'Pit': cocoa, bears and chaos
By Nick Knittel, Contributor
October 27, 2007 | 11 p.m.
According to the back of the box, the card game “Pit” has been a “favorite since 1904.” With its kinetic, fast-paced action and bizarre, yet equally intriguing objective, it’s easy to see why.
“Pit” is extremely easy to learn, and at first it’s hard to fathom how a card game like this could be fun. The objective is to be the first to score 500 points by using the game’s eight “commodities.” The commodities are gas, cocoa, oil, rice, cattle, silver, gold and platinum, and are represented by suits of nine cards each. A player scores points by “cornering” the market with a commodity - that is, by collecting all nine cards within a hand of play. Commodities are given a different number of points so as to make one more desirable than the other. Cocoa is at the top with 100 points, and gas is at the bottom with only 50, which is one set of world economics that everyone can enjoy.
Three to eight people can play at once, but there must be the same number of commodities as there are players for each game. Each player is dealt a total of nine random cards. Collecting the commodities is where the game gets its energy and vivaciousness. Once the cards have been dealt, and the players have sufficiently organized their hands, trade is opened. Players take up to four cards from their hand (the commodities they are not trying to corner) and hold them up without revealing the suit, while shouting, “One, one, one!” or “Four, four, four!” depending on the number they wish to trade. You may only trade with another player holding the same number, and sometimes a lower or higher bid is required to complete the transaction.
What this turns into is chaos, and it is close to insanity when alcohol is introduced. An eight player game typically overruns whatever playing surface is set up as hands and cards fly in and out so fast that sometimes a fear of personal injury becomes alarmingly real. Speed is key despite the lack of a time limit, and any game that lasts longer than one or two minutes turns into a battle of wills, especially when every player starts trading one card. Not only is speed a big part, but also this game is loud. Players must shout over the others to be heard, and tense games produce a variety of screeches and wails that can only be translated by astute listeners or those who just don’t care.
When a player wins they slam the centerboard, a tiny square appropriately called the “Corner” card, and points are tallied up. Only the winner gains points, and this sometimes causes games to last a fairly long time. For those seeking a more interesting time, two bonus cards are included: the bear and the bull, which alternatively carry both penalties and bonuses depending on who holds them at which part of the game.
“Pit” sounds fairly boring on description, but it really wins with the fast-paced game play and geeky glee of beating your friends with monopolies in rice and cattle. If you are bored with the typical board games and have a soundproof room, try “Pit,” and enjoy something different.
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"Pit"
Publisher/creator: Hasbro, Inc.
Genre: Card
Ages: 7 – Adult
Speakeasy Rating: A