Mattel Games Angry Birds: Knock On Wood Game

Mattel brings home the bacon (pun intentional) with an installment of Angry Birds versus the Pigs. It is definitely worth buying if you have any five to twelve year old kids at the house. The six to nine year old category seems to especially enjoy the product.Looking at the game, I figured that the kids that played it with me would be bored in five minutes. Not the case! Two weeks later, they are still clambering to play it!Players draw cards and take turns setting up structures of varying complexity and stability that the other player must shoot at using a slingshot shaped catapult, armed with plastic birds.All the components are recognizable from the micro-game.One of the big surprises is how quickly the kids determined which structures would be hard to hit, unstable, etc. They have adapted their shooting strategies accordingly. It actually ends up being quite the useful toy to teach the kids about shapes, building structures, paths of projectiles (the birds are slow moving enough that the kids can see the paths the pieces take), etc.More details follow ...Here is the Dr. Games evaluation:GO/NO GO criterion* Complexity: For the Age category, 5+, the complexity is perfect. It is a bit of a challenge for the five and six year olds to build the structures on the cards, but with just a small amount of help from parents, the kids can do very well. The rules are both obvious and well described on one, two-sided quarter sheet of paper.* Balanced: The game is completely balanced. Any side is equally likely to win. The older children have a bit of an advantage since they generally have more developed hand and eye coordination.* Chance: The game has the appropriate level of chance. Each turn, the players pick cards to see the points available and the structures that they have to build.* Clarity: Once the adults explained, you get all the points on the card if you knock down all of the pigs, and you get an extra 100 points if you knock down the eggs or the star, the rules were entirely obvious to all.* Reasonable Time: you choose how long to play for. There is no set time. A game could be a simple as one turn with each side building a castle and then trying to break down the other side's caste.BONUS criterion* Social: The funny plastic characters, the theme of the game, and the neat catapult mechanic will have your kids chatting as they play. You could also play this on teams.* Unique/interesting Mechanic: The catapult that shoots plastic birds. The adaption of Angry Birds, and the stacking opportunities are all unique aspects to the game. Nicely done!* Inform: It does teach kids about stacking, structures, and projectile flights. It is surprisingly educational.* Rewards Throughout: Each time you shoot you have a chance to knock down a bird and gain points. An excellent mechanic.I highly recommend adding this game to your family bookshelf.In service,Rich

I have to say I bought this last Christmas and I thought it would be great for our daughter who was 6 and really loving the angry birds app and angry birds merchandise and it was a hit! Not only was it a hit for our daughter but a year later I would say that this has become a favorite for many of her friends that come over and visit and request to play this game. It's very detailed and easy to understand and play even for the kiddos. Obviously there are small pieces that I wouldn't let small children or children who have a habit of putting things in their mouths play with this game. I've been very impressed with how sturdy and durable these pieces are we've taken this game to the beach, on picnics, and to the park as well. The only thing I will caution parents about is when you go to take the pieces out of the box for the first time pay close attention to how they go back into the box it's like one of those brain teaser games putting all the pieces back if you didn't watch what goes where trust me I made that mistake at first but really that's the only thing. The age group I have playing this game from my daughters friends to kids I tutor in the neighborhood ranges from ages 5-13 and they all dig this game. For the price to me it's definitely been worth it for sure I didn't think it would be this well played and I'm very thankful just make sure if you purchase this too that anyone who uses the slingshot to fire the birds does not fire towards any crevasses because you can really get those birds going and it is a pain in the behind to dig them out from behind the fridge or under the stove so I always have the kids face the slingshot towards the living room or other open area :) hope this helps!

It is staying on our shelves more as a Toy/Game then a Game.My youngest son received this as a gift, since he was so into electronic version.We've played it as a game a few times. He decided he wanted to combine it with our Kepla/Keva/Citiblocs collection. It's great fun to build with the blocks then shoot it down with the slingshot and angry birds. Since then the Angry Birds Game is that is stored in our Big Tube of blocks. They haven't played the game again as the "game"For those who don't know Kepla blocks are thin strips of wood that are about 3" long about 1" wide. They are without print providing a blank canvas to build whatever they can imagine. The kids play with them several times a week now, in the beginning they didnt play with them that much. After watching a few videos on YouTube of adults playing with them they took off.Back to the Game it's self.The FUN Factor well it is fun as a game. It's knocking stuff down my little meeples love that. Kids can learn a lot about physics in the building of structures and from the demolishing arc of the angry birds.Replay... as the way it was intended to be played I don't know it's morphed into it's own game/toy our home. Few times has it followed the rules with only the pieces included. So, I am honestly not sure. I think that the replay value would have been limited if it had not morphed.Personally, I am just glad they use the pieces in such a free form way. I like that every time they play they make up their own rules/story for that session of play. I would strongly recommend buying some type of complimentary block set that can be played along side this.The Components themselves are a sturdy plastic. The angry birds fly nicely and are a lot of fun for the kids. The sling is holding up so far, which considering it's plastic moving parts I am pleasantly surprised. The cards are run of the mill mid grade cards.The box is flimsy at best it was designed to be seen not restore. We cut out the graphics and used clear shipping tape to tape them on the Top/Ends/Sides of a Sterilite Clip Box. I like using the shallow version of the Sterilite Clip Boxes for stuff like this.The art and design on the box was average. The pieces are a well designed, visually fun and really they are what creates the 3D real life version of this electronic game for the kids.NOTE: I tried adding in some little angry birds that were not game pieces but smaller plastic/rubbery balls they did not come close to comparing to the sturdy weight/durability of the pieces that are included with the game.Overall. 4.8 (adding in credit for Toy/Game Play)