illusion Review

illusion (2018) is a card placement, family-friendly, filler game for 2-5 players. Boasting 98 cards of colorful optical illusions, at first glance it may seem like the game is simply about placing cards in the seemingly correct order; However, multiple plays will bring about the realization that players must also play the other players at the table in order to win. If you enjoy optical illusions, stretching your visual acuity, confidence bluffing, and colors, and if you only have 10-15 minutes to spare, illusion might just be the game for you. We caution against playing outside where it may be vulnerable to powerful gusts of wind.

PeteSteele: Hey Sarah, do you like optical illusions?

SarahVasa: I guess. I had one of those magic eye posters that you were supposed to stare at to see the hidden picture in my bedroom as a kid. Is that what you mean?

PeteSteele: Well, not really. Those are a little bit different. What I mean is—

SarahVasa: The hidden picture was of a fairy. With a magic wand and wings.

PeteSteele: Oh, well that’s cool. But that’s not really what I’m talking abou—

SarahVasa: I named her Matilde. She still visits me in my dreams.

PeteSteele: Okaaaaaaay . . . I am . . . happy for you, but can we talk about this game now—

SarahVasa: “Matilde Laurel Vasa” is what I named her. 

PeteSteele: You clearly don’t have much of an attention span for talking about games right now. Fortunately, illusion only takes three minutes to learn.

SarahVasa: We used to tell each other secrets . . . 

PeteSteele: illusion (2018) is a card-based, family-friendly, filler game for 2-5 players that only takes 3 minutes to learn and 15 minutes to play. It is designed by Wolfgang Warsch and published by Pandasaurus Games.

Within the tightly organized space of a box only slightly larger than a modern smartphone, you will find 12 arrow cards (3 each in green, yellow, blue, and red), 98 colorful illusion cards, and a handy rules pamphlet.

The first player of a round flips over an arrow card, which denotes the color on the illusion cards that players will need to pay attention to for the round. The first player then flips the first two illusion cards, placing them in ascending order of how much area the selected color (from the arrow card) takes up on the card. In a clockwise direction, the next player has two options: 1) decide the order is (most likely) correct and place the next card where they think it belongs compared to the other cards in the lineup, or 2) query the lineup, suggesting they don’t think the ascending order is correct. If the player chooses option one, the play continues in a clockwise direction and the next player has the same two options and so on and so forth. Whenever a player chooses option two, the round is over, the cards in the lineup are flipped over to uncover the percentage of area the target color covers, someone is awarded the arrow card based on accuracy of the query, and the order of the lineup, and a new round begins.

The lineup . . .

. . . the reveal!

The goal of the game is to acquire the most arrow cards (essentially, victory points) either by correctly querying whether the order of the illusions in the row is correct or by having all of the illusions in the correct order when another player makes an incorrect query immediately after your turn.

I struggled a little bit with illusion at first, wondering if, in fact, it was truly a game or just a visual-spatial cognitive exercise. Upon repeated plays, I realized that getting cards in the proper order is just one part of this entrancing puzzle. There is so much more to the game when you consider all of the direct and indirect player interactions. 

Yes, one could make the argument that players with greater visual acuity and 2-D spatial reasoning will have an edge in illusion, and one might not be wrong in that argument, but I would also argue that players with greater bluffing skills and ability to read their opponents and recognize playing patterns will also have an advantage. So, there are certainly more skills than meets the eye (I crack myself up).

PeteSteele: So, Sarah, what do you think of illusion?

SarahVasa: It’s okay for a ferry ride or something like that.

PeteSteele: Ugh, not this again. Look, Sarah, I hate to be the one to tell you this, but Matilde is not rea—

SarahVasa: No, a ferry ride. F-E-R-R-Y. Not F-A-I-R-Y. illusion is easy enough to learn, short enough to play, and small enough to carry that you could play with someone on your morning commute. Like on the Washington state ferries or New York water taxis.

PeteSteele: That’s oddly specific.

