I’ve never been to a dance before, but I have heard of bull traveling. What I have n’t heard of is sheep riding. Is that a factor? Perhaps one of our friend Texas visitors will comment and let me know. Why the problem? Because the sport we’re talking about today is called Mutton Bustin. The rulebook was unclear if the winner got to also enjoy a nice MTL, Mutton, Lettuce, and Tomato ( where the mutton is nice and lean… ).
In all seriousness, Mutton Bustin is a celebration activity for 2-4 people published by 25th Century Games.
Gameplay Overview:
Each person in Mutton Bustin will battle it out to survive the longest while remaining on the back of a herd of bucking animal ( played by everyone else ).
Each round, one person may take on the role of the horse, while the rest of the people are the sheep. By rolling a six-sided death, the horse had maneuver their way around the trail. They can improve their horse if they roll a number that is equal to or higher than the track’s second number.
However, the animal people are each rolling their 6-sided death. On one side of their death, there is a sheep’s experience, and the rest is flat. When they roll a animals, they had perform/say the action on their cards, then the shared cards, and then they get to house their die in the animal ink on the table.
The key is that all of this is happening in real time, and if the animals players can place all six of their dice before the horse either completes their trail or decides to stop, the horse is bucked off and loses no points. But, if the horse makes it to the end of the track, they earn 10 items, if they decide to call it quits ahead of time, they score items similar to the highest score significance they passed.
Therefore, anyone passes their part clockwise and a fresh turn begins. New actions cards are distributed after each player has a chance to become the horse. After two shells, whoever has the most details, wins.
Game Experience:
I’ll make a minute of effort to channel my inward Drew Carey. Welcome to Mutton Bustin, a place where everything is equal and irrelevant. No one has genuinely cared about the last index in any of the game I’ve played. The joy in this absurd party activity is in the absurd things the cards command of you.
In reality, the horse turn is very void of excitement. You’re just trying to get a large amount by rolling a single die all the time. When the animal players are about to lock all six of their dice, the only real anxiety is. You must decide whether to improve your chances or to simply corporation your winnings.
However, the animal people are generally having the most entertaining. Although their die-rolling is largely futile, tedious job, they are completely absurd. Things like produce hand guns and cry “pew, pew, pew”, or hang up a hand and say “hot dogs, hot dogs, find your hot dogs”, or fist nudge another player, pose for a selfie with another player, or take a wish bow and arrow. The animal cards basically exhibit a lot of creativity.
That being said, the joy in this activity is going to be extremely group dependent. If you’ve got a group of major euro gamers who love to squeeze numbers, this one is going to fall even instantly. But to enjoy with your family, non-gamer friends, or even just friend while having a few cocktails, it’s a fun time. I played it with my kids ( 6 years old ), and they loved it. They enjoyed rolling the dice and performing the strange pranks, but I had to display some of the cards in advance for those that were a little too difficult for them.
Last Thoughts:
You’ll soon be able to tell whether or not Mutton Bustin is for your party. It’s crazy, terrible, but can also be a lot of fun with the right team. It would make a good family or gathering game, but it wo n’t appeal to anyone who is interested in the outcome. This one’s goal is to have fun while being foolish. If that’s in your bailiwick, give this one a search.
Last Score: 3 Stars – Acting ridiculous can be quite fun sometimes.
Hits:
• A lot of imagination in the accounts
• Good production beliefs
• Fun and crazy with the right team
Misses:
• The horse function is a little meh.
• Will be extremely group centered