There are games which are light fare, quick to learn, quick to play.
And there are games which opt for detail, the rulebooks growing thicker with each refinement.
Ice Cold Ice Hockey (ICIH), designed by Andrew S. Fisher in 2014, is certainly a game which falls into the realm of detailed games.
The game is basically a card game for two players which mimics a hockey game.
So in its simplest form a hockey game is about shooting and scoring.
There are however many details, from penalties and body checks, to offsides, icing and where to shoot on goal.
Fisher opted to include as much detail as he could, the result being a ruleset which printed in 17 8X11 pages. If that scares you, you are likely aware that with detail can come a crush of rules to learn.
Ice Cold is a game for those wanting to experience the finer points of hockey in a card game, and are willing to deal with the detailed rules required to make that happen.
As it notes on Boardgamegeek.com, 鈥淚ce Cold Ice Hockey is a thinking-man鈥檚 card game that has been designed to simulate all the excitement of professional ice hockey. An action deck of 64 cards, three rink-cards and comprehensive yet easy-to-understand rules comprise the complete game (although you鈥檒l need to supply a few small tokens). The cards serve multiple purposes, including passing, skating, shooting, defense, shot-blocking and goaltending. Experienced players will be able to complete a game in about an hour.鈥�
Note they put game play at an hour for experienced players. Expect much longer games with lots of referring to the rules as you work toward some level of experience in playing Ice Cold.
But the effort can be worth it if you are a huge hockey fan.
鈥淚n ICIH, you鈥檒l experience all the excitement of professional ice hockey through a deck of 64 cards. You鈥檒l be amazed how closely the experience will mirror an actual game. Sometimes you鈥檒l effortlessly set up end-to-end plays and at other times you鈥檒l be happy that you鈥檙e able to dump the puck out of your end. You鈥檒l shoot from the point and, after some effort, from close-in. On defense, sometimes you鈥檒l be able to challenge the puck-carrier and sometimes you won鈥檛. Sometimes you鈥檒l have to risk a penalty to stop an opponent鈥檚 scoring chance. Blocked shots, breakaways, fighting, frustration, momentum, super-saves 鈥� they鈥檙e all here in Ice Cold Ice Hockey,鈥� explains the lead-in to the rules.
So by now you have the idea that Ice Cold requires some serious dedication. But how did the game come to be? Well Fisher has long liked hockey, and games.
鈥淎s a child growing up in northeast USA in the 1950鈥檚, kids played in the snow during winter, but rainy weekends were problematic,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n those days, there wasn鈥檛 much to do in such weather, so we鈥檇 all meet at a friend鈥檚 house -- where our primary means of relieving boredom was board games.
鈥淭hey seemed more intriguing to me than most of my friends, I suppose, and my interest has never really waned.鈥�
The inspiration for Ice Cold was a growing American interest in the sport.
鈥淚n the mid-1970鈥檚 ice hockey took off in the USA. It was quite a different game back then-- a nice blend of speed, power and finesse, unlike today鈥檚 NHL (National Hockey League) games which seem like wrestling matches.鈥� said Fisher. 鈥淚 followed the NHL closely for about twenty years.
The process of creating a better game was not immediately easy.
鈥淚 made about six or seven attempts at an ice hockey game over the last 25-years,鈥� said Fisher. 鈥淚ce Cold Ice hockey took three-to-four months to complete, maybe 200 hours or so.鈥�
The challenge was finding balance within the game.
鈥淐reating a fun, somewhat realistic game that made my play testers smile and that I鈥檇 like to play myself,鈥� said Fisher. 鈥淚 tried creating statistically-based games, move-pieces-around-a-rink games, card games-- you name it. These attempts all ended up in the trash can and nothing was satisfactory until I woke up in the middle of the night with the basic idea of ice cold ice hockey.鈥�
So what is the innovative aspect Fisher thinks makes Ice Cold work well?
鈥淧erhaps the icons that allows the most cards to be played only from certain zones of the rink,鈥� he offered. 鈥淚t creates choices for the player and hopefully adds a lot of 鈥榯heme鈥� to the game.
鈥淔or example, I have a card in my hand that I can play if I have the puck at centre ice or in my offensive zone. I鈥檓 at centre ice and I can take an outside (routine) shot, pass or skate with this particular card.
鈥淯nfortunately, the rest of my hand is composed of defensive cards.
鈥淭ime is running out in the period. Should I dump-and-chase or take the shot? Real hockey players make these decisions in split-seconds; of course, as a game player, you can think about it for a while.
鈥淗opefully, players will still get the real-life 鈥榝eel鈥� of making such choices throughout the game.鈥�
Players wanting to get a better feel for the game can find a link to a game-play video via the game鈥檚 listing on the aforementioned Boardgamegeek.
The rules and cards are available as print and play files on BGG. If you love hockey, and like detail in a game this is one to check out as it does offer lots of what happens on the ice in a deck of cards.
