#75: Quackshot

Quackshot

• designer: uncredited
• publisher: Goliath B.V.
• date: 2001
• BoardGameGeek rank/rating: 2549/6.5
• age: 6+
• # of players: 2-4
• print status: OOP
• cost: 7.50 British pounds (the only copy I could find for sale was at a site unknown to me in England - the game itself is in very good condition, while the box - no surprise here - is in poor condition)

At one point in time, Quackshot was being touted as "this year's Loopin' Louie" - in other words, a kid game that has serious adult appeal. That didn't turn out to be true... Quackshot never reached the same level of popularity. (I'm not sure if that's because of some things about the game which I'll get into in a minute or if the difficulty in finding copies precluded mass popularity.)

Quackshot is a shooting gallery game - where the targets (barnyard animals) turn on a mechanized spinner in the center of the board while the players (ducks who look suspiciously like Donald Duck and are dressed up like Robin Hood) shoot arrows (plastic flatheaded darts) at them. When a dart make contact with an animal, the animal (also spring-loaded) pops out of the spinner & flies into the air. Meanwhile, there are four farmers (one in front of each duck) that jump about eccentrically trying to block your shot. Your objective is to knock off all of the other players animals before they can knock off yours.

As you can easily guess, the appeal here is the sheer chaos - zipping arrows, flying pieces, hooting & hollering.... and this game delivers on that with interest. We try to play only in rooms with few hiding places as arrows & animals have a tendency to find hiding places during play.

Which brings us to the reason I think that Loopin' Louie is the superior kid/adult game - reset time. Once you've played a round, you must scavenge all the arrows, reset the spring-loaded animals, and then play. In contrast, Loopin' Louie simply requires you to reset the chicken tokens & put Louie upright and you're on your way.

Please don't hear me bashing Quackshot - I'm VERY glad I own a copy of the game and it comes out a couple of times a year in the right situations. Braeden (my 7 year old) loves it... and that's why it's here on the list.

A trio of oddball closing notes:

1. the version I own (from Sweden) has one of the scariest "we're playing the game" models on the back of the box... this is a child who is enjoying the game WAY too much
2. for some reason, the game is designed where you have a full range of fire... you can not only shoot the target in the center of the table but also your fellow players. Interesting.
3. This is the game that "A Christmas Story" warned you about - "You'll shoot your eye out." Which explains, I think, why it hasn't been published in the U.S.