A quick card game where two players battle for possession of four central location squares. Each square has one to four randomly drawn colored victory cubes and must have the same number (one to four) of cards played on each side player's side. In addition, those cards must also match the colors of the victory cubes on the square. For example, if a location has two blue and one green cube, each player's side must have two blue and one green card. Once a location has the requisite cards, it is scored. A location is either a mountain or a plain. To claim a mountain, a player must have a higher card total than their opponent. To claim a plain, a player must have a lower card total. Once a location is scored, the winner claims its victory cubes, flips the square over to change it into its opposite (plain or mountain) and places a new random assortment of cubes onto the location. To win the game, a player must be the first to collect a majority of cubes in three of the five colors by turning them in for a symbolic victory card of that color. However, the colors of cubes are not distributed evenly. For example, there are only five gray cubes but fourteen red cubes. There is also only one card for each cube, making gray a very rare color of card. While the game could be fun as it stands, there are two rules that introduce far more strategy and fun into the game. First, players can place cards on either side of a location square. Placing a particularly bad card onto your opponent's side is always enjoyable. Second, once a victory color has been claimed, any leftover cubes of that color can be used in sets of three as a single "wild card" cube in order to purchase an additional victory card. This can result in the rare occasion of someone claiming a victory card which frees up an opponent's cubes of that color to be used to win the game by claiming a victory card of another color. It may sound complicated at first, but the rules are easy to grasp after a turn or two. The game is fairly fast moving, with a good mix of strategy and luck. Better players will tend to win, but a good draw can sometimes turn the tide. The components are all top-notch and the game layout is quite colorful. Awarded Best 2-Player Card Game by Games Magazine in 2004, Balloon Cup can be enjoyed by a wide audience. A straightforward game using colors and numbers, however, some logic and planning is needed to do well. Nothing to fear from the content and should be playable by kids 8+.