Thrift Treasure: Nacho Loco Game
We spent the better part of February talking about cars, thanks to our trip to the Chicago Auto Show. Our stay in the Windy City was only a couple of days and most of that time was spent dreaming about all the fancy new vehicles coming out within the next year. With kids either in college, or heading off to, it may be time to trade in the minivan for something shinier.
On our way back to Iowa, we always make a point to pick up shakes at our favorite ice cream place, Oberweis. It’s not a coincidence that our path also takes us by a couple Chicagoland Goodwill stores. Surprisingly, we found quite a few games for our collection that we didn’t already own! This one, Nacho Loco, was even on sale for 50% off since it had been sitting in the store for a while!
Issued in 2007 by Buffalo Games, Nacho Loco is best described as a cross between UNO and Dominos. Inside the box are ninety-four nacho-chip-shaped cards (triangles) along with a set of rules. They are all shuffled together and six dealt out face-down to each of up to six players. The rest form a draw deck and one is turned over to create the active playfield.
Each triangle card is divided into three equal sections which will either feature a color, an action, or a black “X” segment. On a player’s turn they will play one card from their hand adjacent to a card on the board with at least one side matching colors or actions. “X” segments close the play area and may not be matched up.
If a person cannot play a match, they draw one additional card into their hand and play passes to the next person (they may play the drawn card, if possible). If the card played matches two sides, all other players must draw one card from the deck. If all three sides match, they will draw two cards instead.
Action sections are activated only when matched. “Skip Next” skips the next person’s turn. “Go Again” allows the active player to play another card to the table. “Draw 3” awards the ability to choose an opponent and force them to draw three additional cards into their hand.
During the game of Nacho Loco, due to the black “X” segments, the playfield may become closed. Or, if all players draw a card because they have none to play, the field is also considered “closed”. There is one other way to immediately close the table – to play the one ” Closer Card” which requires you to play it with two sides matching black “X” sides. This is the only time they may be matched up.
When the playfield is closed, the person who played the last card removes all of them from the table, deals out a new card from the draw deck to start the next field, gives all other players one card from the deck, and takes another turn. Play continues in this same manner until one person plays the last card from their hand. That player receives one point for each card remaining in all other players’ hands. A new round begins and continues until one person collects at least twenty points! That player is the winner of Nacho Loco!
Even though Nacho Loco is an older game, you can still find new copies on Amazon for the MSRP. It’s an interesting twist on UNO, but I’m not sure if it is worth the full price. Maybe wait for it to go on sale or keep an eye out for a slightly used version at thrift.
Do you have any games which use triangle-shaped cards?
