Patrick OBrien
United States
yakima
Washington
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Zopp! If your hand eye coordination leaves you a little cold at Crokinole, you might want to pass up on Zopp. While it costs half as much as one of those nice Grey Owl boards your friend plunked his Holiday Bonus down on, if anything this game requires more finesse and hand eye coordination than the famous Canadian game of pucks. Zopp also uses small wooden pucks (smaller here, and flatter, 3 per player), and alternates turns between flicks (finger tired? use the handy provided Zopp stick with the registered Trademark!). The theme here is Football, aka Soccer, and the goal is to flick the ball (the little white puck that starts in the middle) into the goal by flicking your puck into the ball. The game becomes one almost entirely of wicked bank shots and shifting positions, if you have a light touch. A heavy hand may bring a foul, in which you hit the other player's puck before the ball, or cause two or more of the other players pucks to move, in which case they may take 3 flicks in a row. You also cause a foul if you miss hitting the ball with your puck three times in a row. This allows you to create setups with your players but forces you to at least try to move the ball at times. Devastating stuff sometimes, but again it all takes a light touch, metered by the magical Zopp powder which is supplied with the game. Use it sparingly, for it provides a turbo mode from which your Crokinole game may never recover. Some become so addicted to the stuff they start using for other games of dexterity as well, Heretics! Actually it's just the powder used on Carom boards, very fine fast stuff.
So if you like dexterity games, with lots of puck flicking, and you're a fan of the game it actually draws from, you may consider picking up one of these boards. I think it's a terrific game, one of my favorite Zoch Verlag games period, very recommended, but it is not a cheap one. It does come in a nice cardboard carrying case, however, with the name emblazoned on the side for all to know. Hey, it's Zopp!!!
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