Board game "beware the octopuses"

"Beware the Octopuses" is a very beautiful and interestingly designed board game. The manufacturer writes 5+. I'm playing with children 2.5 and 4 years old. The younger one, of course, is simply participating in the process. The eldest son quickly mastered it.

The rules of the board game "Beware the Octopuses" are simple. The main principle of the game is aimed for memory development. But on a slightly different plane, not like in simple Memory.

The game is stored in a large square box. Height 7 cm, length 31 cm.

Includes: rules, chips different meanings, "reef" organizer for chips of the same type

Two octopuses

a stick with a fishing line and a ball, and a boat.

The water fragments, as well as the chips, are made of thick, high-quality cardboard. Octopuses are rubber and pleasant to the touch.

Three types of chips: provisions (distributed 3 pieces to each player),

sea ​​inhabitants (located on a special plastic “reef”), and the main chips. They are laid out on the dark part of the water on 4 fragments of the field, 4 pieces each. for each. First, in the open, so that on each fragment of the field there is one chip with a wave, with an octopus and two sea creatures. Then we turn the circles face down and mix each fragment of the field. We insert a stick into the center of the field and put a large rubber octopus on top. We place the little one in one of the corners of the field. We place the ship on any fragment of the field, on the bright part of it, but not where the small octopus is.

Let's start the game.

Each player decides for himself whether he moves 1 or 2 steps. The game goes clockwise. The player makes a move, rearranging the ship. If there is no octopus there, he opens one of the circles. If a sea creature other than an octopus is drawn there, then the player looks at the “reef”; if it is not there, his turn ends. The chip is turned face down. If there is a sea animal, he takes it from the “reef” and can open another chip on this field. If there is a sea animal there, then the action is repeated. The chips on the field are turned face down and the move continues.

If the “wave” chip is revealed, the player swims to the adjacent field. And if there is no small octopus on the corner, then the player can open another chip from the second field.

If a player opens a piece with an octopus on it, he must move the small red octopus to the next space clockwise. If at the same time he ends up on the same field as the ship, then the player shouts “Alarm!” and starts spinning a stick with a big yellow octopus on it. If, during the spinning process and by the time the ball stops, the ship falls and remains lying down, then the player loses one food chip.

The game ends in two cases. If one of the players has lost all the provisions or collected the required number of sea creatures. The required number is determined by the number of players. From 2 to 4 players, from 8 to 6 chips, respectively. The winner is the one who has collected the most sea animals at the end of the game.

Despite the fact that I don’t complain about my memory, in such a plane it can be difficult to remember where what chips are. Sometimes a situation arises when you open a sea animal, but it is not available on the reef; it may be on the reef, but it is lower in the stack. The game can go on for quite a long time. About 30 minutes. Most of all, children like to spin this octopus, sometimes they deliberately end up on the field with it.

This is our first game from ZVEZDA. And my children and I really like it. Very high quality execution and not complicated rules.

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• For children from 5 years old;
• Develops memory, attention, motor skills;
• It is designed for an average of 20 minutes, so children do not get tired or get used to it.

« Beware, Octopuses"is a fun and exciting game for children and their parents who dream of sea adventures, love to relax on the shore and are fascinated by sea creatures.

What is the game about?

The well-known legend about the sea devil Kraken acquires new meaning and appears in a new light. The kids learn that the Kraken is merciless towards ships at sea. But for him, this is nothing more than a job, and in reality he is a caring father. In other words, the mighty Octopus Kraken also has a family. But sometimes his son disappears and dad Kraken has no choice but to look for him.

Players will have to take on the role of explorers of the sea world, study various objects, and... beware of the Kraken, who will sink your ships out of excitement and indignation.

How to play

The playing field consists of four maritime zones. Each contains sea life chips. There are duplicate chips in a stack next to the field. The idea is to open the chips on the field so that they match the duplicates in the stack.

At the same time, you need to avoid the moment that a lost Octopus does not end up in the same area as the player’s ship, otherwise the Kraken will destroy the research vessel in four hits. There is only one ship in the game and the players take turns clockwise, and during a turn they can move the ship 1 or 2 zones, open chips (conduct research), transfer the turn to another player, or sound the alarm.

The end of the game occurs if all the chips are collected (their number is different for different numbers of players), if the “Provisions” were lost, which is required for the possibility of research, or if the Kraken destroyed the ship.

But meanwhile, there are more complex rules that require different calculations and other requirements for the game. For example, collect more animals for research, or the animal tokens will constantly move (the Kraken creates a whirlpool).

Summary

“Beware, Octopuses” is an unusual and interesting game. For many, it resembles the game “Memory”, in which you also have to look at the chips, remember them, and then select pairs. But in in this case, children are captivated by the plot and dynamics, complicated rules and opportunities for victory.

By the will of fate, two games from the Zvezda publishing house “Beware the Octopuses” and “Catch the Mice” fell into my hands. Since these games are intended for a children's audience (5-7 years old), I decided to give them to Nyonya and my youngest daughter, Masha, for testing, because playing and writing impressions of such games for an adult is like giving a 40-year-old man a very beautiful rattle and ask to describe the sensations of using it (although I was not going to involve Nyonya in the reviews, because nothing good will clearly come of this - and I did the right thing, you will find out why later).

Having placed both boxes on the Pink sofa, I went to get my daughter. To my regret, she was busy with her mother and I returned alone to the room, where I saw the following picture...

Nyonya had already unpacked both boxes and was busy with another obscenity, using games for other purposes than their intended purpose. Apparently, she began her study of the material with the game “Beware the Octopuses,” because the marine theme led her to the idea that “Catch Mice” has a “fishing” context. Grabbing a stick with a ball (as it turned out later - a terrible weapon) and sitting her dad, the Octopus, next to her, she tried to catch the mice with an improvised fishing rod.

