Still Curious About CMYK’s Magenta Games? Here’s My Quick Guide

Duos

Duos captures the vibe of a traditional card game perfectly (think Uno or Skip-Bo). It’s one of those games that’s easy to pick up and easier to lose an afternoon to once you get going.

You and a partner work together to complete objective cards, like collecting “three even-numbered blue cards” or “any four cards that add up to 12.” Sounds simple enough, until you realise how limited your options are. You can only draw twice on your turn, which makes building your hand surprisingly tricky.

You have one other option, passing one or two cards to your partner (or receiving some from them on their turn). Only… you can’t talk about the cards you’re handing over. Cue the awkward stares and silent judgment when your partner silently asks, “Seriously? You thought these would help?”

For seasoned gamers, Duos might feel a little too light. But if you’re after a breezy, cooperative step up from Uno, it’s a fantastic pick. Especially for casual nights or family game days.

Strategy: 🧠🧠🧠
Luck: 🎲🎲🎲
CMYK-ness: 🧬🧬🧬🧬
_{(Ratings are out of 5)}

Want to team up and learn more?
👉 Read the full Duos review

Fruit Fight

Of all the games in the Magenta collection, Fruit Fight is the one we kept coming back to the most.

It’s fast, light, and ridiculously easy to pick up and play. Each turn, you’re flipping over fruit cards trying to press your luck without pushing it too far. Because if you ever draw a duplicate fruit? Boom! You bust and lose everything you’ve collected that turn.

You can stop and pass the turn at any time, locking in the bananas, cherries, and mangos you’ve collected so far. Those cards stay in front of you… unless someone else flips over a matching fruit. Then get they get to take your cards. So if they draw a banana, for example, they get to swoop in and steal all your bananas right out from under you.

Any fruit still in front of you when your turn comes back around is safely banked for endgame scoring.

Fruit Fight isn’t one for the deep thinkers, but when it comes to push-your-luck fun, few games do it better. Even after a ton of plays, it keeps finding its way back to the table, tempting me to take one card…

Strategy: 🧠
Luck: 🎲🎲🎲🎲🎲
CMYK-ness: 🧬🧬🧬
_{(Ratings are out of 5)}

Wondering just how ripe it is?
👉 Find out in the full Fruit Fight review

Figment

The Magenta collection is full of offbeat card games, and even in that lineup, Figment is the oddball. It’s basically a cooperative eye test disguised as a party game.

You’re working together to line up cards based on how much of a specific colour they show. Easy enough… until you’re squinting at one card covered in tiny silver dots and trying to decide if it has more silver than the another card with a few big, shiny stripes.

Eventually your eyes betray you, your brain doubles down, and suddenly you’re in a full-blown group debate over which card has the most blue. As silly as it sounds, it’s a lot of fun.

So if you’re looking for something a little strange, a little silly, and totally unlike your usual card games, Figment’s the one to reach for.

Strategy: 🧠🧠
Luck: 🎲
CMYK-ness: 🧬🧬🧬🧬🧬
_{(Ratings are out of 5)}

Still squinting?
👉 Continue reading the full Fruit Fight review

Fives

If Duos is the game for board game newcomers, Fives is for those of us who live and breathe cardboard, or at least know our way around a trick-taking game. A genre that, honestly, took me a while to warm up to.

Now, when it comes to trick-taking, Fives is a standout. On the surface, it plays a lot like the classics: four suits (blue, green, silver, and magenta) and familiar trick mechanics. But Fives shakes things up by letting almost any card be played face-down as a magenta five.

But that’s not all.

Whenever you win a trick, the card you won it with gets added to your personal running total, with the ultimate goal of getting as close to 25 as possible without going over.

What you get is this clever mash-up of traditional trick-taking and push-your-luck tension. You’re not just trying to win tricks, you’re trying to bait your opponents toward busting while carefully tiptoeing up to 25 yourself. It’s tense, sharp, and seriously fun. Trick-taking chicken at its finest.

While every game in the Magenta collection holds its own, Fives is my personal favourite.

Strategy: 🧠🧠🧠🧠🧠
Luck: 🎲🎲🎲
CMYK-ness: 🧬🧬
_{(Ratings are out of 5)}

Wondering why this trick-taking game stands out?
👉 Don’t miss my full Fives review