Guest Author - Lynn Little

Zeus on the Loose

Ages 8 and up

Players 2 to 5

Playing Time 15 Minutes


Zeus on the Loose is a card game that kids and adults can both enjoy. Game play is swift, and the winning the game will take the right amount of luck and skill. Just when you think you have Zeus in the grasp of your hand, another player can easily sweep in and steal him.

Each player is dealt 4 cards. The rest of the deck is placed in the middle of the playing area. The player whose name begins closest to the letter Z goes first. The first player begins a discard pile by the deck. The discard pile is now known as Mt. Olympus. As he plays his card, he announces the total of Mt. Olympus. If the player plays a card valued at 6, then he announces "6" and draws a card to bring his hand size back to four cards. The next player plays on top of the six, adding their card to the total of Mt. Olympus and announcing that number. If she plays a four, then she would announce the new Mt. Olympus total as "10." Since the total of Mt. Olympus with her card is now an increment of 10, she takes Zeus.

Players get to take possession of Zeus when they add a card to Mt. Olympus and the total on Mt. Olympus equals a derivative of 10. Each time Mt. Olympus reaches 100, the person who takes control of Zeus at the pivotal moment, gets a letter to spell Zeus. The first player to spell Zeus wins the game.

There are eight specialty Greek god cards that have their own unique instructions. Some cards allow you to steal Zeus while others change the total on Mt. Olympus. Playing these cards at pivotal moments can help you score a letter or keep your opponent from scoring.

Zeus on the Loose is a fast-paced game that will have players testing their math and memory skills. They will have to remember the total on Mt. Olympus, then add the card value to the total. Also, players will have to remember to grab Zeus when appropriate. Game play will greatly depend upon how fast players can do the math needed to add the total on Mt. Olympus. A game can easily be played in 15 minutes.

Zeus on the Loose is another fun game from Gamewright. It's fast, fun, and entertaining. It also helps to build math skills in an entertaining way.