Rat a Tat Cat

Rat a Tat Cat

Rat a Tat Cat is a fun little number and memory card game by Gamewright.  It is for 2-6 players and says age 6 and up but as long as your kid can understand that 0 is less then 10, and maybe do basic sums but that isn't totally necessary, then they can probably play this game.  There are even rules for younger kids vs. older kids or adults.


Game Play

In Rat a Tat Cat you want to have your cards equal the smallest number total. When you think you have all the lowest cards you are going to get you tap the table and say "rat a tat cat" and everyone has to stop and turn over their cards, the person with the lowest sum of their cards wins.

First the players all receive four face down cards (in a younger person game the two outside cards are face up).  Players are only allowed to look at the two outside cards (so in a younger player game no one looks at the middle cards just yet).  You are allowed to look at the two outside cards anytime you want, but if you change your inside two cards you must remember what they were as you aren't ever allowed to look at those.

On your turn you draw a card from the top either of the draw tile or from the discard pile. Then you decide if you want to replace a card from your four in front of you.  For example if my two outside cards were a 3 and a 9 and there was a 3 on the discard pile, I would probably replace my 9 with that 3.  Or I might even risk that one of my inside cards is higher then a 3 so trade that for one I don't see until I turn it over onto the discard pile (I have definitely discarded a 0 this way :-( )

As I said previously when you think you have the lowest total sum you tap the table and the game comes to an abrupt end.  It is a bit of a racing game too.  There are special cards like Peek and Swap that allow you to do other exciting things to your cards (like peek or swap with another player) but honestly you could play the game without them and it would still be really enjoyable.  I think Peek and Swap just at a bit extra to an otherwise great little memory card game.


Review

If you can't tell already I do like this game. Its quick and simple and doesn't take up lots of space.  I would take this with us on holiday because it also doesn't require a ton of space to play either. My son loves doing the simple maths in his head and has gotten much better at that as we play.  The only thing I dislike about this game is that it is basically a deck of cards in a box with a plastic insert - but I have written to Gamewright about my minor grievance (and they basically ignored me) and well everything can't be perfect. I also understand about wanting shelf presence and that Gamewright is an American company and things there seemed to be packaged unnecessarily larger...seriously why!

Aside from my little eco rant I do really like this game and there is a lot of math fun to have in it. Plus I enjoy the race element with my son. It doesn't feel stressful like a normal racing game where he can see that I might be ahead of him and therefore gets frustrated. As so much information is secret until someone taps the table it can really be a surprise who will win.

As always you can get this from your Friendly Local Game Store - I know mine sells it - and online from most games retailers.

Tiny Park

Tiny Park

Tiny Park is another in my long list of lovely games by HABA. It is for 2-4 players and says ages 5 and up but definitely you can play this with a 4 year old and possibly even a 3 year old (though if you are playing with a 3 year old I would recommend the slightly easier dice games of either Space Planets or Petit Renard).  As always please play with your kids as there are small parts in games and part of the enjoyment of playing a game can be time with your kids!

Tiny Park is a gentle dice game where you try to fill your park the fastest with the tetris style block pieces and basic matching. 


Game Play

Game play, as with most HABA games, is very straightforward. On your turn you roll the five dice provided.  You are allowed to roll some or all of these dice a total of three times. Your end goal is to fill your park area (see boards below) with park tiles (see right hand image).  The images on the dice match those on the tiles.  If you get all your dice to match the images on any particular tile then you are allowed to take that tile.  You are only allowed to take one tile per turn.

For example, in the image on the right of all the tiles, the square tile has two circus tent squares and two octopus ride squares, so you would need (our of your 5 dice and 3 rolls) to get those four dice face up. Each time you roll your dice you decide if you want to "keep" any the way they are and either stop rolling and take a tile, or re-roll those that might help you get a tile you want.  If you initially rolled a circus tent then re-rolled it that wouldn't count.


