Gamble With Your Friends Review (PC)

“Kyle, I swear, if you lose this hand then we’re done.” He didn’t respond, nor did he ask me to look the other away whilst he slyly walked to meet Lady Luck with the leftover funds in our shared bank account. He knew of the risks, and he knew that, win or lose, we still had a lofty debt to pay. It was all or nothing, and if we were to clamber up the ladder—to the next floor and to the next batch of casino challenges that would further fumble our financial pitfalls—then it had to go according to plan. Sixty seconds were hovering on the clock, and the only short-term solution for a long-term problem was to throw caution to the wind and tempt fate. And so, I watched…and then I hit Kyle with a baseball bat for believing that he could win.

Gamble With Your Friends is an online multiplayer game in which players share the burden of debt, loss, and an inability to owe Lady Luck the full lump sum. With one bank account, six desperate gamblers, and five minutes on the clock, each have the monolithic task of repaying an ever-shifting debt over a series of short yet painfully grueling shifts. The problem is, nobody knows how to pay the piper in an ordinary way, or even in a manner that favors skill over dumb luck. Chance, really, is all that you have to ride on in this world. And, if one person should accidentally fail to defy the odds, then everyone must pay the price.

The good news here is that, unlike Blackjack Roulette, none of you have a revolver pointed at your head. Instead, you have a target to reach, and just a little amount of time to reach it. As each themed floor pulls you deeper into the world of get rich quick schemes, you, along with your acquaintances, must put it all on black in an attempt to make ends meet — and then some. The question is, how do you go about earning enough cash to keep a lid on your debt? By gambling, naturally. Either that, or passing the blame over to a friend in the hopes that they’ll pick up the slack and carry you to victory. Or, you know, take you further down the rabbit hole of self loathing and financial ruin. Regardless, Lady Luck always wins here.

As the title openly implies, Gamble With Your Friends is all about making the best of a bad situation and working together to achieve the same result. Of course, you can jump into the fray and battle the odds on your own here, but that’s besides the point of the experience. Also, it’s a little too taxing, as it decreases the odds of winning enough back in the short amount of time you’re given. Heck, at least with six you have a chance of earning a little extra cash for your back pocket. Well, until you lose it again during the next game. But, it’s better not to dwell on that.

If you’re looking for a skill-based game that requires you to tap into your greatest strengths, then you might want to stack your chips on a different table. Here, it all comes down to chance. With each floor fostering a generous selection of mini-games, most of which will allow you to flex your funds and mindlessly swat your fingers to the rhythm of epic failure, the game gives you a chance to earn without having to lift a finger. Well, sort of. It doesn’t matter if you’re Rain Man, or even if you know how to bend the rules in your favor. With a level playing field and a simple objective, the question is, how much are you willing to risk? Or better yet, what are the odds of your friend being able to follow your winning streak on the next floor? It’s a fool’s game, and yet, one that you might just manage to get a good chuckle out of.

While the rounds are short and the seventeen-plus gambling gigs are peppered over four relatively small floors, Gamble With Your Friends does offer a well-rounded two-hour experience with three possible endings to unlock. It also features special “items” that you can obtain throughout your gambling journey—perks, if you will, that you can lean on to help you boost your odds of repaying your debt. Everything comes with a lofty consequence, naturally, but it does add a little extra weight to the overall experience. That is, of course, until someone accidentally exploits it and goes a little too far with the funds. Friendships can be put to the test here, basically.

The silver lining here is that, despite the ever-climbing debt and the constant pressure from local loan sharks, Gamble With Your Friends is a natural-born comedy at heart. The subject matter is, well, a bit of a gray area I’ll admit. But, this isn’t a painful gig with dire consequences; it’s a silly, almost pointless pastime that just feels great to play alongside friends for an hour or two. It might not boast the dazzling lights of Las Vegas, or even the complexity of a high-roller casino, but to give credit where it’s due, it is a game that’s worth checking out, if only for the sheer pandemonium and the high-stake shenanigans.

Verdict

Gamble With Your Friends tempts Lady Luck with a quick hand of stupidly outrageous games of chance, insurmountable odds, and a ragtag band of desperate gamblers who’ve little to lose other than their best friends and their pride. With seventeen mini-games to cash your check in, as well as multiple floors and a quality collection of items, themes, and endings to unlock, it clearly brings about a quick and simple way to burn the money in your back pocket. It might not hold a candle to the bright lights of Las Vegas, but it does instill the same level of excitement as a last-ditched bet at a high-roller roulette table — and that counts for something.

While Gamble With Your Friends might not be the best co-op game of its kind, it is one that ought to be able to give you and your gambling protégées a chance to band together and defy the odds for a couple of hours or more. Take it all with a grain of salt, mind you. For the low admission price, though, I’d say that it’s worth the gamble.