T.A.C.O. (Taunt. Attack. Conquer. Obsess.) Review
Designer: Ammon Anderson
Artist: Ammon Anderson
Publisher: Levity Games
Year Published: 2020
No. of Players: 2–8
Ages: 7+
Playing Time: 10–45 minutes
Main mechanic / Theme: Race / Building a great taco
Who doesn’t want a taco?
Find more info on BoardGameGeek.com (link) / Kickstarter (link)
Overview
Everyone enjoys tacos. Some like them any way they can get them. Others want them every way they can get them. There are those who want to make the perfect taco. While some will try to get you to put something on your taco you just don’t want to have there (or they slip something into your taco just to get a reaction).
T.A.C.O. (Taunt. Attack. Conquer. Obsess.) is a strategic taco building card game. You are working to build the perfect taco while working to keep the other players from doing the same. All of this is to find out, who is the “Taco Master of the Universe.”
Gameplay and mechanics
The goal in TACO is to collect the Mini-Tacos by making a taco. Everyone starts with a taco shell and a hand of five cards. On your turn you draw a card and play a card, you can also keep the card, but you can only have a total of seven cards at a time.
Every time you add an ingredient you collect the number of mini tacos the card indicates. There are only a limited number of mini tacos available and when there are no more mini tacos available, the round is over. The player with the most mini tacos and a taco shells wins the round. You can play a single round, multiple rounds, and even adjust the number of mini tacos available to have your games last as long as you like.
TACO plays quickly and hands can change up just as fast. There are cards to upgrade your shell, add ingredients (some are good and others aren’t), take actions immediately or later, and others that make it harder for other players to make their tacos.
Theme, Artwork and Illustration, Graphic Design and Layout (optional)
Ammon is also the artist of TACO. The ingredients have a lot of personality included which younger players were having a great time with.
What worked
This is a fun, fast paced game for everyone in the family. When we played with just older players, we still had fun. It was a little more ruthless.
Final thoughts
Ammon Anderson done a great job in developing a family friendly game that has some strategy for older players and humor and limited time for younger ones. There is even a way to track who the winner was from one game to the next.
When you win, you take possession of the Taco Trophy. The next time you play the trophy allows you to start out with six instead of five cards.
You’ve created a masterpiece of culinary perfection nestled in a perfect golden taco shell. It contains the ideal amount of everything you could ask for. This is a treat for the tongue that is worth the cost of the small drip stain on the front of your shirt.
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About the Author
Daniel Yocom does geeky things at night because his day job won't let him. This dates back to the 1960s through games, books, movies, and stranger things better shared in small groups. He's written hundreds of articles about these topics for his own blog, other websites, and magazines after extensive research along with short stories. His research includes attending conventions, sharing on panels and presentations, and road-tripping with his wife. Join him at guildmastergaming.blogspot.com.