REVIEW OF Pounce
Speed games usually have two reactions amongst those I teach them to - love or hate. And often that reaction is determined by age groups, as younger folks tend to enjoy playing a game as quickly as possible. Pounce (Gamewright Games, 2005 - Roberto Fraga) is one such game, as players are attempting to be the first to collect different sets. The game is a frantic affair but has moments of sheer speed, similar to the very popular game Halli Galli.
The artwork is great, and the game does a decent job at helping children work at predicting what their opponents will do. It also offers them the choice - do they take what is best for them, or stop an opponent from winning? While I wouldn't want to play Pounce too many times in a row, as it can be a bit repetitive; but it has been a tremendous winner amongst children and is a game I can teach and leave, as the players will have a blast grabbing cards and shouting.
To play the game, five stacks of identical cards (each stack representing a different room of the house) are placed face up on the table. Each player gets one set of five Cat cards, each cat matching one of the five rooms. One player is given a Bruno the Bulldog card, and then the game commences!
Each round, all players simultaneously select a card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. The person with Bruno places that card on one of the Room stacks, effectively blocking it. All players then shout Pounce at the same time, flipping their cards, and then physically slapping the matching room stack. The first (or only) player to slap each stack receives the top card of that stack, unless it is a blocked stack. Players who hit the wrong or blocked stack lose a Room card that they may have formerly picked up.
Players then take the card they played, and the Bruno card gets passed to the next person clockwise. The game continues until one player either has four of the same Room card or four different Room cards. This player then happily wins the game!
Now, just to get the jeering out of the way - I hate cats. I've never understood why humans would want a pet that seems to actively disdain them. However, if cats looked and acted the way the artwork in this game portrays, I just may change my opinion. The artwork is very cutesy and colorful, and kids are going to love it. The cats match the rooms well - not just in color; and while there's not much to the game other than a deck of cards, it's a deck kids will delight in playing.
Now some families may have to call some kind of truce when 'slapping", as some excited folks may crush other people's hands into the table, but for the most part kids will love this aspect. Using the dog to foil other people's plans will come a bit slowly to some kids, but it's a good tool for them to learn how to guess what other people's intentions are.
Speaking of that, I'm not sure why the game has two different victory conditions. Getting four cards of the same color is really only possible in a two player game. Other than that, with only five of each Room card in the game, the likelihood of that happening is very remote. I guess the possibility of it occurring is enough to keep players from simply choosing the same color over and over, but it doesn't make much sense.
To do well at the game, I would assume that the first characteristic a player would need is speed - in getting your hand down quickly. Trying to anticipate the other players, and avoiding or blocking them are also good qualities, but the game has the potential of feeling rather random. It seems to work best with three players, because the chaos level is lower; a slower, perhaps younger child won't be always left out in the cold.
Really, Pounce seems like it has some of the trappings of an advanced game - the idea of collecting sets and simultaneous selection are some fairly good mechanics that I've seen in plenty of games. However, the speed element and the high random factor, due to different colors people can play, keeps it at a kids' level. I do enjoy playing it with kids; and although it certainly has the possibility of being tremendously repetitive if played too long (pick a card, play a card, pick a card, play a card, etc.), most games are over quickly enough. Kids will enjoy it because of the humor in blocking others and the light, wonderful artwork. I enjoy it because it teaches them some basic deduction skills when determining other players' strategies. A good, if short, family game - Pounce! may be a forgotten game in five years, but it's fun enough for now.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com
The artwork is great, and the game does a decent job at helping children work at predicting what their opponents will do. It also offers them the choice - do they take what is best for them, or stop an opponent from winning? While I wouldn't want to play Pounce too many times in a row, as it can be a bit repetitive; but it has been a tremendous winner amongst children and is a game I can teach and leave, as the players will have a blast grabbing cards and shouting.
To play the game, five stacks of identical cards (each stack representing a different room of the house) are placed face up on the table. Each player gets one set of five Cat cards, each cat matching one of the five rooms. One player is given a Bruno the Bulldog card, and then the game commences!
Each round, all players simultaneously select a card from their hand and place it face down in front of them. The person with Bruno places that card on one of the Room stacks, effectively blocking it. All players then shout Pounce at the same time, flipping their cards, and then physically slapping the matching room stack. The first (or only) player to slap each stack receives the top card of that stack, unless it is a blocked stack. Players who hit the wrong or blocked stack lose a Room card that they may have formerly picked up.
Players then take the card they played, and the Bruno card gets passed to the next person clockwise. The game continues until one player either has four of the same Room card or four different Room cards. This player then happily wins the game!
Now, just to get the jeering out of the way - I hate cats. I've never understood why humans would want a pet that seems to actively disdain them. However, if cats looked and acted the way the artwork in this game portrays, I just may change my opinion. The artwork is very cutesy and colorful, and kids are going to love it. The cats match the rooms well - not just in color; and while there's not much to the game other than a deck of cards, it's a deck kids will delight in playing.
Now some families may have to call some kind of truce when 'slapping", as some excited folks may crush other people's hands into the table, but for the most part kids will love this aspect. Using the dog to foil other people's plans will come a bit slowly to some kids, but it's a good tool for them to learn how to guess what other people's intentions are.
Speaking of that, I'm not sure why the game has two different victory conditions. Getting four cards of the same color is really only possible in a two player game. Other than that, with only five of each Room card in the game, the likelihood of that happening is very remote. I guess the possibility of it occurring is enough to keep players from simply choosing the same color over and over, but it doesn't make much sense.
To do well at the game, I would assume that the first characteristic a player would need is speed - in getting your hand down quickly. Trying to anticipate the other players, and avoiding or blocking them are also good qualities, but the game has the potential of feeling rather random. It seems to work best with three players, because the chaos level is lower; a slower, perhaps younger child won't be always left out in the cold.
Really, Pounce seems like it has some of the trappings of an advanced game - the idea of collecting sets and simultaneous selection are some fairly good mechanics that I've seen in plenty of games. However, the speed element and the high random factor, due to different colors people can play, keeps it at a kids' level. I do enjoy playing it with kids; and although it certainly has the possibility of being tremendously repetitive if played too long (pick a card, play a card, pick a card, play a card, etc.), most games are over quickly enough. Kids will enjoy it because of the humor in blocking others and the light, wonderful artwork. I enjoy it because it teaches them some basic deduction skills when determining other players' strategies. A good, if short, family game - Pounce! may be a forgotten game in five years, but it's fun enough for now.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com
