Timberdoodle Game Review: Mantis

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, Mantis.  Mantis is a 2-6 player card game recommended for kids 7 and older or 2nd grade and up so everyone in our family can enjoy the fun!  Games are easy to set-up and fairly fast paced estimated to last ~ 10-15 minutes each.

How do you play?  The video below is a fantastic explanation of how to play Mantis so you definitely want to check it out!

I have been playing Mantis with the younger boys and we are having so much fun!  The first time we played, I definitely tried to "steal" too much so I wasn't able to score enough to win.

F was our first ever winner!  He scored 10 cards :)

 

However, I definitely improved and came back and won the next two matches.  I think the boys improved every match as well.

Mantis is quick and just like many card games you learn a lot every time you play!  I love the fast-pace as it is so easy to make time for a quick game.  If your family likes cards games like we do, you will want to check out Mantis!

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Mantis in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Timberdoodle Romi Rami Review

I want to share with you today a fun game from Timberdoodle, Romi Rami.  Romi Rami is a 2-4 player game similar to classic Rummy but with a twist and is recommended for kids 8 and older or 3rd grade and up.  Games are estimated to last ~ 30 minutes.

What's included in our game?  Our game includes 92 number cards, 36 contract cards, 4 trophy tokens, 4 joker tokens, 1 First Player token and game rules.

How to set up the game?  After shuffling both decks of cards separately, you need to set up the number market with six cards and the contract market with 4 contract cards in the middle of your table or playing area - this is the main market.  You also need to toss up the trophy tokens as they are double sided, whatever side they land on will be the trophies that are up for grabs this game.  Each player is given 3 number cards as well as a joker token.

Playing with A

How do you play?  The youngest player begins by taking the first player token.  A player's turn consists of 3 steps: 

• take up to 3 number cards from the number market with a common characteristic (same number or same suit)
• fill one of more contracts in the contract market (this step is optional) and lastly
• refill the markets and check hand size (mandatory step).  

You must have at least 3 cards and at most 10 cards in your hand at the end of your turn.  If you have less than 3, you will use the number deck to refill your hand to 3 cards and if you have more than 10, you will discard until you have only 10 cards.  Play proceeds in a clockwise order.

The ultimate goal of the game is to score the most points by filling contracts taking into account:

• the number of points on the contracts
• the trophy tokens for the current game and
• the suit bonuses associated with the different contracts.  

The game ends when a player fill their 7th contract (when playing with 2 players), 6th contract (when playing with 3 players) and 5th contract (when playing with 4 players).  When this happens players move on to counting points.  Remember, player with most points wins!

Players count trophy points, contract points, suit bonus cards (1 point per card in your suit bonus pile), and unspent joker token (players score 1 point if they still have their joker token at the end of the game).  In the case of a tie, the player with the most suit bonus cards wins.

Romi Rami is quick and you learn a lot every time you play it!  I think it is fun adapting to the various contracts and suit bonuses.  When possible, I highly recommending using the suit cards as those points really do add up.  I also try to go for the larger point contracts unless I can make a lower point one easily or it's the last one I need.  I have yet to hang on to my joker token as I find using it to fulfill a larger contract has always been worth it for me.  I am currently undefeated so I feel like this is good advice 😉.  If you are looking for a fun card game that's fairly easy, quick to play and lots of fun, we highly recommend Romi Rami!  I love that everyone in my family can play.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Romi Rami in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Jump 1 Review

 

I have a fun math card game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Jump 1.  Jump 1 is manufactured by Melon Rind and is a 2-4 player game geared for ages 4 and up.  Each game is ~ 15 minutes or less.

 

What's included in our game?  Our game contains 66 cards and 2 sets of rules.  There are 2 ways to play this game - Fast & Furious or Cool & Clever.  You essentially have 2 games in one!

 Above you can see what the cards look like.

All the frog cards

What's the object of this game?  Be the first player to get rid of all your cards, that's it!

How do you play?  Both versions of the game are set up similarly.  Let me walk you through both games.

