No Loose Ends Review: Spy-themed Trick Taking Fun | The Gamerheads Podcast

I love introducing new card games to my family and friends. The problem is that there are usually two hurdles to overcome: cost and complexity. Most games are expensive, and learning a new game can sometimes feel like a chore. I can't tell you how many times I've started explaining the rules to a table full of family and friends, only to watch them slowly stop listening before we've even started playing.

That's one of the reasons I enjoy GameHead Games so much. Their games are affordable, usually around twenty to thirty dollars a box, and they're incredibly easy to learn. Every title I've played so far has taken about five minutes to teach. No Loose Ends continues that trend, making it an excellent choice for your next game night.

No Loose Ends is a trick-taking game, similar to Spades, but with a clever twist. The game begins with a bidding phase where each player predicts how many tricks they expect to win. This is done by placing a card face up on the table, representing a piece of evidence in the crime.

The goal is then to win a trick that covers that evidence card. A trick can be claimed if it matches either the suit of the evidence card or its number. Trump cards can also be used to secure a trick.

In my experience, winning with a matching suit or a trump card was far more common than winning with a matching number. That's not to say it never happens, but most of the groups I've played with focused their strategy around suits and trump cards rather than chasing number matches.

The big difference between No Loose Ends and other trick-taking games is the scoring system. I earn two points for every piece of evidence I successfully cover. However, any evidence left uncovered costs me a point. I also lose a point if I take more tricks than I originally bid. There's also a five-point bonus for pulling off the perfect heist: covering all of my evidence while avoiding any extra tricks. 

The game is played over three rounds, and I found that by the second round, players start taking bigger risks, myself included. If I find myself trailing, I'll often bid the maximum number of tricks and hope I can pull it off.

There's another way to score a huge number of points, though: snitching. Snitching requires me to take zero tricks during the round. If I succeed, I earn ten points. On top of that, any player who fails to cover their evidence or takes more tricks than they bid loses two points instead of the usual one. This is incredibly risky. The moment I take a trick, the plan falls apart. Since I won't be earning points from covered evidence that round, there’s no stopping the bleeding of points. Things can go downhill very quickly.

Final Grade: A

No Loose Ends quickly became one of my family’s favorite games to play. I taught the game to my parents, and they picked it up almost immediately. Even better, they didn’t want to stop playing once we started.

Accessibility and replayability is something I look for in a game, and No Loose Ends delivers on both. Add in the affordable price point, and No Loose Ends is an easy recommendation for anyone looking to add a new game to their collection or bring something fresh to their next game night.

Game provided by GameHead Games.