Hey, wait a minute, that game title doesn’t make sense! Well, that’s because this week’s review is of a little gem that’s imported from Germany. Tier auf Tier is German and translates into “Animal upon Animal.” It’s a fun little dexterity game that is always good for a little tension, a little uncertainty, and a lot of laughs.

In Tier auf Tier, 2-4 players are trying to get rid of their adorable wooden animals by stacking them on a precarious animal pyramid. The game plays quickly — 5-10 minutes — and you’ll find yourself saying, “Just one more time” more than once! The game is targeted at children (age 4+) but I think it’s just as much fun for adults who are looking for a dexterity game that’s not Jenga.

In a nutshell: When you open the box for Tier auf Tier, you’ll find instructions (don’t worry, you don’t need to know German — there’s an English translation included), a 6-sided die, and 29 wooden animals (which are rather cute — just click the back of the box below for a glimpse). The animals consist of: one crocodile, which serves as the pyramid base, and 4 sets of seven other animals (toucan, lizard, penguin, monkey, hedgehog, snake, and sheep).

Each player takes a set of animals, and the crocodile is placed in the middle of the playing area as the base of the pyramid. Play begins. On your turn, you simply roll the die and follow its instructions. The general idea is that you’re building an animal pyramid and you will need to stack your animals on it without causing a collapse! Depending on what you roll, you’ll have to take one of the following actions:

• Place one of your animals (carefully!) on the animal pyramid.
• Place two of your animals (even more carefully!) on the animal pyramid.
• Place one of your animals next to the mouth or tail of the crocodile. This animal becomes part of the pyramid base, expanding the building surface.
• Give one of your animals to another player, who then has to place it on the pyramid.
• Allow other players to determine which of your animals you have to put on the pyramid.

If you cause a collapse or partial collapse of the pyramid, stop what you’re doing! You’ll have to take up to two animals back into your supply and hope that others cause collapses too, so that you can catch up!

The first person to get rid of all their animals wins the game.

We’ve really had some fun with this game. It’s always nerve-wracking to me to try to figure out where and how I’ll place my animal(s) and I always find my hand shaking as I try to carefully place it on the pyramid. C. also told me to be sure to point out that not only is it a fun game to play, but the animal pieces are fun for kids to play with — little ones can make up imaginary scenarios and older kids can see how big a pyramid they can make on their own.

It’s a bit pricey for a little game, but if you’re looking for a Christmas gift for your nieces or nephews, or if you just want a clever dexterity game to add to your game shelf, keep this one in mind.

Here’s C., attempting to place his lizard on our pyramid without
causing an animal landslide!

In summary:

Tier auf Tier

Number of Players: 2-4
Time required: 5-10 minutes
Ages: 4 and up
Where to buy: Since this game is an import, it can sometimes be hard to track down, but I’ve seen it recently at Time Well Spent. It also shows up at FunAgain Games and GamesSurplus at times.

Callapidder recommends it: When you’re looking for a quick, fun game that kids have just as good a chance of winning as the adults — maybe even a better chance, with their little fingers!

Read more of Callapidder’s Game Reviews by clicking HERE.

Three of a Crime is one of those games that called to me right out of the box. Since I’m addicted to mystery novels and enjoy a good logic puzzle, I knew this was one I wanted to try out with my family. Read on to find out more.

In Three of a Crime, you and your co-players are detectives on the case, trying to nab three bad guys who’ve just committed a crime. You’ll use your reasoning powers to deduce which members of the local gang are innocent… and which ones are guilty.
Three of a Crime is targeted to players 8 and up, and will take 2-6 players about 15 minutes to play.

In a nutshell: The game consists primarily of 35 “suspect cards” (click the picture on right to see examples). Each suspect card has a picture of three members of the local gang of thieves. There are six thieves total, but only three are guilty in any given round, and each card has a different combination drawn from the six possible suspects. When you begin the game, you’ll designate one player as the “eyewitness.” The eyewitness takes the top card from the shuffled, face-down deck, and looks at it without showing any other players — this card designates the three guilty bad guys for the round.

Now the other players — serving as detectives — begin their questioning. The person to the left of the eyewitness goes first. He or she draws a card from the deck, places it face-up on the table, and asks the eyewitness how many — if any — of the pictured suspects are guilty. The eyewitness uses little cardboard markers numbered 0, 1 or 2 to indicate how many guilty suspects are pictured on that card. The witness makes NO indication as to which one(s) of the pictured suspects is guilty, only if there are any — simply by placing a marker on the suspect card.

