Kulkmann's G@mebox - www.boardgame.de

La Cuenta

[Norsemen]

Author:
Litus Carreras

Publisher:
2Tomatoes Games
2025

No. of Players:
3-8

EVALUATION

[Complexity]
[Design]
[Interaction]
[Strategy]
[Evaluation]


G@mebox author Ralf Togler writes about the game:

We were just enjoying the last course in our favourite tapas bar when someone shouts: La Cuenta, the bill please! Or was it even us? Someone has also ordered coffee, even though we actually wanted to order a few olives for dessert. We must have had one or two bottles of wine too many. But never mind, the next weekend is just around the corner, and we can go to the nearest bar with our friends and start the whole thing all over again...

That, or something like that, is probably how it is when you have a good circle of friends. But someone always has to pay the bill and that's what the entertaining card game from 2TOMATOES GAMES is all about.

[La Cuenta]

Everyone is dealt five cards at the start of the game. _When it's our turn, you play one of these cards. Most of the cards are food cards; there are three different tapas (vegetables, meat and fish), which are collected in stacks. So meat follows meat, and fish follows fish and each dish costs something, of course. There are also wines that are collected separately, with each additional bottle of wine increasing the bill. This works well until someone can't or doesn't want to play any more cards. Then it's time to pay the bill, exactly by the very same person who couldn't play a card.

But can that happen, i.e. not being able to play any more cards? Well, for one thing, there are burnt dishes. They go back to the kitchen, and the chef also grants a discount on the bill, but after that no-one is in the mood for this type of tapas and no more similar dishes can be played. For example, no more vegetable cards after the first burnt vegetable dish.

[La Cuenta]

There are also a whole series of special cards that make the game really fun and worth playing. For example, you can go to the toilet until your next turn (of course, you can't pay the bill in that case, because you're not physically there), you can also play a change of direction or order coffee, which makes it impossible to play any other tapas or wine cards (well, you've already ordered the coffee). If you do have to pay the bill, you can - if you're lucky - play the special card Go Dutch or fifty-fifty, which splits the bill between everyone still present or at least lets you share it with another player.

Other players, on the other hand, can still distribute tips, as the other player is paying. In any case, the whole thing goes well until the first player has no more money. You start with a certain amount (depending on the number of players) and each time you pay, a large amount is subtracted from that. In return, you can take one more card into your hand after each payment for the next round. There has to be a bit of fairness still.

[La Cuenta]

La Cuenta turns out to be an easy game with great fun factor, especially in larger groups. I actually liked it best with eight players, especially when the other players play their cards with a bit of humour and talk a bit of gossip. The game with its beautiful drawings really invites you to do this. And every time you think you're not about to pay for the next round, something unexpected happens, three players quickly go to the toilet, or the bill is halved with you in the end. In any case, the theme is really refreshing and we really enjoyed it. Recommended!


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