Shake, Rattle, and Roll with Pokémon Yahtzee Jr.
Written: Dec 27 '00 (Updated Dec 27 '00)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Games can be played in less than 5 minutes; helps with color recognition and counting
Cons: For limited age range; most children will be ready for regular Yahtzee fairly quickly; small pieces may pose choking hazard
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| conradd's Full Review: Pokemon Yahtzee Jr. |
‘twas the night after Christmas and all through the house,
The family was gathered, too tired to carouse.
The children had gone, under protest, to bed.
While thoughts of their Christmas gifts danced in their heads.
My brother and his wife, my parents - all four
Were playing a board game I chose to ignore.
When ‘round the corner, I saw two small eyes gazing
As my nephew rehearsed his “why I’m up again” phrasing.
Bedtime comes far too early for my niece and nephew, especially on major holidays. It’s hard enough to stay in bed at home where life is routine. When visiting grandparents, the thought of what is going on in the kitchen is often irresistible. Even though my six-year-old nephew had been sent to bed (multiple times) and warned not to get up again (multiple times), he appeared once more in the doorway to my parent’s dining room. Before his parents could invoke ultimate authority, I stepped in. After all, I don’t see my niece and nephew nearly often enough.
What’s the matter, Jackson, can’t sleep?
As he recited a litany of complaints against his sister (keeping him awake, on his side of the bed, being too bossy), I noticed his eyes on the board game his parents were playing. I suggested we move into the kitchen and, as I fixed a late night snack of cinnamon toast and hot chocolate, asked if he wanted to play a game of his own. His eyes lit up as he reached for the Pokémon Yahtzee Jr. game he’d received from Grandma & Grandpa for Christmas.
Opening the box, I noted that his parents had already assembled the game by punching out 20 scoring tokens (4 colors, 5 different characters) from a cardboard sheet. The 5 yellow dice each had six different Pokémon characters, one on each side. Although children would be able to punch out the cardboard tokens, the die preparation would be best left to adults or older children. Once applied, the adhesive appears to be permanent and there are no extra decals. The game also included a scoreboard (6 columns with scores ranging from 0 – 5 and a dice cup.
We set up the table with the scoreboard between us and placed the dice in the dice cup.
Okay, Jackson, teach me how to play.
Put the dice in the cup and shake them out on the table. Then, count the characters to see how many you have of each one.
Since the youngest player begins the game, Jackson went first. He shook the dice in the cup and rolled them onto the table.
Oh look, Jackson, you have 3 turtles!
It’s not a turtle! It’s a Squirtle!!
Just like in regular Yahtzee, the player can keep the dice of choice and roll unneeded pieces over – up to three times. A modification that improves the odds for children is the introduction of a wild card character. Rolling a Ditto allows the player to substitute for any other Pokémon character. Jackson replaced the 2 Charmander-showing dice in the cup and rerolled. On his second roll, he scored a Ditto, then rerolled the remaining die but didn’t improve his score. With three Squirtles and one Ditto, he was able to place his Squirtle token on the 4 column in the Squirtle Row. Once placed, a token may not be moved.
My turn: Shake, rattle, rattle, roll.
Hmmm . . . I got 2 Pikaboo and a Blotto.
Aunt Deb! That’s 2 Pikachu and a Ditto!!
Oops, sorry, Jackson. Good thing you’re here to teach me the game!
After several more turns, Jackson’s 9 year old sister wandered into the room. ”Hey, how come Jackson gets to be up??” she demanded. Forestalling any possible explanation from her parents, I popped two more pieces of bread into the toaster. “Cinnamon toast, sweetie?” I offered.
While she declined to join the game (up to four players are possible), she did accept a piece of toast and joined us at the table with her new felt markers.
Each game takes less than 5 minutes to play. Although more players would extend the playing time slightly, the rules state that in a 2 player game, each player rolls 5 times. With 3 players, each player rolls 4 times, and with 4 players, the turns are limited to 3 each. This introduces a bit of strategy into the game since the players must decide which characters to hold and which to fold back into the dice cup.
By the last roll, I’d intentionally mangled each of the Pokémon character names and my nephew was thoroughly exasperated with me. He stated, “I’m six and I know this stuff!” No matter. Twenty minutes later, he’d won 3 out of 5 games and was content to head back to bed, tummy full and curiosity satisfied. I got to spend some one-on-one time with a niece and nephew I see far too seldom. It was a winning game for all.
The game would be good for young children who are able to count at least to 5 and recognize their colors. I don’t think the dice would pass a choke test, so very young children should play only under an adult’s constant supervision. Adults can help with scoring or teach the child how to count the final scoreboard tallies. This would be a good strategy for introducing simple addition.
Would I have bought this for my own son? Perhaps, when he was very young. He started playing regular Yahtzee with me at the age of 4, so this game would have held limited appeal for him. It was a great way to kill 30 minutes while sharing a special part of Christmas with a favorite nephew.
Good night, Jackson, and don’t let the bedbulbs bite
That’s Bulbasaurs, Aunt Deb!!
Oops, sorry. Well, good night anyway and if you see any salamanders, save them for breakfast!
Charmanders. They’re Charmanders! Good night!
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
conradd
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Member: Deborah Conrad
Location: Coos Bay, OR
Reviews written: 105
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