Play continues around the table, with each detective turning over a card, and the eyewitness indicating how many of the pictured suspects are guilty. Before long, clever players will be able to deduce which three are the ones to nab. At any time, any detective can stop the game by calling out “Accusation!” and proceed to name the three thieves that he or she believes are guilty. If they’re right, they win the round; if not, they’re out for the rest of the round, and play continues.

Keep going until a player has won three rounds.

As I thought I would, I enjoyed this game as a fun kids’ game, and it fulfilled my need to solve crimes (I always wanted to be Nancy Drew when I was little). Chad thought it was a decent kids’ game as well. As for C., he had mixed feelings. It does take logic and reasoning, and while he’s an analytical kid, he’s not usually looking to use those skills when he’s supposed to be “having fun.” One round he loved, because the cards came up in such a way that he was able to figure it out quickly and make a successful accusation. Another round went on for quite a while (again, based on how the cards came up), and we both sat there trying to figure out who in the world was guilty. So I’d say that a kid’s enjoyment of the game would depend on how much they like a logic/deduction challenge. C.’s on the lower end of the age range, so I’m thinking he may enjoy it more as he gets older and as he sharpens his deductive reasoning skills.

In the meantime, it would be easy for us to use this game to “practice” logic skills — by working together as a team and talking through our thought processes. C. would probably enjoy that collaborative approach more, anyway.

In summary:

Three of a Crime

Number of Players: 2-6
Time required: 15 minutes
Ages: 8 and up
Where to buy: Time Well Spent or Amazon.com.

Callapidder recommends it for: Families who enjoy Clue, mystery stories, and showing off their logic skills.

Read more of Callapidder’s Game Reviews by clicking HERE.

Step to It is aptly subtitled “The Get Up and Go Game.” It’s a game of walking, hopping, jumping, and second chances: perfect for the younger set who always seem to have energy to burn!

Step to It is a new game from Gamewright, suitable for kids aged 5 and up. It accommodates 2-8 players and gives kids a chance to get out some of their energy while learning or reinforcing skills like estimating distances and not giving up!
Step t
In a nutshell: When you open the box of Step to It, you’ll find two sets of cards. The first deck consists of “step cards.” The cards are shaped like shoeprints and each contains a number or number range (e.g., 3-20). A few of the cards also contain the word “Hop” or “Jump.” The other set of cards are “goal cards.” Each of these cards shows a picture of either: a standard household object (lamp, door, refrigerator, etc.), a splash of color (blue, white, etc.), or a shape (triangle, rectangle, etc.). To set up the game, shuffle both sets of cards and randomly choose twice as many of each type of card as you have players. Arrange them on the table with step cards in the middle and goal cards forming a circle around them.

But don’t get too comfortable in your seat — you won’t be spending much time there!

Here’s how the gameplay works: The person beside you picks a step card from the table and hands it to you. Then you choose one of the goal cards — pick one that you think you can get to by walking, hopping (1 foot), or jumping the exact number of steps/hops/jumps as the number on the step card you’ve been handed.

For example, if C. handed me a step card with the number 8 on it, I might pick the refrigerator card, because I’m pretty sure I can get there in exactly 8 steps. Some other rules:

• You can take any size steps/hops/jumps you want, but they have to be consistent as you go. In other words, you can take 8 baby steps, but they all have to be the same size baby steps. So you have to think hard before you get hopping.
• If you pick a color card as your goal card, point out a goal in your house that is that color. Likewise, if you pick a shape card, point out a goal in your house that is that shape.
• If the step card you’ve been handed says “Hop” or “Jump” on it, you must use that means of locomotion.
• If you don’t make it to your goal (or you go past it) in the specified number of steps/hops/jumps, guess what? You get a second chance. I think this is great for kids — it teaches them to not give up, and prevents them from getting too frustrated. If you reach the goal on your first try, you get two points; if you reach it exactly on your second try, you get one point.

Now it’s the next person’s turn — his neighbor gives him a step card, he picks a goal card, and he gets moving.

Once all the cards from the circle have been used, the game is over, and the player with the most points wins.

The instructions for Step to It also include some suggestions for younger players, including giving them three tries, or allowing them to ignore the “Hop” and “Jump” on the step cards and simply taking steps to any goal.

Chad, C. and I had fun playing this one afternoon, although I will admit that I am not good at taking 12 hops on one leg across the room. Clearly, my balance is not as good as it once was! As for C., he enjoyed the game — primarily because it’s good for laughs (who wouldn’t laugh as they watch their dad try to take giant hops toward the television?) and because it wasn’t a “sitting still quietly” kind of game.

