PAX West was truly a unique experience, I talked to a ton of people who were more than excited to talk about their games and the passion that they put behind it. PNW: Card Games created by Thomas Cardwell was one of those games. PNW: Card Games is a wildly imaginitive book of card games based on the Pacific Northwest. A book of six mordern card games that you can play with just a deck of cards, with some beautiful artwork based on the scenery, animals, and foliage you’ll find scattered around the Pacific Northwest.
The book comes with six games ranging in playstyle, complexity, and player count. Forage is a forest exploration game that focuses on set collection. Trail is a game set for 3 to 4 players about drafting your supplies for you next hike. Orca Isles is a game for 3 to 6 players where you’ll collect poker hands to hunt as a great Orca. Cabin by the Sea is a single player gmae that will play simliarly to solitaire. Salmon Run is a two player game is a deckbuilding game where you’ll brave the waters of the sea, river, and stream. And lastly Signal Fire is a 4 player games that is a team trick-taking game where you’ll communitcate to your partner with smoke and fire signals to move around the valley strategically. All played with a normal deck of cards.
If you’re not sold or you just want to try out one of the games before you buy, Tomcardgames has a demo of the game Forage in the PDF Format. I will be posting a short “mini-review” on the Forage game soon, keep an eye out for it. If you are sold and want to support the smaller passion projects, you can purchase your copy of PNW: Card Games now.
