Stefan
Canada
Surrey
British Columbia
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While The Wife was out for one of those infamous "girls nights", me and The Kids sat down for a night of gaming. My Daughter (7) and The Boy (5) went through a few rounds of other games and then I pulled out Flicochet which I'd received in the mail a few days ago.
The Packaging...
is simple. Just a small box and inside an acrylic card case with 12 discs (6 in red and 6 in white), 2 larger black "Jack" discs, a set of simple rules and an 8cm ruler for those "oh so close" calls that need that special touch of judging. All in all, very concise in all respects and perfect for taking along on any trip or having at hand around the house.
The Rules...
did I say simple game? This is Bocce without the balls... and the grass... and the arm sprain, that's it. However, I'm kinda of surprised that no one else has thought of doing this. This is Carrom, without the $300 board... and the pits/nets/whatever they're called. And this is a damn-load of fun. Granted, anyone can build this in moments from Crokinole discs and the only extra piece you need to supply is a flat surface, prefereably a table, but the credit has to go to Phil Harding for throwing this game out there.
Gameplay...
For the hour-and-a-half that we played this game, I gotta say this was fun! Both The Kids loved the flicking aspect (they'd never played a 'flicking' game before and I was surprised how quickly they caught onto the physical forces and distance judging required to get one's disc(s) closet to the Jack). And they actually invented a new variant in which they stacked both Jacks ontop of each other and if the Jacks were still stacked they only counted as a single Jack but if they were hit and split into two (which often meant putting one of your discs out of position due to the force required) they counted as separate Jacks for end-of-round scoring.
Overall, this was worth the $18 I spent on this. I help reconize a self-producer in the gaming world, my kids get introduced to flicking games (I guess it's time to pull out the ol' Carrom board), they exercised their little brains while they worked out their "Stack-the-Jacks" variant and they're eager to play again tomorrow... and I had a blast watching them play as I refereed the event. I'm also going to pull this hand-sized game out on Saturday Games Night and see what The Guild of Losers think. I'm anticipating something akin to their Looping Louie baptism (... "that looks stupid. Hey, wait. This is kinda fun. When can we do this again?).
Kudos Phil, kudos.
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