Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo

by The Beast

(Boardgame Beast HQ)

Game:
Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo
Board game manufacturer:
Cranium Games
Number of players:
2
Ages:
3+

Quick verdict

Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo is part of the company’s new push into the preschool market. It’s a cute, simple introduction to Bingo which kids of up to perhaps 5yrs will find entertaining in short bursts.

The game and gameplay

Each player takes a Bingo card, which consists of a 3 x 3 grid of puppy houses painted in crazy colours and patterns. Each select a puppy mascot from the box (cue fights among the kiddies if there are two fans of chocolate brown instead of white with spots!).

Now shuffle the cards and turn over the top card. This will be a pattern, a single purple shape or a colour.

Each player takes a puppy token from the pile in the middle and slots it into the space in front of the puppy house on their card that matches one of the elements on the card.For example, if a card is striped and orange, you can choose whether to put a puppy in an orange house or a striped house. Some cards have single purple shapes on them and in this case, you must match them to the shapes hanging on little pictures on each puppy house. (There are no purple puppy houses.)

Three pups housed in a row is a Bingo. For a longer game, you can play on until one player has filled all nine kennels.

Pros and cons

Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo is younger Jasper Beast’s current hit game. He took it to preschool for Show and Tell last week and we usually play it a couple of times a day.

It’s a great game once your child has got the hang of shapes and patterns. Until then, this will definitely be beyond them, but perhaps in tandem with regular Candyland board game sessions, you can use this as a colour teaching tool.

Replay value (at least at Jasper’s age) is limited to about two games in a row. The components are rugged, pretty and seem built to last and are very appealing to the target age group.

The verdict

Cranium Puppy Pals Bingo is a very simple game. It won’t play well in mixed age groups, but as a preschool learning tool, it hits the sweet spot.