This is the case of 13 Ghosts (2-4 players, 10 minutes) created by Victor Amanatidis and published by Artipia Games.
It's one of the typical microgames, designed to be easily explained, played quickly and carried in a pocket... actually a great combination for this summer period.
13 ghosts are fighting to decide who will take control of the old mansion and the winner will be the best one to hide.
IN THE BOX
We find a regulation explained in 2 front/rear cards to which are added 26 playing cards not tarpaulin, but strong enough. These are two sets of 13 different cards, each with a value from 1 to 13, a different illustration and a special effect.
HOW TO PLAY
I start with the two-player mode, which uses only one set of 13 cards... the other modes are similar with just a couple of additional rules and you'll find them in the queue.
At the start of the game, each player draws two cards from the deck, one of which places it face down horizontally in front of him (he represents our ghost in his hiding place) and the other one holds it in his hand. Then the game starts.
At your turn you choose one of the two options below.
Show a ghost: You play the card you hold face up and apply the indicated effect, which can be of three types: blue cards force the opponent to answer a specific question (is the number of your ghost odd?; is it greater than 8?; is it 5-6-8-9?; etc.), red cards make an attack, but with a small advantage (for example: look at the first two cards in the deck and then make an attack) and greens have various effects.
Attacking a hiding place: You play the card you have in your hand face down and you declare a number from 1 to 13... if the number coincides with the number of the ghost hidden by the opponent you win the round and shuffle.
Whatever action you choose, you draw a new card and the turn goes to the opponent.
When the opponent's ghost is found, make a point, shuffle all the cards and start over with the setup. The first to win 3 rounds wins the game.
3 PLAYERS
Same rules and only one set of 13 ghosts is used, but when using a blue power (number question) both opponents answer. Also, as soon as one player is discovered, both players take one point and continue to play; when the second player is eliminated, the remaining player also takes a second point. The more matches you play, the more points you get first, the more points you get.
4 PLAYERS
It is the mode that differs most. In this case, you use both sets of ghosts, but mix them in 2 separate decks and you play in teams. You alternate to have your partner in front of you and your opponents on either side... each team uses the same 13-card deck in common.
At the beginning of the game each team draws four cards, one of them chooses between these two hidden ghosts (both for himself and for his teammate) and passes the remaining cards to his teammate who decides how to deal them for the initial hand.
The game changes as follows: when you play a blue card both opponents respond, when an effect acts on the deck it does on that opponent, when the ghost of a player is discovered the player is eliminated and the teammate continues, but playing both his turn and that of the defeated teammate.
When both players have been eliminated the other team makes a point; the first team to score three points wins.
FINAL CONSIDERATIONS
It's a pretty game and also relatively original, with the undoubted advantage of being explainable in a few minutes and playable in a similarly short time ... this, together with the almost zero footprint at the level of surface and the fact of being in a pocket, makes it a perfect game to take behind the sea or camping.
The flaw (more apparent than real) that stands out is the possibility that the game will end in the first round if one of the players randomly shoots a number and guesses the spectrum. I say that it is an apparent defect, because the chances of guessing by randomly shooting are few (1 out of 11 in the first round, 1 out of 10 in the second, 1 out of 9 in the third, etc..) and it is not a winning strategy, because instead playing the effects and doing some reasoning allows us to get in a few (2-3) rounds to a chance out of two if not certainty. However, playing more and more games the "throw it at random" is an inefficient system.
The duration of a full game is between 10 minutes (in 2 players) and 20-25 when you play in 4, but still we talk about short times (PS: here by game I mean more sessions until you total the number of wins required).
Portability is at its best... removing the cards from the box, everything is in the pocket of a shirt.