The tiles are in stacks by size and each one in the stack is different so each turn is different as people select tiles. There are no rules about placing tiles (i.e. not like domino) but I think you could definitely add them in for more challenge for older kids/adults. 

First person to fill their park area without overfilling (as no tiles are allowed to overlap the edge of the park) wins.  See simple. Just dice rolling and decision making.


Game Review

I love the choices my child has to make in this game.  If he rolls the dice and he gets one image that he wants, but there is only one tile with that image, does he re-roll everything in the hopes of getting images that are more usefully spread across the tiles or does he go for the one tile he wants.  For example in the image above with all the tiles, does my son try to get one tile that has three candy machines or does he re-roll in an attempt to get circus tents as there are more tiles with circus tents on them so he is more likely to at least get A tile even if he can't get THE tile he wants.

We have been playing this game since we got it as a gift at Christmas and I really like the way my son's choices change as he has learned how to play.  He often goes for the tile he wants, but other times I can see him making choices and going for tiles that are easier to get, more available, or even allow a larger area of his park to be covered.  When he first played he would often go for the one square tile or the three square tile, now it is very different and he is making good choices.

As always I love the quality and art style in the game which is classic HABA and I enjoy the game at all the different player numbers. It is definitely harder to win at 4 players, but at least it is a dice game so it ends quickly.

As always you can try to find this online, through a HABA retailer (some ethical toy companies sell HABA games) or through your Friendly Local Game Store.  Happy Gaming!

Lockdown Playing Inside

Lockdown Rundown:

Thought I would do a short post of my current favourites.

Current Favourites during Lockdown:
 - Sleeping Queens
 - Geistes Blitz Junior (Zoch)
 - Rat at Tat Cat
 - Splendor
 - Kingdomino (image below)
 - Ticket to Ride London
 - Labyrinth (Ravensburger)
 - Tiny Park (Haba)

Happy Gaming and stay safely at home!

Geistes Blitz Junior

Geistes Blitz Junior 

Geistes Blitz Junior is a speedy game by Zoch zum Spielen who also do the orginal game called Geistes Blitz (Ghost Blitz).  This game is for 2-6 people and takes about 10-15 minutes to play.  It says ages 4 and up and for once that is definitely accurate.

So far my son and I love this game as a quick, doesn't take up much table space and he is able to play well as many fast grabbing games are too fast for young children to ever win, so this one is much better in that respect.  Not because it is slower but because I feel like kids grasp the images and pieces easier.  I would say your child just needs to be able to grasp their colours easily to love this game.


Game Play

In Geistes Blitz is about a little ghost (named Gary) who is visiting the countryside and gets mixed up with Charlie the Chicken, Freddie the Frog and Peter the Piglet, which are all darling painted wooden pieces. This mix up is evident on the cards which have some or all of the characters' colours mixed up.

The basics of the game are simple: one person turns over the top card of the draw deck, then everyone attempts to grab the item (or items) that match the card perfectly.  For example in the picture above, the far left card you would only try to grab for the pink Pig as that is the only one that is it's correct colour on the card.  On the middle card in the picture above you would try to grab for the green Frog or the yellow Chicken (or both). For each correct answer you do you get the card drawn or an additional card from the pile as a point.  Most cards at the end of the game win! 

As an adult I play with the rules that I must grab everything with one hand (to make it more challenging for myself) but my son grabs with one or both if he is grabbing more then one item.  Grabbing the wrong one has no punishment (which is fantastic for kids) but if you are playing with adults I would add in that you have to put a point back for grabbing the wrong wooden piece to make it more challenging.

Review

I adore this game even though I have only just found it.  It has the great quality I have come to expect from Zoch and all the fun of the original game but made much easier for children.  I love any game that has wooden components too as then it allows my son to use them as toys and I don't worry about them breaking (though I do need to be careful I don't loose them as that would be tragic!).  I feel like this game is an absolute must as it can be played with adults or kids and takes up so little space.

