Hisss
Overall Rating: 9/10
Age: 4+
GLAM Age Range: 2-6
Number of Players: 2-5
Playing Time: 15 min
Publisher: Gamewright
Complexity: Low
Available At: Amazon.com
Quick Take: When a game as simple as this wins awards, it's because it has hit upon a jackpot combination of easy rules and engaging play. A two or three year old can play this game with a little assistance and kids ages four and up can easily set up and play without any adult help. Building the snakes is a lot of fun and there is a preschool level of deduction and strategy to the game which is spot on for young children. Snakes can't have two heads or two tails and the colors have to match as you add tiles. This game is made of sturdy cardboard tiles and is virtually indestructible with high replay value, both great factors to have in a game for younger kids.
How to Play: Your goal is to collect the most tiles of snakes by the end of the game. This is determined by snakes you complete and add to your snake pit. At the beginning of the game the players take turn drawing tiles to create snakes. It's open play, any tile placed in the center can be played on by any other player until the snake is completed. The colors on the tiles you add must match the end piece of a snake. There are two wild card pieces, a rainbow head and rainbow tail that match with any piece. Once a snake has a head and tail, it is complete and whoever added the final piece gets to place the completed snake in their snake pit. You play until the tiles have all been played, at that point each player counts the number of tiles on the snakes in their pit. Whoever has the most is the winner!
Variations: You could just have the winner be whoever has the most completed snakes if you'd rather not count tiles. You could also play to the first with ten collected snake tiles if you wanted to play a shorter game.
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