Zig Zag board game
by Shelley
(Upstate New York (USA))
Game
Zig-Zag
Manufacturer:
Rio Grande Games
Number of players:
2-4
Ages:
8+
Quick Verdict
A quick little game to whip out when you’re in a pattern-matching mood.
The game and gameplay
Goal: Navigate a set of obstacle cards and get to your destination first.
This card game comes with obstacle cards, goal cards and terrain cards.
Players lay out five obstacle cards (which show a combination of 18 different terrains) and a goal card (also a terrain type) in a square, leaving plenty of space in the middle. Lay all of the terrain cards face down in the center.
Simultaneously all players flip over a terrain card and decide to keep it or reject it by laying it face up on the board. Players may choose a face-down or face up card.
When you take a terrain card, you must place it in your hand on top of the previously selected card, thus creating a small deck of cards in a specific sequence.
Once players stop drawing terrain cards, you then move your pawn along your obstacle path by revealing your deck of terrain cards (in order of how you chose them) and moving your pawn onto the matching terrain on your obstacle card.
As you cross from your first obstacle card to the next, discard the old obstacle card. The first player to reach her goal card wins the game.
Pros and cons
The game progresses very quickly so it’s a good filler for a between-game set. It relies on pattern-matching and memory, so favors players better at that skill set.
As it doesn’t require a bit of complex strategy, I tired of it quickly.
The verdict
I would dub the Zig Zag board game a “cute little game”, which means I’ll play it if someone else wants to, but there are far more games in my collection I prefer. There’s nothing wrong with the gameplay, and the art is fine; it’s just not a very challenging game.