Additionally it really works on spacial perception which is great for childhood development (Quick definition from this site of spacial perception - understanding the relationship between two objects which are different in space - a 2d card and a 3d wooden piece for example).

I found this one from Leisure Games in Finchley and I know they sell online but I am sure other friendly local game stores will have it too as well as online.  Happy gaming!

Sleeping Queens

Sleeping Queens

Sleeping Queens is a 2-5 player game by Gamewright games and plays in about 20 minutes. It says 8 and up but it can definitely be played from younger especially if your child likes numbers, can count to 20 and do basic 1-10 sums.

My son really loves this game and it is very balanced for kids and adults. I can't tell every game if he will win or if I will, which is important when playing a game with kids, you don't always want to be restraining yourself from just beating them all the time.  If my son pays attention he can easily beat me.  I like any game that encourages him to pay attention and think about his choices as it helps us move onto more challenging games of strategy and choice making.


Game Play

Very simply Sleeping Queens is about waking up either 5 queens or Queens worth the value of 50 points (2-3 player) or 40 points (4-5 player). In most of our two player games one person definitely needs to wake 5 to be able to win. In a 3 or more player game often someone can get to 40 or 50 points first so having a different way of winning is really nice.

You play by placing all the Queens face down on the table. Then each player gets a hand of 5 cards.  On your turn you do an action (play a card on another player, wake a queen or trade cards) and then draw back up to five in your hand, simple right?!

The way you wake Queens is by playing a King card.  Sounds simple to get Queens right? There is definitely player interaction in this game if you play other cards available to you like Knight or a Sleeping Potion you can effect other people's Queens. The Knight steals a Queen and the Sleeping Potion puts a Queen back to sleep. There are cards that block these actions, for example the Dragon blocks the Knight from stealing his Queen. There is also a Joker card which adds a lovely random element in to allow those kids who may not have a Queen or a strategy to be able to potentially get a Queen. 

When the player plays a Joker the next card from the draw deck is turned over, if it is a character card the player gets to keep it, if it is a number card the player starts from themselves and counts out each player round the table till the number is reached. For example if there are two players and the card drawn is a 1, 3, 5 etc. then the initial player would get to draw a Sleeping Queen, if the card drawn was a 2, 4, 6 etc then the other player would get to draw a Sleeping Queen.

On your turn you can only play one thing: either a king, a effect card or trade cards. The trading cards ability in this game is also lovely.  You can only trade cards that are all the same number or add up to a sum you have. For example- you can trade in one 4 card and get one card, or two 4 cards to get two cards, or two 4 cards and one 8 card to get three cards from the deck.  Getting cards from the deck is really important as that is how you get more Kings to wake up the Queens (and therefore allows you to win).



Review


Even though you can only do one thing per turn, this game is basically a race to five Queens (or 50 points) so essentially it is really simple for kids and adults to play anytime.  I love the basic sums in this game (and we have added in basic times tables and division as my son is capable of those) and I love the simplicity of just doing one thing per turn then drawing cards, it means the game plays very quickly.

I have left this game out for my son to play with his best friend who is also five and they play really well together as the rules are so simple I don't actually need to be involved in the game for them to play it - that for me is a win anytime. I still obviously need to be around to settle any disputes but its nice to be able to have a cup of tea while two best friends play a card game together. Lovely.

Additionally I adore the artwork in this game as it is very cute and silly which appeals to me. I wish the women were a bit less feminized but there are a few good ones that aren't so hour glass figured. 

Look for this game at your friendly local games store or online.

Hamsterolle

Hamsterrolle 

Hamsterrolle

Hamsterrolle is a really simple dexterity balancing game but I love it because it rolls across the table as you add things (not far but makes the game more challenging) which makes it different from the other balancing games I have mentioned like Animal upon Animal or Suspend.  If you can't tell I love balancing games and they are great for motor skills for little ones,.

