Mantis is a card game for two to six players aged seven and up. Whatever the strategy, the greatest skill comes in quick math determining what symbol is most likely to come up. Players might instead try to quietly build up and score small amounts at a time. Stealing is a good way to build up a potential scoring, but those cards could be stolen away at any opponent’s turn. Any matching cards along with the one drawn are moved into the player’s score pile, working toward the 10 or 15 needed to win, depending on how many players are playing.Ī game of Mantis is a delicate balance of aggression and modesty, much like the sea creature that hides in crevices and leaps out to strike.

When scoring, the player draws in hopes of matching one of the symbols in their tank. If they do, they seize the opponent’s cards and add them to their own “tank” laid out in front of them. When stealing, players take a face-down card from the draw deck hoping to match the symbol on the front with a symbol on an opponent’s pile. Mantis keeps the play streamlined with just two available moves: steal or score. This hint will help players decide their course of action between the two options. Players have a one-in-three chance of knowing what is on the front.

Mantis gives a hint by showing three symbols and colors, one of which matches the front. Usually card decks are kept as uniform as possible to keep players from knowing what card is coming up next. What makes Mantis stand out, in addition to the brightly colored and hilarious images like the pirate mantis shrimp, weeping mantis shrimp, on-fire mantis shrimp, and birthday cake mantis shrimp, is its clever use of marked backings on each card. In gameplay, Mantis is similar to other suit-matching card games going far back in time.

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