Play hiss card game

My family and I have played so many different games over the years. I am excited to share one of our favorites when the children were younger — Hisss by Gamewright. Hisss is a straightforward but engaging card game for parents or older siblings to play with a younger child. Players take turns trying to match colors and create a snake from head to tail. Snakes can be long, short, or in between, and they can be all one color or a rainbow of colors.

Shuffle all cards and place them fanned out, face down in the middle of the table. The first player selects a card from this pile of cards and puts it face-up on the table.

The next player draws a card from the pile. They can play that card onto the first card if the color matches the open-end, thus starting a snake. A snake can be made longer on either side of the mid-section. However, a snake that has a head or tail on the card can not be made longer on the side where the head or tail is.

Those cards either begin or end a snake. Complete a snake once it has its head, at least one mid-section, and a tail. The player that adds the final piece to the snake gets to claim that snake. Incomplete snakes remain on the table until they can be made complete. If several incomplete snakes are in the middle of the table, a player can connect two parts with a card they pick from the draw pile. The player to draw the last remaining card from the draw pile ends the game.

If they can complete a snake, they may do so. Then they can move that completed snake to their side. All players count their finished snakes. The player with the most snakes in their pit wins. If two or more players have the same number of snakes, count the cards up to determine the winner. If there is still a tie, the person with the longest snake wins. I first stumbled across Hisss back in I was searching for the perfect gift for a 4-year-old boy.

After a little research, I decided to purchase it. My friend told me her son loved this game so much! Of course, hearing this made me happy because I picked the gift. Every snake mid-section is a different color at each end. Each head and tail card is one color. To build a snake, match a color on one card to a color on another card. The cards don't have to line up squarely but the colors must match. A whole snake includes one head, at least one mid-section but the more, the merrier and one tail.

Shuffle the snake cards. Place the stack face down on the playing surface and fan the cards out. Draw any one of the fanned cards and place it face up in the middle of the playing area. This is the starter card. The youngest player starts first. She picks one card from anywhere in the card fan and turns it face up. Do any of the card's colors match the starter card?

If so, place it next to the starter card with the matching colors touching. See the snake start to take shape? If the card doesn't match, lay it face up in the playing area to start a new snake.

Play continues clockwise, with each player drawing one card from anywhere in the fan and either matching it to a "snake-under-construction" or starting a new card if there is no color match. The next player picks a purple head. Because none of the cards in play are purple, he places the card face-up in a new location and starts a new snake. The rainbow-colored head and tail cards are wild. They can be placed next to any color mid-section for a match.

If you can place a head or tail card to complete a snake, you win that snake.