3 more ways to play
Whether your kiddos are staying in with the sniffles or trying to beat the summer heat, there is no better time — pandemic or not — to discover a new board game or three. They may plead to play Sorry! for the 500th time, but the fact is, there are literally thousands of other games to explore, from a Hawaiian tile-matching escape to a build-your-own Paris cityscape.
Released within the last couple of years, this trio of board games would be a welcome addition to any family’s board game night, especially if you have kids or grandkids in the elementary or middle school age range. These games are geared toward players ages 6 to 8 and older, and include silly memes, palindrome-loving cats and Panda-themed dice.
Tacocat Spelled Backwards
If you’ve played Exploding Kittens, the felinedriven card game and most-backed Kickstarter ever, you’ll recognize the beloved palindrome kitty in the corn shell. Tacocat, which debuted in March, is now the star of the game company’s first two-player, strategic board game. And these illustrations are off-the-charts adorable.
The box for Tacocat Spelled Backwards opens up into your game board, with numbered cards featuring other quirky palindromes (No. 10, Evil Olive, is a fanged green olive with bat wings). After inserting Tacocat into a black stand in the center of the board and dealing seven cards to each player, your mission is to move him to your side (“Yay” or “Wow”) of the board.
Depending on what your opponent has put down, you do this by either defending with a high value card or sacrificing by playing your lowest card. A round ends when each player has one card left; the lowest card wins and that player gets to move Tacocat one space closer to their side. When you do that, you get to cover the space the kitty moved off of with an adorable red tile — more illustrated palindromes, like Stack Cats, awww — because that space is no longer part of the game.
GOOD TO KNOW » Once you’re a pro, explore strategic Jumbo Attacks, which is attacking with two or more of the same card in your hand. Jumbo Attacks are powerful because your opponent must play a bunch of their cards to defend or sacrifice without getting to attack you back.
DETAILS » Created by Exploding Kittens, Tacocat Spelled Backwards ($15) is designed for two players, ages 7 and up. It takes about 15 minutes to play.
Pass the Pandas
This dice game is fast, easy to master and can be played over and over, which makes it perfect for the 6-and-up crowd. Each die contains six sides: three with images (bamboo, water droplet or the namesake panda) and three that are blank. Simply distribute the correct number of dice — six for two players, five for four players — and take turns rolling.
Through a simple process of elimination, players begin removing dice from the game and placing them off to the side. Water, since it evaporates, is the first to go. Players who roll a panda pass that die to a player of their choice. Roll more than one? Distribute them among the players. Bamboo is saved for the Bamboo Challenge, in which players divvy up dice based on some easy math.
Have blank dice left? Keep them and re-roll. The game is over when a player has no dice left at the end of their or another player’s turn.
GOOD TO KNOW » Advanced players can play “Pandamonium” style, i.e., play to a certain number of points. When you win, you get a point for each other die still in play. Second, third and fourth places score the same way.
DETAILS » Pass the Pandas ($12), from Ultra PRO’s Playroom Entertainment, is designed for two to five players, ages 6 and up. It takes about 10 minutes to play.