Smashbomb

Search

Search results

All (2819)

Content

Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs in Tabletop Games

Aug 18, 2020

Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs

2013 | Animals, Book, Dice Game, Kids Game

8.0

(1 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

The Wolf always gets a bad rap. Think of all the stories you know that include an anthropomorphic wolf and tell me three that show The Wolf in a positive light. Can’t think of any? Me neither. But they need to eat to survive and it’s tough in these streets! errm, trees! Such is the plight of The Wolf in this one, as he is attempting to wrest the Little Pigs out of their hidey-holes so he can have a nice bacon dinner. And honestly, who can blame him? Bacon!

Tales & Games: The Three Little Pigs (which I will fondly refer to as 3LP for the remainder of this review) is a cute little family dice and take-that game about building houses for maximum points while avoiding The Wolf’s hungry advances. The winner of the game is the Little Piggy who has built the most complete structures using the best materials that afford them the most endgame points.

To setup, sort the building tiles by material type and house level type as shown inside the box cover. Place the dice and spinner nearby. Let the youngest or cutest player go first. The game is now ready to be played!

On a player’s turn they will roll all the dice Yahtzee-style (so with two re-roll attempts), and the remainder of the turn is based on what is rolled. Players are not required to re-roll, but must stop once two or more Wolf symbols are rolled, or after the second re-roll. The player may then use the dice to purchase house materials corresponding to what was rolled. If three doors are rolled, a player may purchase a straw door (which cost two door symbols) or a wooden door (which cost three door symbols). These house parts can be of mixed materials, so once the pieces have been purchased, house construction can then be done.

Should a player roll The Wolf, then the “breath” spinner will be spun. The player who rolled The Wolf dice will choose an opponent AND one of their houses to target. Spin the spinner and destroy all matching pieces in their house. Some children have issues with this, but hey, they should have built more brick sections! Play continues in this fashion taking turns rolling and purchasing and building until several stacks of house sections are gone (depending on player count). All incomplete houses are crumbled, and piggy faces on standing houses are scored to determine the victor! When playing with my kiddo I don’t use the bonus cards, but they are available if playing with older and more strategic players.

Components. As this is one of the famed (and first in the line) Tales & Games Bookshelf games, it has set a standard for the series. These games come in boxes that look like books on the outside, open like a book, and contain a story to be read as a prelude to the game, if wished. The box is very very cool, and the insert is pink and wonderfully designed. The house tiles are thick and colorful, and the pink dice are just a joy to roll. I love the components in this one!

So obviously this is a game really designed to target younger gamers. And though it says 7+ on the box, I have successfully played this with my 3 year old with zero issues. He loves it, and in turn, makes me love it too. Now, I will certainly not pull this out at any given Game Night with adults (unless we have gamer spouses or friends who have NEVER played modern games at all). However, I really do enjoy playing it with my son for now, and for super-newbies. It is colorful, light on rules, offers some choices, and of course, has a touch of luck and take-that. All this while still feeling like you are in the story of The Three Little Pigs. So I say, if you were ever on the fence with this one – get it. Play it with whomever you like and just enjoy it. It is light enough with just a touch of adultness to keep you smiling. But don’t invite your Twilight Imperium or Mage Knight friends. They won’t like it. We at Purple Phoenix Games know how to get down with the simpler games as well, so that’s why we give this one a blown-over 9 / 12.

Kudos

Entertainment Editor (1988 KP) rated Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization in Tabletop Games

Mar 7, 2018

AOB BOARDGAME REVIEW: THROUGH THE AGES

Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization is a bear of a game – and I love it. It’s the game that I wish I had as a teenager to play with my older brothers instead of our weekend long Risk or Axis and Allies binges (Those weekends may have had something to do with why I feel this way about dice now).

If you are a filler game type of person, or someone who doesn’t like to get too deep into games, I want to be honest with you – Through the Ages is probably not for you.

Reviewer: Joseph
Read the full review here: http://www.artofboardgaming.com/reviews/through-the-ages-review/

Kudos

Renata Adam (34 KP) rated Backgammon in Tabletop Games

Nov 22, 2018

Backgammon

Abstract Strategy, Dice Game

6.7

(3 Ratings)

Tabletop Game Rating

I am hooked!

I love Backgammon, whether it is table top game, online or app. I just love it and can't get enough! The rules are simple - move all your stones to your home before your opponent, who goes in the opposite direction, gets their stones to their home. And with such a simple premise, there are so many strategies that can lead you to win and that's where the dice and bit of luck comes in as the dices determine how many steps you can take. The more you play the game, the quicker you realise which move was the wrong one that cost you the whole game. I just love it!