felt that playing matching numbers is more flexible and happens more often than making straights. Straights are useful, but they feel more situational. The instant round ending with only zeros is a nice idea, but in our plays it didn’t come up that often. Most rounds ended because someone decided to knock, so that’s where most of the focus sits.
Quando fits best as a light filler that works well in a casual setting. At the same time, it’s not something we’d always pick first, especially if we’re in the mood for something with a bit more control or depth.
So yeah, it’s a good game. Not amazing, not something we’ll keep talking about, but one we’re happy to play again now and then. And to be fair, any game where you end up saying “why did I do that?” more than once is doing something right.
📝 We received a copy of the game from KENDi.
