Ken from Michigan
United States
Howell
Michigan
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I've never had the honor of playing the other versions of this game and this version was added at the last minute to a TimeWellSpent.com order for Christmas.
9/10 Packaging: The packaging is of excellent quality and the box feels as though it will last for a great many years. It looks nice and inviting on the shelf as well.
9/10 Bits: It's not as if this simple game really needs excellent bits, but in many ways I can't imagine it without them. From what I understand, the original game came with chips. Knizia games are lifeless enough with a theme. These bits give this theme life. And my daughter (7) sits and organizes the animal sets as we play the game. They make the game!
10/10 Rules: The rules are clear, concise. As my wife said, "One page of rules. I love it already!" We were up and playing in about 3 minutes for the first game. Basically, you only need to distribute all the cards to all players (with slight modifications for different numbers of players). There are 30 cards in total. So, for 3 players, you remove 3 cards and each player gets 9. The game involves laying down a card and then choosing a plastic animal (it can be the same or different from the card).
7/10 Luck: There is a certain degree of luck in the game, but this can be molified by a bit of strategy. But, it's enough that my daughter can sometimes win with almost no strategy at all. A bit of careful planning at the start will assure a tight game.
9/10: Take-That: Though take-that elements often don't make for great family games, this game's take-that element is fairly gentle in comparison. We have all had our fun saying, "NO! Don't kill my rhinos. Please, NOT THE RHINOS!" My daughter does some melodrama and then the round is over.
10/10 Time: That's where this game shines. You can choose as many rounds as you want at the beginning, so if my daughter needs to get to bed in 25 minutes, we play about 3 rounds. The game never outstays it welcome as some family games can.
10/10 End Game: The game actually builds in tension as it finishes. I remember the first game. My daughter was at first taken by the plastic safari animals, but soon was involved in the game itself. I love the idea that one can end the game more quickly by placing the 6th card on a selected animal.
Final Thoughts 9/10: My family loves card games and this fits all of our basic quality family game check-points. This one is portable, has simple rules, building intensity, a gentle take-that element and enough luck to make it work with kids with sometimes limited strategy. And, as a bonus, my wife likes it a lot too.
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Bruce Murphy
Australia
Pyrmont
NSW
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Nifty. I was hoping it would work well as a family game as I noted in my review.
B>
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United States
Danbury
Connecticut
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Man, this is going to be a tough decision for me. I'm considering collecting all the Gryphon series because I really like the games in the series I've played so far. I own the Uberplay High Society but will hopefully be able to give that away as a gift and buy the Gryphon version. But I'm not sure I want this "animal" version of Loco. I mean, I have Loco and we play it quite a bit, but it's not a favorite and definitely not something I'm too interested in "upgrading", particularly not for $20. Plus, I like the minimalist look of Loco. But could I stand a missing number in the series?. Hmm.
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Ken from Michigan
United States
Howell
Michigan
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You know, I forgot to mention in my review that the price of this game is a bit out of range for this simple game. I would be happy with a price of about $15 and then a mark down after that. But, then again, when I buy games they're only worth it when they're played. That being the case, in only 3 weeks, this one has already reduced its per game cost. I can't say the same for, say, Space Alert.
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