Thrift Treasure: Zigity

Following on Friday’s mention of games that bring a lot of value in small packages, this week’s Thrift Treasure find also packs a punch in an even smaller tin. As an added bonus, it only set us back 88 cents at our local Goodwill!

Zigity by Cranium (now owned by Hasbro) is a very unique card game that comes packaged in a metal tin containing a deck of cards that are worth the money just for their uniqueness! These aren’t regular linen playing cards, these are printed on transparent plastic! But it isn’t just a gimmick, the transparency is needed to complete one of the sets as part of the game!

Zigity is a typical “get rid of all your cards” type of card game. Each player starts with seven cards in their hand and on each turn performs one action from a choice of three.

Your first option is to play a set from your hand. In front of you is a draw pile and a “play card” pile. Using the top card of the play card pile, you try to form one of the four types of sets. Which set is not your choice – the center of the card tells you which one you must complete. Each card has an icon or value printed in each corner – these are the set pieces. If you’re working on the upper left corner, you must spell a word.

The number in the upper right requires you to collect cards that sum up to 11. Lower right is musical symbols – simply match at least one (you can also play more) to the face-up “play card”. Lastly, in the lower left are pieces of a 3-piece puzzle. Collect them all by lining up the clear cards and you have a set.

All completed sets are then discarded to the top of the “play card” pile, so the order in which you place them will affect the next person as you are dictating the card they must use in their set!

There are also a number of action cards you could play instead that reverse the order of play, require others to draw additional cards or even skip your turn. If you can’t make a set or play an action card, your last option is to draw draw one card from the draw pile and lose the rest of your turn.

Unlike a number of other regular set-making card games, Zigity is unique in that each card can be part of four different sets. Expect a round to only last 10 minutes or so, allowing for multiple games in a session. The included tin carrying case is a very useful item, even if it would probably give TSA some pause. And the plastic cards should well outlast any other card game in your collection.

You can find Zigity brand new on Amazon for under $20 in the tin or a non-tin box version for under $10. As I previously mentioned, Cranium is now owned by Hasbro, but don’t let that prevent you from enjoying your own copy of Zigity!