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Players: 1-4 (ages 8+, with additional rules for ages 6-8)
Playing Time: 15 minutes and up
Once again, one of my old favorite games has been reworked for the electronic age. Instead of the old dice-and-scorecard version, the new Yahtzee Turbo features colorful dice, a pile of cards, and a huge, fast-talking, electronic die that acts as the game’s host.
To begin, each player gets five cards (if you’re playing with younger players, they get to play with the easier blue-coded cards). Each card shows three to five dice—they could be three-of-a-kind, four-of-a-kind, a straight, or even a random collection of dice. Players then take turns tapping on the big die, which guides game play.
On your turn, as soon as the die tells you to start, you roll the dice as quickly as you can, trying to match all of the dice on your card. You’ll want to roll fast—because you can roll any number of times until the die tells you that your time is up. Once you match all of the dice on the card or time runs out (whichever comes first), the die will tell you what to do. You might get to discard a card or two—or you might make one of your opponents draw an extra card. If you don’t make it in time, though, you may have to draw another card and add it to your pile.
As play continues, the die adjusts its timer accordingly. If players don’t seem to be making it in time, it will increase the time limit. Or, if it seems to be too easy, it will speed things up a bit.
The game continues until a player discards all of his or her cards—and that player is the winner.
Yahtzee Turbo is definitely a frantic game—and it’s guaranteed to whip your kids into a dice-rolling frenzy. Whether or not that’s a good thing is up to you. But this fast-paced dice-rolling game is exciting for kids—and since it takes only a few minutes to play, they won’t get sick of playing before the game is over.
Even younger players (like my six-year-old niece) can learn how to play this fast and furious game in no time. They don’t need to understand the rules of regular Yahtzee to play. All they need to do is match the dice on their card—and since each number (on both the dice and the cards) is color-coded, that makes it even easier.
While the simple play and fast pace make it fun for kids, though, it’s not quite as thrilling for adults. The first couple of rounds are fun, but after that, it starts to feel like a whole lot of craziness without much of a challenge. So although Yahtzee Turbo is a great game to play with the kids, I recommend choosing something else for game night with your grown-up friends.
