“Where to start” seeks to provide a point of entry into the gaming hobby by looking at games that introduce game concepts, mechanics, and themes in an approachable way.
If you like: Memory games; dark humor; quick, light games
Triggers: implied violence, animal cruelty
There are probably as many different versions of the classic game Memory as there are different chess sets. Gameplay is simple enough – players lay out a grid of cards or tiles that consist of matching pairs. Each player turns over two at a time, keeping any matched pairs they find. The player with the most pairs at the end of the game wins. The deck can be themed with anything – animals, objects, characters.
Squirrel or Die (2014, Designer: Seppy Yoon, Publisher: Fight-in-a-box and distributed by Atlas Games, 2-4 players, plays in 5-10min) is a small box game that takes the memory format and makes it interesting. The deck consists of 25 cards with food, power ups, backyard scenes, or the tragic death of our eponymous hero. The game is divided into two phases: Autumn and Winter. During the Autumn phase, players are preparing for Winter by drawing and then playing cards face-down into a 5 x 5 grid. This gives the players a tantalizing chance to know where cards are going to be. During the Winter phase, players will draw one card at a time, hoping they don’t get their squirrel in the crosshairs of a hunter, under the paw of a cat, just gnawing on some plastic explosives, or otherwise meeting a grisly end. Three deaths and you’re out (one card counts twice, the rest once). Power ups can do things like let you skip a turn or give you an extra life. There are a couple of official variants that tweak how the Autumn or Winter phase work, but the basic mechanics stay the same.
Squirrel or Die – various cards 
Squirrel or Die – food cards
No squirrels were harmed during the making of this game – the minimalist visuals are meaningful without being graphically violent. I wouldn’t be afraid of one of my younger kids seeing these cards, but I might not want to explain exactly what was going on in them. The gallows humor will appeal to many. Maybe the biggest draw of Squirrel or Die is the engaging simplicity. Anyone can pick it up quickly. While player interaction is indirect (I might, for example, take a card you wanted), everyone is sure to have an opinion about what everyone else does. It’s also a small, inexpensive game that can be taken just about anywhere. It’s a good little filler game, and I don’t mean that in a bad way. Filler games are the appetizers and palette cleansers of game night. Squirrel or Die is fun without being epic, but you can play it three times before you get that epic game set-up.
If you’re a fan of memory but would appreciate something with gameplay that’s a little more interesting or want something quick and small (like a Squirrel!) Squirrel or Die might be for you. Its humor isn’t for everyone, and doesn’t have a ton of depth, so if those are concerns it might not be what you’re looking for.
Tabletop Rebellion was provided with a review copy of Squirrel or Die (but then I realized that I impulse-bought a copy of it at the Atlas Games booth at Origins 2019). So yeah, we like it.