The winner of the Best Children’s Game category of 2017 Kinderspiel des Jahres, Ice Cool is a unique flicking action dexterity game that is suitable for all ages! This game will definitely get everyone running around the table to get in prime position to flick their penguins to win the game!
The game is suitable for aged six and above. It can be played by two to four players. It is available to buy at £29.99 from Esdevium store finder and Amazon. It consists of four plastic penguins, five cardboard boxes, 16 wooden fish tokens, 45 fish cards, four colour reminder cards and four penguin ID cards.
This game comes with a unique way of setting up the gameplay. It comes with five different size boxes and each box is numbered on the side. You have to arrange the boxes by matching the same colour dots on the bottom of the door frames and put the four white fish tokens on the four marked spaces to hold the board. Once it is fixed, you will have five different rooms to explore!
In each round, one penguin is the catcher and other penguins are the runners. The number of rounds equals number of players. So if you have four players then you have four rounds to play and each player gets a chance to be the catcher.
Each player gets their own coloured reminder card and penguin ID card. If you are the runner, place your fish tokens on the doors. The runners starts from the classroom (box 1) and flick their penguin, trying to go through the doors and get the yummy fish of the same colour that is pegged on the door. By doing so, you will get a fish card with victory points on it or extra bonuses such as an additional turn to flick your penguin when you have two number one cards.
The catcher starts from the spot in the kitchen and tries to catch all the runners by bumping into the runners before all the fish are eaten. The game ends after all the rounds have been played. The players with highest total of victory points is the winner.
This Ice Cool game can get quite competitive when everyone is looking for the best spot to flick their penguins. It is a physical game too where it is advantageous to move around the table. We all had so much fun playing this and its hilarious when players mis-flick their penguins, bounce off the wall and land back in the original spot! Flicking it in the direction you want it to go is not as simple as it might appear! The penguins can and are allowed to jump over walls by flicking the penguins on the very top of its head! This can be a great tactical move.
This Ice Cool game is definitely fun to play and gets everyone participating. It is reminiscent like a classic game of marbles when you had to hit your opponent to win. I would definitely recommend this game!
Disclosure: We received the sample for the purposes of writing this review, however all thoughts and opinions remain our own. Contains Amazon affiliate link.
