The Last Tram
Fifteen minutes, four people
One seat. Everyone wants it. The tram is not waiting.
Ready to play now.
A demonstration of The Last Tram, played by the computer against itself.
The Last Tram — playing itself
Ways to play
Alone, against the computer
Your own pace, no arranging anything. Take a move back whenever you like.
Play alone5 opponents, weakest first
- DistractedPlays whatever card is nearest.
- SensibleReaches for the card that fits the tram, and thinks about nobody else.
- WatchfulWeighs every card against every card you might play.
- Reads YouAssumes you are working it out too, and answers that.
- UnreadablePlays a mixture on purpose, so you cannot name its card.
Together, in the same room
2–4 players. One device goes round the table, or everybody plays off the same screen.
Play in the same roomOnline, at a table
A room code, joinable from anywhere. Pause tonight and pick it up next week from your device.
Play online
About
Seven of them are on the wall before anybody sits down — five trams and two night buses — and you have eight cards to catch them with. Everyone commits at once; equal cards tangle in the door; the boldest card nobody matched gets on the tram, and on a night bus it is whoever pushed least who is carried back the way they came. A very short game about a very small problem, and mean in a way nobody takes personally.
How it feels
- Over before you are ready
- Warm and petty
- Immediately replayable
What the design is for
Teach in one sentence
Everyone is at the stop. Only one of you gets on.
Seven pull up, eight cards
Five trams and two night buses — and on a bus it is whoever pushed least who is left at the kerb. One card goes home in your pocket unused, and making sure it is not the one you needed is the whole game.
Nothing to hide but the moment
The timetable is public, every card played is turned face up, and hands are open. The only secret is what the others are about to do — which is why it works passed round one phone.
The tram nobody caught
A tram that leaves empty hands its stops on to the next one, and they keep piling up — so the round everybody was too careful for is the one that gets somebody home.
- Best at
- 4
- Kind
- Party
- Table
- Competitive
- Studio
- Board.game
The opponents
Distracted
Plays whatever card is nearest.
Sensible
Reaches for the card that fits the tram, and thinks about nobody else.
Watchful
Weighs every card against every card you might play.
Reads You
Assumes you are working it out too, and answers that.
Unreadable
Plays a mixture on purpose, so you cannot name its card.
Achievements
0 of 4 earned
Last One Home
Win a game of The Last Tram.
All the Way
Reach the terminus before the timetable runs out.
Never Had To
Win with your eight still in your hand.
Somebody Else’s Caution
Board a tram carrying five stops or more.
Key art
Key art — Board.game art system
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