Last night we enjoyed playing another classic game, Pit. In this game, players are trading commodities at a fast pace, trying to corner the market in a simple Wall Street simulation. There aren't actually any turns in the game, each player just announces out loud how many cards they want to trade, looking for another player that has the same number of cards to trade.
The game was originally published over 100 years ago, and there are multiple versions that have been printed over the years. We have the Deluxe set, which includes a bell to ring for opening and closing the market, which was something that I considered a must-have for this game. I have seen a set of the game that had full color cards, which I think would be helpful in quickly assessing which commodities you're holding, but the set that I have is using only single color for the images, every commodity is drawn in green, so it's a little more difficult to pick through your cards while you're trying to quickly find what you're wanting to trade.
Personally, I prefer the variation of the game where the Bull and the Bear are cards in play and can either help or hinder a player corning the market. The Bear card is similar to the Old Maid in the popular children's card game - you never want to be stuck with it. The Bull card is a bit trickier because it could be good for you, acting as a wild card for any commodity, sometimes even doubling your score, but if you're not the one that corners the market in the round, you take a penalty for that card too.
We usually play to 250 points, which could be accomplished in 3 rounds if the same person managed to corner the market each time. Last night, our entire family played, along with Janai's boyfriend, Sean. Isaac cornered the market in the first round for 80 points. Janai was often stuck with either the Bear or the Bull, sometimes both, to take penalties each round. Eventually, Sean managed to Double Corner the market and jumped into the lead with 160 points. I had some wins and losses, and eventually got up to 2nd place, between Sean and Isaac, before everyone decided to call the end because it was getting late.
Overall, Pit is a family favorite. It's not one that hits the table often, but everyone seems to enjoy it when we play. It is best played with several players and can fit up to 10. It's a loud game, that has even been heard by neighbors on at least one occasion.
