Librium

Designed by: Steve Howe

Librium is a building/balancing game where players take turns to add a card to a central structure – different sets have different ways of doing this, but ours has a miniature tripod. The cards have small slots in them, which is how they connect, and can sustain a surprising amount of tension and weight.

The winning player is the one who still hasn’t made the structure collapse (or partly collapse) by the time everybody else has. It’s hugely straightforward to play, but can be rather tense!

Sam says

What Librium has over many other dexterity games is that it's very portable so taking it to the pub (or wherever) isn't a problem. I'm not sure - for me - it rises above its novelty value in the way the likes of Bausack and Riff Raff do, but it's fun and silly and certainly catches the eye.

The guru's verdict

  • Take That!

    Take That!

    You'd have to be pretty clever to have any kind of strategy beyond surviving your turn intact, so the Take That element really comes from the game itself.

  • Fidget Factor!

    Fidget Factor!

    Low-to-none. All you're waiting for is the other players to either add a card, or fail. Possibly spectacularly.

  • Brain Burn!

    Brain Burn!

    None.

  • Again Again!

    Again Again!

    It depends how much you enjoy the dexterity challenge. There's precious little change in the gaming experience, but some people do enjoy repeat visits and Librium as a short and very accessible game, may tick that box.