At a Glance: CV takes The Game of Life to the next level. It’s a great dice game.
CV is a game for 2-4 players where each person makes their way through a hypothetical life, rolling dice to acquire cards. The cards up for grabs constantly cycle across the board and on each turn, players roll dice to acquire one or more cards on the board. The cards are separated into Early, Middle, and Old age. The game has a Yahtzee mechanic where players may reroll dice twice after the initial roll, but if you roll Bad Luck, then it locks the dice and prevents you from rerolling it. Cards are also separated into different categories like Knowledge, Jobs, Social, Health, and Possessions, all of which will score Victory Points depending on how many you have by the end. Many cards provide symbols that you may use to then purchase additional cards as the game goes on. These symbols on the cards and dice represent things like Money, Relationships, Health, Knowledge, Good Luck and the aforementioned, dreaded Bad Luck. 3 Bad Luck symbols, and you have to get rid of one of your cards. 3 Good Luck symbols let you take an extra card for free. Also, each player has a private personal life goal that provides Victory Points if completed by the end of the game, and a few common public life goals that anyone can complete. Whoever has the most points at the end is the winner.
As you may have surmised, this game is like The Game of Life, but with dice and much more decision-making. The Yahtzee mechanic also feels familiar and is an easy idea to teach and learn. Of course, depending on the luck of the dice, your options may be limited, but ultimately it just feels cool to add cards and achievements to your life, no matter what they are. It is funny how thematic the cards are as well. Having twins is nice, but in addition to the benefits it provides, it also costs money. Being a successful manager is great, but your relationships suffer. The life goals also provide an overarching agenda that you need to keep in mind, and it is a welcome element I think. There is not much direct player interaction, but you can see what kinds of cards the other players are going for and can choose to interfere if you wish.
Components are good, dice are well made, and the artwork is humorous on the cards. It’s interesting because it is certainly a mix between The Game of Life and Yahtzee, but does not feel too derivative. If you like either of those games and want something deeper and more thematically interesting, I recommend this one.
Check it out: https://amzn.to/2ORmZus
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