NEW YORK SLICE

Pizza and gaming go together constantly, so it's no surprise that someone made a game revolving around eating pizza.  New York Slice from Bezier Games lets 2-6 players compete in collecting and eating slices of pizza and gathering Specials to score the most points and win the game.

As one would expect, the main components are slices of pizza.  Each type of pizza has a point value on it that matches its toppings.  Some slices also have pepperoni (which can be eaten for points) and anchovies (which have a negative value).  There are also Today's Special cards, which give points for certain conditions -- and can even make anchovies valuable!

Each turn the Slicer selects eleven random slices of pizza, then divides them into a number of sections equal to the number of players; the Slicer also selects a Today's Special card and puts that with one section.  Starting with the player to the left of the Slicer and going clockwise, each player chooses all the slices in each section, plus the Today's Special card that's with a section.  After everyone's chosen their pizza, the next player clockwise becomes the new Slicer.

After all the pizza is gone, players add up their scores.  The player with the largest number of slices worth a certain point value get that many points; so having the most eight-point slices gets the player eight points.  If there's a tie, no one gets the points.  Players can eat slices with pepperoni, getting one point for each pepperoni on each slice -- but those slices can't be used for their point values.  And lots of Today's Specials give points (or cost other players points).  When all the points are added up, whoever has the most points wins.

New York Slice is simple and fun.  It's hard not getting hungry looking at the photograph-quality slices the players will be staring at, handling, and pretending to eat during the game.  Having the Slicer choose last adds an interesting strategy element, as everyone gets chance to collect the "good" combinations before the Slicer can get to them.  Specials add a random element that doesn't necessarily make or break the game, and it can be tricky to decide whether or not to chow down on the pepperoni slices or keep them for points.  New York Slice manages to make pizza even more of a game night.

Overall grade: B+
Reviewed by James Lynch