Cédric DZ
Belgium
Hoevenen, Antwerp
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Hey dudes & dudettes,
Before writing some serious reviews about serious games I want to continue my streak of light fillers and in-betweens and so I bumped onto 'Pickomino' or more in particular 'Pickomino', its smaller brother.
How did I get to know this game?
I just saw it lying on the shelves of our local game store and even at mass retailers like 'Bart Smit' and such. One day about three months ago I saw the pocket edition and instantly bought it without even knowing the game. "Why?" you might ask? Well, it only costed about 4-5€ and I went on a skiing trip the next week, so compact games were a plus!
What's that theme?
We, the players, are chicks (no, not the hot and playful kind. I mean real chicks with feathers and eggs and all that ;p) and we look for worms to feed on. As many as we can find and catch.
And the components?
Don't get me started. The pocket edition comes with nice small, thin worm cards and a set of dice that go from 1 to worm (replacing the six...). However, if you play in the great outdoors the cards tend to be submissive to wind gusts and the print on the dice is of no quality whatsoever! I only played this game like less than ten times and by the sixth game I couldn't even see the worms anymore  . I mailed 999 Games about the dice issue and instead of sending me new, engraved dice (like they used to do) they offered me a 5€ discount on the next stock sale. Little detail: the stock sale is a 3 hour drive (and 3 hours back...) for which I would pay more than the 5€ I got back, so no compensation for me...
How does it work?
Like in many dice games there's kind of a 'Yahtzee'-like rolling mechanic: You roll the dice and pick one of the symbols. You put aside all of the dice with that symbol and roll again to do the same with a different symbol.
At the end of the turn you add up your rolled dice and pick a worm card with a value equal to or lower than your rolled total. If your total is equal to the value of the upper card of one of your opponents, you may steal that card. Yes, you CAN quit rolling whenever you want  .
The differences with most 'Yahtzee'-like dice rolling games are:
* You HAVE TO include worms in your total by the end of your turn. No worms? Tough luck, you're turn is over.
* You can not pick the same symbol twice in one turn. If you roll only symbols you already have: Tough luck, you're turn is over too.
When one of these two scenarios happens you return your top worm card and turn the highest available worm card face down. This card is out of the game (this is especially useful if you're rolling only small numbers. Otherwise the game wouldn't end...).
The game ends when no more worm cards are available.
So how do you win again?
At the end of the game you all add up the worms on your worm cards and the player with the most worms wins the game.
Any tricky parts?
No. It's just a regular push-your-luck game...
So what exactly do I think about this game?
I think it's a nice game. The theme should've been more carnivorous, because every time I play this game people don't seem to just look for worms. They look for eachother's worms! On the plus side this does increase the interactivity and tension. If the component quality would only have been better...
You guys go out and try it! If you would want to buy a copy, buy the full size game! It comes in a pretty small box too, the cards aren't cards but actual tiles and the dice are made from wood and are engraved. The price isn't that high either, so it sure is an investment!
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Andrzej Sieradzki
Poland
Opole
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The full size game is a real blast, My little daughter (5 years old) learnt to count and evaluate probabilities with this game. Now she's almost 7 and likes Modern Art the card game...
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Cédric DZ
Belgium
Hoevenen, Antwerp
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nightbomber wrote: The full size game is a real blast, My little daughter (5 years old) learnt to count and evaluate probabilities with this game. Now she's almost 7 and likes Modern Art the card game...
I haven't played Modern Art: The Card Game yet, but I do think games like Pickomino help children understand the idea of probability and evaluation. When kids grow older I think familiar games like Bohnanza or even Famiglia can help to further develop these skills.
And let's take a leap here and assume kids love to learn by playing games a whole lot better than from theoretical lessons  .
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Darryl Boone
Canada
Coquitlam
BC
Reading your recent posts has been like dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
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nightbomber wrote: The full size game is a real blast, My little daughter (5 years old) learnt to count and evaluate probabilities with this game.
It's been great helping me teach my 4-year-old son multiplication. "OK, you just rolled three 5's... what's 3 x 5?"
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Darryl Boone
Canada
Coquitlam
BC
Reading your recent posts has been like dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
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DeGecko wrote: You guys go out and try it! If you would want to buy a copy, buy the full size game! It comes in a pretty small box too
I don't know, I bought mine sight-unseen and it came in a large box roughly the size as Cartagena or TransAmerica. I didn't know you could get this game in a box that large!
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Cédric DZ
Belgium
Hoevenen, Antwerp
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booned wrote: DeGecko wrote: You guys go out and try it! If you would want to buy a copy, buy the full size game! It comes in a pretty small box too I don't know, I bought mine sight-unseen and it came in a large box roughly the size as Cartagena or TransAmerica. I didn't know you could get this game in a box that large!
Me neither!
Is the version you mean on BGG? Otherwise feel free to add it and show us .
Normally the full version comes in a box roughly the size of a standard 'Munchkin' or 'Guillotine' box, but a bit thicker and suare (short side...)  Here in Belgium at least
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Christopher Dearlove
United Kingdom
Chelmsford
Essex
SoRCon 5 2-4 Feb 2012 http://www.sorcon.co.uk
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Mostly the game comes in a smallish box, less than the size of a TransAmerica box. But I'm faily sure I have seen it in a larger box.
There is also the miniature version in a tin that's probably about four centimetres or so in diameter (from memory).
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Darryl Boone
Canada
Coquitlam
BC
Reading your recent posts has been like dipping my bottom over and over into a bath of the silkiest oils and creams.
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DeGecko wrote: booned wrote: I don't know, I bought mine sight-unseen and it came in a large box roughly the size as Cartagena or TransAmerica. I didn't know you could get this game in a box that large! Me neither! Is the version you mean on BGG? Otherwise feel free to add it and show us .
I've added it as a version to the database. I didn't bother adding a photo, since it looks identical to the smaller one, just larger. Dimensions are 8" by 8" by 2", a little smaller than Cartagena/TransAmerica, but not much smaller.
I should add that I don't think the compnents are larger at all, or at least not by much. Just the box is larger. There's a lot of empty space here.
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