If your lake cottage gaming crew longs for something light and fast to pump up the fun on summer nights, then try Flip the Bird, a new card game by Renegade Game Studios.

Flip the Bird supports two to four players. Games last 30-45 minutes in our experience, although you can adjust the game length by changing the number of points needed for the goal. The first player to get rid of their cards during a hand scores points based on the number of “bird” cards that were played.

Let’s dive into the five key elements you need to know about the game.

~ It’s Not a Trump ~

If you’ve ever played euchre, spades, or anything similar, then you know and love (or hate) the term trump. To successfully play Flip the Bird, you need to forget what you know because the game uses the term, but gives it a new meaning.

In Flip the Bird, you play your cards onto one of two “trump” piles. But in the context of this game, the piles don’t have anything to do with the traditional meaning of “trump” — there’s no trump suit and no trumping plays. (I really wish they used a different term, but they didn’t, so you just need to adapt.) Instead, the two piles are just where you play your cards. We eventually started calling them “play piles” because it made more sense to us.

Keep in mind that the piles are separate, because that’s important when you get to Condition cards in the next section.

~ Digging in the Deck ~

The Flip the Bird deck contains three basic types of cards: Number cards, Action cards, and Condition cards. (The deck also includes the somewhat magical Black Bird card, covered in the next section.)

Most of the deck are number cards, which feature a number and a color (red 5, for example). Cards with the value 10 also have birds on them, which is where the game gets its name. Both the color and the number on the cards are important in gameplay.

Condition cards change how one of the two trump decks work — the other trump deck keeps plugging along unless someone hits it with a condition card, as well. The conditions can reverse the value of the cards, so high becomes low, all cards are temporarily the same color, or even shutting down a deck completely. The cards take effect immediately and last until they’re replaced by a different condition or removed by a Cancellation Notice action card.

Action cards do something to either a trump deck or another player. These include classics like Draw One and Draw Two cards, the Cancellation Notice that eliminates condition cards, and the all-important ‘Flip the Bird’ card, which affects how points get scored at the end of a hand.

There’s an interesting twist with action cards: In order to play one, you must play a second card afterward. The second card can be another action card, a number card, or a condition. Whatever the card, though, you have to play something.

~ Super Black Bird ~

As you glance through the deck, one particular cards stands out: the Black Bird. This is the ‘Super Bird’ of the game. You play it any time, regardless of limitations on the trump piles because of condition cards. It also ignores the color and number on the trump pile’s face-up card. It’s also the highest card in the game,

Between its value and its ability to ignore condition cards, the Black Bird is a great card to draw into your hand and hold in reserve, since it puts you one step closer to getting rid of all of your cards.

~ Playing the Game ~

Flip the Bird plays in a series of hands. Each player starts with a hand of cards. In the middle of the table, players flip up two cards to form the trump (or play) piles.

Starting to the left of the dealer, players take turns putting one card into either of the trump piles. The card must either have a higher number or a higher color value. Each number card has a reference chart at the top showing the order of the colors (they follow the spectrum, with red and orange on the bottom going up to blue and purple on top).

If the top card of a trump deck is a bird, you invoke the name of the game by playing a “flip the bird” card. As the name suggests, that flips over the bird card so any card is now a legal play.

More importantly, the upside-down bird card also affects scoring. At the end of the hand, the person who got rid of all their cards first gets to choose one of the two trump piles for scoring.

The winner of the hand receives points for every face-up bird card in the chosen pile, along with points from cards still in their opponents’ hands. By flipping the bird cards, players prevent the cards from counting toward someone’s score.

~ Verdict ~

If you enjoy fast-moving card games with just a bit of Uno-like messing with the other players, then you’ll enjoy Flip the Bird.

Rumor has it that the designer plans to release compatible decks in the future that add new skills and options, so this could be the start of something very interesting.