Karin
Netherlands
Eindhoven
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Au Backe! - By Frank Nestel, artwork by Doris Matthaus.
Agegroup: 5 and older (a children's game).
2-6 players.
Average gametime: 20 minutes.
Contents:This game is in a small Zoch-box and has 64 playingcards in it: 45 animal cards (15 different animals, each is in the game 3 times) and 19 so called chicken run cards. These are the same 15 animals, but also 2 poo and 2 shovel cards.
Gameplay:
The 19 chicken run cards are shuffled and spread across the table, face down. These are the 'memory'-cards. The 45 animals cards are dealt out to the players. Without looking at your stock, you take the first 5 cards in your hand. These are your playing cards for the first round. You choose one of these cards, lay it open in front of you and then try to find the same card amond the chicken run cards on the table. If you turn over the right card, you get to put your hand card aside and have another go. As all the cards are in the game 3x, you may have the same animal twice or even three times in your hand. You may lay them all aside then. If you turn over the wrong card, you loose your turn. You fill up your hand to 5 cards again and the next player starts.
So far, so good. But:As I mentioned, there are also poo and shovelcards on the table. If you turn over poo, you're in a mess! Now you have to find the shovel quickly to clear it away! If you immediately turn over the shovel you're lucky and your turn is over. If you turn over an animal card you didn't get to clear up the mess. You now must draw two cards from other players and your turn is over.
It come also become really messy if you turn over the other poo card. Now you have to draw four cards from other players.
In all cases you get to shuffle all the open chicken run cards on the table though, so the next player doesn't know where the poo and shovel are now, but also not where the animal cards are they maybe were looking for.
Game end:
The game ends when one player has discarded his last animalcard and wins the game.
My impression of the game:
I really like this game! It's short but challenging to play with children. More so then the average classic memory game. Of course children are better at this then adults are, that's part of the fun for them.
The drawings are cute and the idea of the animal-poo is fun. The fact that all the open cards get shuffled after poo has been in your hands makes it more difficult but also a bit mean if one of your desired animal cards was among these. You now risk getting messy but really need the animal card too.
I can't play this game more than once at a time though. Then it all gets mixed up for me and I can't remember if for example the fox was in that certain place during this game or the last.
Now that I know this game, I will not play a regular memory game anymore. That was always to play along with the kids. With this game I have the feeling I'm actually playing and having fun as well!
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Yoki Erdtman
Sweden
Södertälje
Handsome devil huh?
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Kaks wrote: I can't play this game more than once at a time though. Then it all gets mixed up for me and I can't remember if for example the fox was in that certain place during this game or the last.
Great review Karin. I just gave this to my 4-year old daughter for Christmas, and am looking forward to playing. I have the same experience as you outline above, with Chicken Cha Cha Cha, playing twice in a row, or more, and my brain melts from the confusion. 
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Posted Mon Sep 24, 2007 7:42 pm
