Penguin Pile Up board game

by Anne Onimous

(Somewhere)

Game:
Penguin Pile-Up
Board game manufacturer:
Ravensburger
Number of players:
2-4
Ages:
5-9

Quick verdict

Penguin Pile Up is a cute game, but nothing that strikes myself or my children as a “go to” when we are looking to entertain ourselves on a rainy afternoon, or when I just need to give my five-year-old some kind of distraction.

The game and gameplay

It’s very simple for kids to play, but requires at least two players. Recommended age on the box is from 5-9, but I think it requires a little more mature five-year-old to avoid some of the frustration.

Penguin Pile-up is really simple. Each player is given the same amount of penguins. Each player takes turns putting his or her penguin on the “iceburg”.

As more and more penguins are placed on the ice, the iceburg becomes more precarious and penguins begin to slide down it. Whatever penguins you knock down, you have to take.Whichever player gets rid of all his penguins first is the winner.

See also: Mini Penguin Pile-up

Pros and cons

There are definite benefits to this game. There is no difficult set-up or score keeping. Basically, your child has to have basic coordination skills, as well as the ability to take turns.

The pieces are also fun to play with and give characters to, even though they all look the same! If there is anybody in your family who likes any of the penguin movies, Happy Feet, Surf’s Up, or March of the Penguins, they will probably enjoy this game.

However, the game gets boring very quickly. My five-year-old is usually only good for one game of Penguin Pile Up before he is bored with it and wants to move on. He also gets frustrated when setting some of the penguins up because they fall on cracks in the iceburg.

Sometimes the game is more trouble than it is worth. Pieces always seem to turn up in random places around the house after a game. While it is simple to play, there are a lot of penguins which always seem to get misplaced (or stolen by a dog) when we take out this game.

The verdict

Penguin Pile Up game is very cute, and a good time-killer for a few minutes at least. The penguin pieces are cute to look at, and the game is appealing to the eye, as well as fairly easy to play. Not terrible, but not the greatest of games, either.