SmileyFace (2010)

About this game

SmileyFace is a card game of face-to-face family fun for four to eight players. Over the seven short rounds of the game, each player tries to collect the highest total face value of cards of a single type. Each round brings new surprises as the values of cards change and the wacky Mischief cards come into play. Only the player with the highest score for a round (and perhaps the player who lent them a helping hand) will win points! "A King's Life": Intriguingly the designer reports that originally the game had a very different theme, being called "A King's Life" and concerned with a royal court and its attempts to cheer up a bored king. The retheme was recommended by the publisher.

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 4 to 8.
• Rules load. At 1.2/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 8 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.