SarahVasa: But the cards might be vulnerable to powerful gusts of wind traversing the decks of a boat. Maybe a train ride would be better.

PeteSteele: illusion feels like a battle of willful visual trickery, almost trying to gaslight your opponents into thinking they are seeing something they aren’t actually seeing . . . which sounds absolutely horrible given gaslighting is, in fact, a horrible thing to do to people in almost all situations. However, in this case, the visuals on the cards are designed to make players question their perceived reality, so it may just be acceptable to join in on that particular, and limited, form of gaslighting within this game.

illusion will cause you and your opponents to wonder, “Am I right?” “Am I seeing what I think I’m seeing?” “What if I’m wrong?” “What if they’re wrong?” “Can I afford to forgo another arrow card?” “What are they thinking?” “What am I thinking?” “Is any of this real . . . or is it all just . . . an illusion?” Okay, maybe not ALL of that, but you will question, guess, second guess, and even third guess your own visual-spatial judgment, and that, in and of itself, can be a mind-bender.

The production is . . . just fine. Just fine. I would expect no more and no less out of this type of game for an MSRP of $14.95. Although, it would be interesting to play this at a pub with beers* when everyone’s visual acuity is decreased, and to have waterproof cards for this type of pub game; But it would not be worth the $30 price tag that would come with this sort of production, so it is probably good how it is.

*Please drink responsibly and treat all persons and animals with deference and respect.

I do wonder about the ability of someone who has color blindness (either red/green or blue/yellow) to be able to play illusion. However, I did not consult with a medical professional or individuals who have these particular conditions, so you’ll have to make your own judgment on that. Just something to be aware of.

illusion does suffer from a lack of replayability, not because there is not enough card content (there are enough cards and possible combinations that it would be quite difficult to memorize percentages of color areas on cards—except for those who commit themselves to that particular task), but because the game mechanics are fairly limited. It’s a bit of a one-trick pony.

Certainly, there are deeper levels of play by “playing players,” but that really only works if all players are trying to play other players. If some players are just trying to play the game as straight as possible, it loses some of its edge. In addition, the longer a lineup of cards gets, the more likely that there is an error somewhere, and it just makes the best sense to query. So, the strategy can fall flat that way, as well. 

Call me unimaginative (and I would love for Wolfgang Warsch or another game designer to prove me wrong), but I can’t really see a worthwhile expansion or game variant for illusion. I don’t believe that additional cards would really expand the game, and additional rules would only negatively overly complicate it. However, I would be interested in seeing other visually appealing filler games that use the same mechanical principle of trying to determine the order of cards based on some sort of information presented on them.

illusion is almost fast enough to play between high school bells, but you might need to play quickly. Perhaps speed illusion would be an interesting variant where players have to decide where to place a card or to query within five or seven seconds. That could be interesting.

So, do we recommend illusion? Well, if you are looking specifically for a compact game that can be used as a filler game or something neat to show other people if you have limited time, then yes, we do think illusion is quite distinct and worthy of our associated seal. In addition, you can certainly play this in a cafe and the bright optical illusions are eye-catching, which may help to strike up a conversation with another cafe patron.

SarahVasa: Aww, thinking about the game illusion makes me miss Matilde.

PeteSteele: *Slaps his forehead* Not this again. Okay, when was the last time you saw . . . Matilde?

SarahVasa: On a ferry ride in Washington state. 

PeteSteele: Fairy on a ferry, huh? That’s cute. You brought your magic eye poster with you?

SarahVasa: No, she just traveled with me.

PeteSteele: Of course she did. You know, it occurs to me that fairies, like the game of illusion, might be vulnerable to powerful gusts of wind, so, you know . . .

SarahVasa: . . . Matilde!? Matilde!? Where are you? Matilde!?

PeteSteele: I’m—I’m just gonna go.

SarahVasa: MATILDE!!!

illusion is awarded our Seal of Distinction and is Cafe Approved!