A Guide To a Fast-Paced Game of Cards

Lesson 1: The Basics

Go! Go! Go! is a game in which you are given cards - the goal of the game is to get rid of every single one. This may seem an easy task, but as you'll learn, it's much harder than it sounds. You are pitted against a series of opponents - each one harder to beat than the last. How do you do it, you ask? Well, as I played it, I realized that most of the game is based on luck: which cards you get at what time in the game can either be to your advantage - or not. The other 10% I believe is skill and strategy. Let's get to it!

Lesson 2: The Cards and How To Use Them

To start with, you are given 9 cards; three in your hand, three face-up cards and three face-down cards. Then there is the center pile, which starts with 15 cards. This is where you put the cards you use. Every time you put down a card, you are given a card from the center pile until the 15 cards are gone. Remember, the cards in the center pile also go to the other players as well. Once the center pile is gone, you play from the cards in your hand, then from your face-up cards, and lastly your face-down cards. If you can not play a card that is larger or equal to the card on the pile, you are forced to pick up the entire pile, which from my experience can range from 1 card to 22. Try to use all your cards as wisely as you can, although luck plays entirely in the face-down ones. The face-up cards are unfortunately seen by everyone and they usually play their card to your disadvantage, and you are therefore forced to pick up the pile unless you have plenty of cards to counteract with. They can often be an enemy to yourself. If you get to the face-down cards, use your intuition and pick the one you think will work. Depending whether the last card placed was high or low, this may be easy or hard to do, depending on what you have. Cross your fingers and see what happens!

The only exceptions to this set of average cards are the 2, 3, 4 and 10 cards. They can either be played to your advantage or disadvantage. The 2 acts as a wild-card, and can be placed on any other card except for a 3, which you will learn why next. The 3 acts as an annoying card (in my opinion) and comes with a rule. If there is a 3 on the top of the pile, the card you play on top of it must be an odd numbered card. This includes 3, 5, 7, 9 Jack or King. YOU CAN NOT PUT A 2 ON TOP OF A 3, obviously because 2 is NOT an odd card. The 4 works in the same way, but its rule says only even numbered cards can follow it. A 10, if you are able to play it, can be a huge blessing. It grants you an extra turn because it clears the pile. If you have a set of the same kind of card, save them if you can to use the 10 and then set down your set.

If you have a set of cards, you can put them down together. This proves very convenient for getting rid of a bunch of low cards if you have them, and finishing off your hand with sets of high cards if you can.

Lesson 3: The Opponents

You are pitted against three opponents at a time. Every time you beat ALL of them, you are awarded Neopoints (perhaps a trophy) and advance to the next level, in which the first opponent is knocked off and the next hardest is put last.

Bacheek is the first opponent. His description may perhaps tell you he is easy to beat, but do not be fooled by this. He beat me before and although other players are much harder to beat, don't stop watching him and his cards for an instant.

Myncha is the second opponent; I guess you could say he is a step up from Bacheek, not all that hard to beat, but still, as I said before, the game can change in an instant due to bad or good luck.

Tekeli-Li is perhaps the first one with brain enough to use strategy, although it only gets harder from here. He is the first one to actually think about where to put his cards and when. As for the whole magic thing, I never did understand that and don't believe his "magic" helps him to win. Unless it gives him more luck somehow? Maybe it's that weird fire stick of his.

Plesio and Uggsul are the first opponents who actually frustrated me. They used their cards totally to their advantage, and although not as bad as the next opponent, they still beat me several times before I was able to advance.

Sargug, between the two, can be a pain in the rear sometimes, but I found that he is a lot like Myncha and mainly lives off of the bad luck that the annoying Plesio gives him. In my experiences, he either gets really lucky, or has to pick up the entire pile every other turn.

The situation with Sabre-X is where it goes from being bad to really ugly. Sabre-X often uses only his high cards, which often dipped me into a bad situation unless I had cards to counter it. When I often had to pick up the pile because of him and get rid of my lowest cards, he often made it very hard to do so. I found him to be the hardest opponent, although, again, luck did play a role.

Grarrg, Uggaroo and Kyruggi are supposedly the hardest to beat in the game. I found them to be annoying, but I have a feeling I was pretty lucky in beating them at all. They use the same strategies as Sabre-X, but there are no surprises at this point.

Lesson 4: A Little Bit of Strategy

Strategy can play a small role in the game is you use it right. Sometimes, as strange as it sounds, you may want to pick up the pile so you have high cards to use later. Try doing this when there are a few high cards on the pile. (I have a feeling Sabre-X uses this strategy sometimes.) Use your cards to your opponent's disadvantage as much as possible, because believe me, they won't show any mercy. If they have zero cards in their hand, try to use a card that is higher than their face-up cards to give you the extra leg-up or an extra turn to beat them. And always remember that THEY are there to win as much as you are.

Some questions that may pop up:

Q: When do I use a 2 compared to an Ace or a King? All can be high cards!

A: It really depends upon which card you are faced with. I would really try saving the 2 for a time of emergency, because the opponents often save their high cards as long as they can. The ace can beat anything but a 3. However, I would use the cards in this order: King, Ace, and 2.

Q: Argh! I am so frustrated! How did you manage to beat this and get the gold trophy?

A: I used luck and patience. Remember, even if you are not the first one to get rid of your cards, you still get Neopoints unless you lose! Most of the time, (since the game only costs 50 Neopoints to play) this can be a profit and that is another thing which kept me going, because I earned 5k from it in a single day. Also, there is no limit to the Neopoints you can earn from this game, so if you keep earning Neopoints, this could add up quite quickly! I tried a number of things to win the trophy at last. Changing my strategy, perhaps even changing my pet! (Changing the pet worked for me, but it all depends on how lucky or unlucky you get.) Try all sorts of things. If you get too angry that you are unable to think like I did, take a rest (the game stays right where you left it last) by playing a different game or leaving the computer for a while. If you keep trying, there is always the chance that you might win that wonderful gold trophy like I did! Now... get to it and good luck!