We spent time with extended family over the weekend and played tons of games, but everyone’s favorite was this one: Impact by Ravensburger.
Impact is great for playing on the go, in the car, at the park, at parties or reunions (up to 5 people can play), and especially with grandparents. My kids have played this with both sets of grandparents and it’s perfect because it’s easy to explain, games are quick, and there are 5 variations to change it up and make it more infuriating interesting.
You know I love a good game theme and this one is all about Elements, perfect for inclusion in a unit about weather, chemistry, geology, mythology, and so many others!
The game is so simple but lots of fun. Here are some important things to know:
- The winner is crowned Master of Elements and has finished the game with ALL the dice.
- On a player’s turn, he rolls one die at a time – he can continue rolling until he makes a match or stop after any roll, but he has to roll at least once.
- When thrown dice make a match with any of the other dice in The Cauldron, that player takes the matching dice.
- If at any time a player takes all the dice from the cauldron, the next player has to roll ALL his dice (called a Big Bang) and only gets to keep the matches.
- One of the six sides is blank – if that side lands up, that die is removed from the game.
- If any of the dice fly out of the cauldron on a roll, it is removed from the game.
That’s it! Simple, full of chance and elation, luck and despair.
We love that this game can be played with toddlers up to grandparents, and differing ages only makes it more fun. My little kids are so fun to play games with (when they are able to follow the rules) – their emotions are so delightful and they’re usually such good sports.
Our favorite way to play is using one or more of the variations, which introduce new rules depending on which elements are paired after a roll. There’s the lightning storm, hurricane, boulders, swamp, and column of fire variations. During the Hurricane variation, for example, when two or more air symbols are rolled, the active player takes all the matching dice as usual but then each player passes all their dice to the player to their left. Daaang!
If you’ve got one of these science units coming up or even a family reunion or park play day, you’ll love sharing and playing this game with your family and friends!
{I received this game free of charge to facilitate this review but all opinions are sincere and honest and my own. We love this game!}
