Higher or Lower: when to bank in Games by Zaweba

Higher or Lower is a card ladder in the style of a television gameshow. Seven cards are dealt in a row, and you call whether each next card will be higher or lower than the one before. Every right call raises the pot. The real game, though, is deciding when to stop. It is a one-player game on the Cards shelf of Games by Zaweba.

Anyone can play it within a minute, which makes it a good first game for a child or for a visitor who is not sure about cards. But there is more judgement in it than it seems.

How the ladder works

Seven cards lie in a row, and the first is shown. For each card after it, you guess higher or lower. Aces are high, and a pair counts in your favour, so if the next card turns out to be the same rank as the last, you have not lost anything.

Every right guess raises the pot. At any point you can bank it, which keeps what you have won. Or you can risk it on the next card. A wrong guess loses the pot and one of your three lives. Lose all three and the game is over.

Once per row you may change the current card. If you are faced with a card in the middle of the range, where higher and lower are about equally likely, changing it can give you a much clearer call.

Calling with the arrow keys

Click Higher, Lower, Bank or Change card. On the keyboard, Up and Down make your call, B banks the pot and C changes the card. The keys make for quick, rhythmic play once you have the hang of it.

When to call, when to change, when to bank

The calls themselves are mostly common sense. A low card is likely to be followed by a higher one, and a high card by a lower one. Since aces are high, an ace showing means lower is the safe call, and a two showing means higher is almost certain.

The awkward cards are the ones in the middle. A seven or an eight gives you close to an even chance either way. That is exactly when the Change card option earns its place. Save your one change for a middling card rather than spending it early on a card that was already an easy call.

Banking is where the gameshow drama lives. The pot grows with each right guess, and every guess after that risks the lot. A good rule of thumb is to bank before a difficult call rather than after. If the next card is a middling one and you have used your change, banking keeps your winnings safe. Remember that a wrong guess costs a life as well as the pot, so recklessness hurts twice.

Why it works well in the collection

Higher or Lower in Games by Zaweba is short, bright and easy to explain. It suits a game played aloud with someone watching, each of you calling what you think the next card will be. Esc pauses it, F1 brings back the rules, and your best score sits on the game's tile in the library as a target to beat.

If you enjoy the push and pull of risk and reward, try Five Card Draw and Twenty-One on the same shelf. Each asks the same underlying question in a different way: how much are you willing to risk for a bit more?