I don’t think he’ll request it too often, however, since I think he’s near the upper range of kids who will enjoy it. However, I think it’s a fantastic game for younger kids (5-7) and with some adjustments, could also be enjoyed by 3- and 4-year-olds. I also love that it plays up to 8 kids, so it might be a good option for a birthday party game.

In summary:

Step to It

Number of Players: 2-8
Time required: 15 minutes
Ages: 5 and up
Where to buy: Time Well Spent or Amazon.com.

Callapidder recommends it for: Playing any time with the younger set, particularly if they’re bouncing off the walls and you’re looking for a way to corral them!

Read more of Callapidder’s Game Reviews by clicking HERE.

The nice folks at Gamewright recently sent me a box of games to try out and to review for all of you. Needless to say, when the box arrived at our front door, I eagerly tore it open and dove into the games, forcing asking my family to play several of them with me that very evening. Of the ones we’ve tried out so far, Curse of the Ruby Rhino is C.’s favorite, so I thought I’d review this one first.

Curse of the Ruby Rhino is a quick and light game for 2-5 players aged 6 and up. Each game last abouts 15-20 minutes, and the rules are easy to understand so you can be up and playing in just a few minutes.

In a nutshell: The idea behind the game is that you and your fellow players are adventurers in search of treasure. But that treasure is buried with a ruby rhino that has a curse on it, turning all riches into worthless counterfeits.

Okay, that’s the theme, but at its heart, Curse of the Ruby Rhino is a fun little dice game in which you are trying to hold on to the “ruby rhino” while holding no fake coins.

When you open the box, you’ll find a pair of dice, 20 fake gold coins, and 1 cute plastic Ruby Rhino (along with the instructions and 2 dice roll legends that tell you what action to take with each roll). You’ll need a pencil and paper to keep score. The bottom of the box is also one of the game components as it is used as the treasure chest.

You begin the game by distributing coins to each player, and then placing leftover coins and the rhino in the treasure chest. Now play begins. On your turn, roll the dice and take the action indicated (by checking the dice roll legend). You will either:

• Collect coins from another player
• Collect coins from the treasure chest
• Put coins in the treasure chest
• Collect coins AND the rhino
• Take just the rhino
• Give up the rhino
• Roll again, OR
• …if you roll the skull & crossbones, you do nothing

As you can imagine, each player’s standing can change at the drop of a hat (or, more accurately, at the roll of the dice). Your goal, as mentioned before, is to have the rhino and no coins, but that’s easier said than done. When I played with C., I repeatedly found myself down to the rhino and one coin when — wham! — I’d roll the dice and have to give up the rhino or have to take all the coins out of the treasure chest. Rats!

As soon as a player has managed to hold on to the rhino while getting rid of all their fake gold, the round ends and the player collects all the loose coins in the treasure chest. Count up the coins and that’s the person’s score. Resdistribute the coins and continue playing until someone reaches 50 points (obviously, you can adjust this number to fit the time you have available).

C. really liked this game because: 1) It plays fairly quickly, 2) It has nifty parts like fake coins (heavy cardboard) and a ruby rhino, and 3) It is entirely luck-based, and that appeals to him for some reason. I enjoyed it too, although to be honest, I enjoy any opportunity to play games with my boys!

In summary:

The Curse of the Ruby Rhino

Number of Players: 2-5
Time required: 15-20 minutes
Ages: 6 and up
Where to buy: Time Well Spent or Amazon.com.

Callapidder recommends it for: A quick game to play with the kids before bed or on a rainy afternoon.

Read more of Callapidder’s Game Reviews by clicking HERE.

Look familiar? Some of you long-time readers may remember the above graphic. Last summer and fall, I posted a series of reviews of board games and card games. Although I’ve slacked off a bit (okay, a lot – I totally dropped the ball) when it comes to writing and posting reviews, I haven’t slacked off when it comes to playing games, learning new ones, and thinking about what I’d like to review for all of you. And in an exciting twist, the wonderful folks at Gamewright recently sent me a box of some of their newest games for me to check out for possible review. Gamewright is one of my favorite game publishers (yes, even before they sent me some free stuff), because they do a fantastic job of putting out games that fit various age ranges, with great components and easy-to-learn rules. We’ve already dug into the new games and I’ll be telling you all about them soon. I have some other games on my list of games-to-review too, and will hopefully offer a little something for everyone.

I’d like to get most of the book giveaways taken care of before I leap back into game reviews, but I just wanted to let you know they’re on their way. So be watching in the second half of June for Game Time at Callapidder’s! And if you have any thoughts, requests, or comments about game reviews, please feel free to share them!