Bob the Builder - Scoop's Construction Site Game- designer: uncredited
- publisher: Milton Bradley
- date: 2001
- BoardGameGeek rank/rating: not ranked/4.97
- age: 4+
- # of players: 2-4
- print status: OOP
- cost: $9,99 (Amazon - used)
You don't have to be a fan of Bob the Builder to enjoy the game - this is a simple build'n'smash game dressed up with Scoop as the smasher, Bob as the blocker & Pilchard as the reward for winning the game. (If you don't recognize those names, you obviously haven't had young boys in your house - Bob used to be hot stuff for the under 5 crowd.)
The game itself is simple - you spin the spinner (which is nicely made w/a chunky easy-for-small-fingers arrow) and get one of three results:
- let Scoop do his stuff (50% chance)
- put the Bob blocker in front of your tower (25% chance)
- take a free I-beam (25% chance)
If you get to let Scoop do his thing, you pick him up by his "light", which turns on the small battery-powered motor inside him. This motor does two things: (a) it moves him when he's sitting on the board, and (b) it spins him around & around while you're holding him off the board. You must let Scoop spin around at least one time before setting him on the board so he can bulldoze forward. Thanks to the magic of technology, he stop moving when he reaches the edge of the board... and any I-beams you knocked completely off the board can then be placed in your tower.
Of course, the best possible result is to knock over another player's tower & steal their I-beams. That's why we all love Bob, whose sawhorse/blocker thingee actually sets into holes in the board & keeps Scoop from knocking your tower over.
The first player to build 3 levels (4 levels in a 2 player game) wins.
I don't understand the low Geek rating of this game - granted, it's not the 2nd coming of Agricola or anything, but it's not a sub-5 rated game. Kids love this game... as long as they're old enough to deal with something they've built being knocked down in a game. (Some of you have kids who should not play these kinds of games because you're just asking for a royal meltdown if their tower gets destroyed - you know who you are. Heck, I've played with some adult gamers who shouldn't play these kinds of games.)
When playing with adults, a suggestion: Scoop must spin 2 times around before setting him down.
Another game we really love. This game is just too fun.
ReplyDeleteI must admit that, so far, it sounds a bit complicated for me. But if your kids love it very much, then why not? If the kids will learn something from this, I hope it's a demolishing attitude that will lead to engineering!
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