Smart or dumb. Strong or weak. Brains or brawn.
We’re often reduced to an easily labeled and picked-apart thing regardless of how complex an individual we may be, tending to get compartmentalized by a single trait or personality quirk. It’s the product of the sound byte world in which we live. And it sucks.
This is one of the reasons why the new kid’s game Knock Your Blocks Off is so damn clever; it is gray in a world of black and white. The game is several things requiring strategy, speed, and destruction all in 15 minutes flat. Fast-paced need not come at the expense of multifaceted-ness.
The combination of activities and challenges in a single game of Knock Your Socks Off typifies the diversity in my own family and likely many of yours too. I’m the speed guy, the Bear the strategist, and the Mouse is perfectly pleased to pillage & plunder. We all bring a special talent to the table (or to the carpet, as in our case) and all have a solid chance to win but for totally different reasons! That, my friends, is a brilliantly conceived game. And that is exactly what Knock Your Blocks Off is.
Players must build one of five structures each of which have a special attribute or a bonus associated with them and each better suited to withstand certain kinds of damage. Yes, damage! There are three kinds of destruction – a toss, drop, or flick of the over-sized die – and trophy tokens are awarded to those who destroy or defend their structure. It’s really, really fun regardless of gender.
Gameplay is intended for 8+, or so says the box, but the Mouse who is just half that was playing along fine after a little extra explanation and with a dash of patience from the rest of us. She even won a round!
Knock Your Blocks Off is available now and comes highly recommended by OWTK.
*OWTK received a copy of Knock Your Blocks Off for review considerations. The opinions expressed above are unbiased and honest.
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