Thrift Treasure: Set
Wow. Just wow. That’s about all I can say about our latest Thrift Treasure, an unassuming card game called “Set”. A whole eighty-eight cents it set us back at the local Goodwill. And of all the finds we’ve touched on so far, this one has quickly turned into our favorite.
I should have paid more attention to the “6 Best Game Awards” on the front of the box. In fact, Set has received 37 Best Games Awards & Recognitions to date! And these aren’t small, regional awards either. They include the 1991 MENSA Select Award, 1992 through 1995 Games Magazine Games 100 Awards and a 1996 Dr. Toy’s 10 Best Games award.
What’s inside? A deck of cards. Yep, that’s it, a deck of cards. At first glance it appears to be another version of Concentration or any other generic matching game. Not even close. Your object is to race to find a set of three cards among twelve dealt face up meeting this criteria:
- All three cards must have the same color or three different colors.
- All three cards must have the same shape or three different shapes.
- All three cards must have the same pattern fill or three different pattern fills.
- All three cards must have the same number of object or three different numbers of objects.
Sounds easy, right? Wrong…your set has to meet ALL four of these criteria, not just one!
Here’s an example of a good set. All different colors, all different shapes, all different fills, all the same number of objects on the card.
Now, compare it to what my wife thought was a set:
Let’s see, all the same color (check), all have different numbers of objects (check), all have different shapes (check) and all have different/same pattern fills (insert rejection buzzer noise here). I forgot to mention, each time you point out a set incorrectly you lose a point. I’m embarrassed to admit that Nicole ended up with a large negative score for the first game…
The game seems so simple, yet the sets can be very hard to spot. Good for teams or any number of players since everyone plays at the same time racing to find one set before three more cards are added to the mix. Solitaire is even suggested as practice (cough…Nicole…cough).
A great game with a TON of replay-ability. My girls have made it their current choice for evening entertainment for four nights in a row! Why someone would donate this without giving it a try is beyond us. Did I mention that one of the decks was still shrink wrapped?!
See what else SET Enterprises has for offer at their website or by following them on Facebook. Pick up your own copy for just under $10 on Amazon!
What a great idea. I will pass this onto my friends.
A great find for a fab price! We love to check out our local thrift shop and score treasures
I honestly have never purchased anything at a thrift shop other than jeans for my boys. It seems like you find good stuff, though. That is a pretty good game.
That looks like a fun game! My daughter is too young but my husband and I could play. I love a good thrift find!
Sounds like a great game to get you thinking! I love games like that, I will have to see if I can find this game! It sounds like a blast! Thanks for sharing your find!
Great educational thinking game there!
This is a great brain one I can tell. My brain got tired just reading the criteria. Looks like frantic fun. I should try this out and see if my baby brain is healed! Thanks for sharing.
Oh, what a cool game! My sons would like this.
You seem to find so many great games! It looks like the kids are having fun, too.
My mother and older sister always go thrift store shopping. They enjoy finding little treasures like you do.
Great blog post and sharing it with all of my friends.cheers
What a fun game. I love all the different things you can find at thrift shops. I haven’t been to the one in our town for quite awhile. You have reminded me I need to stop in and see what they have.
What an interesting sounding game, I love seeing all your thrift treasures – it makes me want to go to the charity shop. x
Another great thrift store find I see! I’ve never heard of the Set game before! Sounds a bit complicated lol
Love thrift store shopping. You can find the best things there and nowhere else !
This is a great find and seems like it must be a lot of family fun. I need to go to thrift stores more and do some browsing. The problem is that when my husband and I go, we tend to want to buy things we don’t need.
That was a great price. I like games like this too. It’s fun to go in thinking it’s going to be a breeze and then finding out you’ve got to really concentrate. 🙂
I am not sure that I have ever even heard of this game before but I love love love playing games. You can find the coolest stuff thrift shopping!
What an interesting-looking game! Thrift store shopping can be so fun when you find cool items like this.
It sounds like a fun game! I like that it’s portable, and that it looks ;like something younger kids can learn to play too.
This looks like a fun and challenging game. My kids would love it!
We love this game so much! I haven’t played in a long time. Gotta break that back out.
I’ve never heard of this game! I love when you find old time games at thrift stores and learn all about something from the past!
Hi Scott,
I’ve never heard of this game but looks like fun. If your girls are playing this 4 day straight it must be good!
This looks like an excellent game for testing the skills of observation.
This sounds like an interesting game…Thanks for sharing
It’s just like Ghostbusters!
Thanks for sharing Scott! Great info!
What a great price. It looks like fun! 🙂
Looks like a fun game that my kids would enjoy