Overview
At a glance
Is this game right for my group?
ABG editorial scores on a 1–5 scale.
Easier to teach
High replayability
Highly interactive
Scales well
Light strategy
Luck-sensitive
How it plays
How does it play?
Play matching-value groups, ambush equal-sized lower stacks, and decide whether stolen cards improve your hand or become dangerous baggage at scoring.
Core mechanisms
Key systems that shape the decisions players make.
Hand Management
Time and sequence a limited hand of cards to preserve future options.
Open Drafting
Select cards or items from a shared face-up display.
Take That
Use Take That as a recurring structure for player decisions and resolution.
Melding and Splaying
Combine cards into sets and spread them to expose additional icons or effects.
Move Through Deck
Progress through an ordered deck that represents position, time, or distance.
Read the full game description
Linko is an unusually interactive shedding game built from only numbered cards and jokers. On a turn, play one or more cards of the same value on top of your personal tableau. If that new group has the same number of cards as an opponent’s latest group but a higher value, you Linko it: take those cards into your hand, or refuse them and force the owner to return, discard, or replace them. That simple comparison creates chains of tactical theft, bluffing, and opportunistic drafting from the six-card display. The round can end the moment a hand empties or the supply is exhausted. Every card played is worth a point; every card still in hand loses one, so a spectacular steal can become a spectacular liability.