I had to stop this - I handed Nyon the rules for “Catch the Mice” and took the “Octopuses” to another room...

Nyonya quickly learned the rules, she loves throwing dice, and the mice made her smile with affection. Masha had just freed herself and we started our game...

The rules are simple - throw two dice, look at the colors, take the mice of the dropped colors, and place them next to the score field. If we want, we throw further, if we want, we put the mice on our field and pass the turn to the next player. You cannot “collect” mice of already existing colors, and if there is nothing to take, you will have to return the mice that are not installed on the field back to the common “bank”. If you get a “double” of colors, you can take mice from any player’s field, and if you get “empty,” then you can take a mouse of any color from the “bank.” Different colour mice - different numbers of victory points (red “5”, orange “4” and so on until “1”). The one who scores the most points will win. Everything is simple, but not with Nyonya….

Nyonya interpreted the colors – red and orange – in the way that suited her. Calling us all sorts of names, she poked her paw at the cube and shouted: “It’s orange - wipe your eyes, you idiots.” Well, or “red” - depending on the circumstances. And when someone tried to take something from her field... This item should not have been included in the family game at all - squeaking, squealing, threats of night violence, while Nyonya dragged mice from other people's fields without any manifestation of emotion... After After three games, we decided to stop, because the “War of the Worlds” was brewing, and I had just done renovations in the apartment.

Result: simple rules, in a family circle with small children, it will “take root”, subject to the “exception” of the clause that you can take a mouse from the child’s field, and it will “get boring” very quickly. Suitable for adults beach games, because you don’t have to take individual fields at all (there are only victory points, which you can count yourself). Everything else will fit in your swimming trunks pocket and will keep your company busy for 10-15 minutes, but no more. The orange and red colors on the cubes do not stand up to criticism - they can be used to prove to a person that he is colorblind.

After “Mice,” my partners were in disarray and I decided to cheer them up with a kind of game “Beware the Octopuses.” I had to learn the rules myself, because Nyonya behaved terribly and was ruffled, snoring furiously, and Masha could barely restrain herself so as not to crack her opponent.

The rules turned out to be very simple: we assemble a field (the box itself serves as the playing field). The field is divided into 4 sectors, in each we put 4 “closed” tokens, we put the boat in the “blue” zone, we place a small red octopus figurine in the corner of one of the sectors. And in the center we insert a pole, which crowns it like a star on New Year tree, dad - Octopus with a ball tied to a fishing line. A “reef” with sea animal tokens is placed next to the field (their images are duplicated on the tokens lying in the sectors playing field) and each person is given 3 “supply” tokens. During a turn, you can move the boat clockwise 1-2 sectors, and turn over 1 token in a sector:

– if there is an image of a sea animal lying on top of the “reef” stack, then we take a token from the “reef” for ourselves and you can turn over another token on the playing field.
- if the inverted token is a porthole, then we move the boat 1 sector forward and can only open 1 token in the new sector.
- if there is an octopus there, move the red octopus 1 sector clockwise.
- if there is an animal that is not on the “reef”, then the turn is over.

At the end of the turn, all tokens in the sector are turned over and shuffled.
The one who collects the required number of tokens from the “reef” will win.
The game has a “fun component” - if the boat and the red octopus are in the same sector, then you need to spin the pole with the ball - if the ball “overwhelms” the boat, then you need to give one of the three “supply” tokens - the supplies will run out, the game will also end for all players. If it doesn’t fail, then you’re lucky and the move moves on.
Actually, that's all. The game is intended for children “from 5 years old”, so there is practically no tactics or strategy here. You can try to remember where each token is, but when shuffled it becomes meaningless.

At first, Nyonya didn’t really like the game; apparently, the process “didn’t captivate” her, and neither did Masha. But when it came to twisting the column with the ball... This is where the delight is incredible! Everyone looked at the ball in fascination and tried to shoot down the boat. Nyonya was so engrossed that she made a mistake - she leaned too low over the field and...

got hit in the forehead with a ball. Raising her paws, she plopped down on the sofa and lay there for a long time, moaning pitifully and complaining about her fate. Then she grabbed the damned stick with the ball and rushed after us, swinging it furiously over her head. Fear, and that's all. They barely calmed him down, but they couldn’t take the stick away - Nyonya hid with it behind the closet and hid. So I write these lines, looking over my shoulder and listening...

Result: The game has a very “narrow” target audience of children younger age. Neither my daughter nor Nyonya found anything interesting in it. Only the torsion of the ball saves the situation. Well beautiful design Yes, the game components are of simply perfect quality. I'm afraid that in a couple or three days we will put it on the shelf and forget. BUT – for a 4-year-old child this game will be interesting for much longer. Yes, the game will get boring after a month, and it won’t stand up to any competition with the simplest card filler, but it is beautiful and “pleasant to the touch,” and spinning the ball will improve the mood of absolutely everyone.

Whether to buy the game or not - if you have a 4-5 year old child, you can please him with this toy. But, it’s better to buy him “The Cheese Castle” or “A Thousand Mirrors” - they are much more interesting. And from “Octopussy” you will only have a stick with a ball that hits very painfully..

What can I say in conclusion: both games are intended for “very little” people, so all my criticism is not worth the child’s joy from buying a new toy. Remember this... And both of these toys are very well made, VERY well made.

Well, Nyonya, of course, ruined the whole review, for which I apologize to everyone - she behaves unworthily during the game, what will happen when she feels like a “geek”...

Ay, Nyonya, I’m not talking about you, it hurts - stop right now! Ay, ay...