Game Review

Concept:

The game is played by stacking pieces on a board that is suspended by a single point. Too much weight on any side of the board will cause the pieces to "topple."

Gameplay:

Before the game begins players decide on a "target" number of points that constitutes winning. The rules suggest 100.

A player's turn follows these steps:

1. Roll the dice.

2. Place a piece on a level of the board marked with the number rolled.

If you look VERY closely at the pictures, you can see the numbers... 5 is on each corner, 4 is on the two places above the corner, 3 and 2 are the levels above, and 1 is the center spot.

3. Add to your score.

There are several ways to score:

• Complete a row of 5 pieces in any direction. (3 pts. + 1 per each of your color on top of a stack in the row.)

• Add a piece to a completed row. (1 pt. per piece of your color on top of a stack in that row.)

• Add a piece to a stack that has 3 or more pieces in it. (1 pt. for each of your pieces in the stack.)

Placing a piece can get scored multiple ways -- for instance, it may complete multipe rows and/or be on a stack with 3 or more pieces at the same time. Scoring can add up quick with good placement.

A round of play ends if all of the pieces in the game have been placed, or when a player causes the board to crash. A player who causes the board to crash loses 10 points. The player who placed immediately before the crashing player gets a 3 point bonus.

When a round ends, all the pieces are removed from the board, and the next round begins.

Winning Conditions:

• The player who achieves the target number of points at the end of a round wins.

Our Opinion:

The Baroness and I bought this game when searching for Arch Rival. We looked at Topple, and decided that this would be a comparable game. It was similar, but distinctly different.

Compared to the competitor games (Jenga and Arch Rival), this game is not as "party-friendly" and lacks in the adrenaline fun of placing a piece -- the probable crash that the name of the game implies is fairly rare when players concentrate. Topple gameplay relies heavily on keeping score of points -- whereas its competition aims for a "hot-potato" style play: don't be caught knocking over the pieces.

Topple's rules are easy and the scoring strategies can be quite complex (when the dice roll lets you play in a good spot.) If you like games that you score for intelligent placement of pieces, you'll enjoy this one. If, however, you are looking for a stacking game, this is very lack-luster. We found this game for a very low price a few years ago, and that's been the best thing about it... we haven't enjoyed it as much as we hoped, but the cost wasn't bad either.

All in all, this is a mediocre game. If you find it, and don't want to pay as much as the other games can run... it's an okay choice -- not a great choice, but an okay one nonetheless.

Where to buy:

Any local toy store -- Our copy was from a Kay Bee Toys and cost about $5.