The different size, shape and weights of the various pieces make this game into a great show of cause and effect of adding weight onto something and watching the direct movement that effect has. It is great for playing with balancing too as just a fun toy.  This game plays 2-4 people, plays in about 20 minutes or less and says ages 7 and up but easily I can play with this with my careful 3 year old though note that some of the pieces are small and probably not been painted with child safe paint so be careful and always play responsibly with your children.

Game Play

The circle yellow roll is placed in the centre of the table and the black cone (the only cone shape) is placed central bottom of the roll.  Every player is given one of each type of piece available, so one large yellow rectangle, one small blue square etc.  On your turn you must place a piece on the roll in the direction the roll is going (which the starter player decides), however you must place a piece that is different from the last piece played (i.e. you cannot place a yellow rectangle on top of another yellow rectangle).

If you the only piece you have is the one that has been played before you must take a piece from further down the hamster roll - as in take a piece off the roll - and put that on again in the direction of the roll.  Or if the only piece you have left is one that has just been played, you can still play this piece but it has to be in the next "compartment" (divided by black shelves) to the one just played.

The only other rule is anything placed must be higher then the last piece played, so you cannot place a piece lower down on the hamster roll that might have more room, you must always be playing in the direction the hamster roll is moving.

First player to use all their pieces wins.


Review

I love dexterity games and this is another lovely one. I love the wooden pieces which are great for just playing with and even the wooden roll feels very stable and not like its going to fall apart if I roll it off the table by accident.  It is really easy to set up and play and even easier to loose to a 5 year old which makes it a great family game.  My son likes just playing balancing with the wheel bit adding things on either side to see what make the roll stop in the middle - it is a great thing to watch and enjoy as a parent to see your child experiment with the world around.

If you accidentally knock things off the roll on your turn you only take two of the items that have fallen and the rest go back in the box - which means even kids don't get punished too much for being wobbly.

This one is harder to get in the UK but I know for a fact that eclectic games in Reading usually has it in stock and for much cheaper then on amazon (usually).  So definitely email or message them first to get it if your friendly local game store doesn't have it as they almost always have it in stock when they can.

Socken Zocken (Haba)

Socken Zocken

Socken Zocken is yet another game by HABA that is cute and enjoyable, however it isn't one of my favourites.  I seems to have limited replay-ability for a speed matching game (considering we have been playing Dobble for like 3 years now this one will not last us this long). It is playable to larger numbers (up to 6 players) and good for young children but it is a racing game so everyone playing with the children will need to slow their own racing abilities down, which I always dislike having to do, which is why this game is not in my top 5.

Socken Zocken plays in about 10-15 minutes for 2-6 players age 4 and up, but I think a 3 year old can definitely play with a bit of help. To me this seems more like a game I would want my 5 year old to play with other kids his age but he isn't' that keen on this one so its unlikely to ever happen.


Game Play

Very simple, all the socks are in the box. All together all players put their hands in the box and try to make pairs of socks. If they get 5 pairs of socks first they grab the little sock monster and shout they finished. They then get a little orange clothes pin for getting the pairs, all the socks go back in the box and time for another round of sock matching.  Three clothes pins wins the game.  See super simple.


Review

I do think this game is better off with all the socks out of the box on a table or maybe in a larger box as I can just see the cardboard game box getting torn with six pairs of little hands digging around in there. However taking all the socks out and spreading them on a table does make it easier so you should know that before doing it.  As always with all HABA stuff the quality is lovely, cardboard sock pieces and the monster and pins are painted wood.

I also really like that the socks are quite difficult to match making this game much more fun for adults too. However this difficulty added with the speed pressure is one of the reasons my son doesn't like this game.  He likes matching and he likes speed but not like this for some reason. Possibly not with the added pressure of everyone's hand in the box at the same time.

Ways I would fix this game for us is we put all the socks on a tray on the table and race to still get 5 pairs, but really it would be better to have a larger box. Although I wouldn't want a larger price tag so price-wise this game is okay. Like I said not our favourite and not as bad as some (Monopoly!) so still definitely enjoyable. We will keep it around for a while if only just to have something to play when younger siblings come over.