Cool & Clever:  Set up the game by taking one card from the deck and placing it face down in the center between players.  Deal the remaining cards face down creating an equal stack for every player.  After all the cards are dealt, players will take the top 5 cards from their stack and look at them in their hand.  The first player will turn over the center card and begin play.  The first player can play a card with 1 more or 1 less than the number on the card.  So if the card is a 4, player 1 may play a 3 or a 5.  Player 1 can play as many cards as possible from the 5 cards in their hand.  If the center card is a 10, players may play a 1 or a 9.

Example of our center pile

Afterwards, their turn is over and they will replenish their hand back to 5 from their pile.  If they cannot play any cards from their hand, they will draw 1 card from their stack and their turn ends.  It is the next players turn.  Also, watch out for frog cards!  A frog card may be played at any time during your turn and any number can be played on a frog card so it's essentially a wild card.  The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!

Fast & Furious:   Set up the game by taking two cards from the deck and placing them face up in the center between players.  Deal the remaining cards face down creating an equal stack for every player.  After all the cards are dealt, players will take the top 5 cards from their stack and look at them in their hand.  To start the game, players say ready go and begin.  Immediately players play cards from their hands on either of the two center cards.  Again, you may play a card with 1 more or 1 less than the number on the card.  If the center card is a 10, players may play a 1 or a 9.  Anytime a player has less than 5 cards in their hand, they can replenish from their stack.  A player may play a frog card on either pile and any time but only the person that played the frog card can place another card on top of it.  The first player to get rid of all their cards wins!  This is a much faster paced game than the first.

The kids really like this game.  It is super easy to play, it's short and it's fun!  I love that it helps reinforce simple math facts for younger kids.  And it's pretty awesome that there are multiple ways to play.  If you are looking for a math related game for your youngster, we definitely recommend Jump 1 🐸.

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Jump 1 in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.

Clumsy Thief Junior Review

I have a fun card game to share with you today from Timberdoodle, Clumsy Thief Junior.  Clumsy Thief Junior is manufactured by Melon Rind and is a 2-4 player game geared for ages 5 and up.

What's included in our game?  Our game contains 76 cards - 70 of them are food cards, 4 of them are thief cards and 2 of them are trap cards.  And there is also a small pamphlet of game rules.

 

Above you can see the food cards.

And above you can see the thief cards on top and the trap cards on the bottom.  The sneaky raccoon will try and steal your food while the buckets can trap him or keep him from taking it.

 

Game Rules

What's the object of this game?  Basically all players add two numbers together to make 10 in order to collect food cards.  The player that ends up with the most food cards wins, that's it!

How do you play?  Each player is dealt 7 cards with the remaining cards placed in a deck face down.  All players look at their cards looking for two food cards that add together to make 10 (9 and 1, 6 and 4, 2 and 8, etc.).  They place these cards face up in front of them.  After everyone has made their own stacks, players can get more stacks from other players.  They can do this if they have a card that when added to the top card of a stack will make 10.  So if another player has a stack with a 2 and 8 on top, you can take that stack by placing a 2 on top of the 8 to make 10.  After all the stacks are made and taken, players replentish their hands by drawing from the draw pile until they have 5 cards for the next round.  There are special thief cards that can be used to take any stack.  A trap card can be used to take a stack with a thief on top.  When the deck is gone, the game is over!

I love that young players use mental math in this game.  Cards are constantly switching hands so you never know how things will end up and who will win 😉.  I like that all players are playing at the same time so there is never a lull.  This is a fairly fast paced game and it generally takes ~ 10 minutes for us to finish a complete game.  Clumsy Thief Junior is currently included in Timberdoodle's Kindergarten Curriculum Kit and we definitely recommend it.  Just watch out for that sneaky raccoon 🦝.

 

Disclosure:  Huge shout out to Timberdoodle for selecting me as a Timberdoodle Blogger.  I received Clumsy Thief Junior in exchange for my honest review.  All opinions are my own.