This year, we have had some horrendous weather with Storm Ciara and Storm Dennis. Then we were put in partial lockdown due to Coronavirus (COVID-19) and are still not out of it properly. So we have stayed in the house and garden as much as possible and been playing a lot of board and tabletop games. I mean, who wants to go out and risk catching Coronavirus when you can stay nice and cosy indoors with a cup of tea and spending some quality time with the kids playing games.
We decided to start with a simple ‘pick up and play’ game. There are quite a few of these of the market and we were sent Grabolo – a fast paced grabbing game. Although we teach kids not to grab, this game encourages it – if you don’t grab, it’s fair to say you will LOSE!
Grabolo consists of 36 plastic playing pieces (6 different shapes, each in 6 different colours), 2 dice and a set of instructions, all contained in a clear plastic tube with a screw top. It is a game for 2-4 players, aged 4 years plus.
Setup could not be easier – put the 36 pieces in the centre of the table and you are ready to start.
The idea is to roll the dice, find the matching colour and piece and grab it before your opponents can. The first die has a different colour on each face, the other die has a different shape.
The youngest player rolls the dice first and if the dice shows blue (colour) and a tree (shape) the first player to spot a blue tree in the pile needs to grab it as fast as the can. Play then continues around the table. The winner is the first person to grab six pieces (this changes depending on the number of players).
Simple. Well, not really. Hand/eye speed is an essential component, other players can steal your pieces and if you grab the wrong piece you have to put it back AND forfeit one of your other pieces.
We played this as a family with the kids being 10 and 7 years old and we all had a great (very competitive) time. It is really simple to play, fast and lots of fun. Initially we played on a table, but with all the grabbing pieces kept flying off the table so have switched to playing on the carpet which works much better for this game. It is a very short game, taking around 10 minutes to finish which means that you can get a few rounds in and there is always a different winner.
Because the only abilities required are eye and hand speed this means that the whole family, no matter what their age, can join it – although as I found out, watch out for those sharp fingernails!
Grabolo is definitely a fun game to play as a family or with friends. There is minimal setup needed, rules are clear and easy to understand and the small footprint of the game makes it easy to store. It is also very easy to take with you if you wanted it as a travel game. So whether it is a rainy day or family game night, Grabolo is excellent, fast fun.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £12.99
For more information visit www.johnadams.co.uk. Available to buy from Amazon here.
