| Recommended Age: | 7+ |
| Players: | 2-4 |
| Cost: | $24.99 |
| Play Time: | 15 Minutes (Roughly) |
| Company Site: | www.blueorangegames.com |
| Our Recommended Age: | 5+ (with help, patience and probably supervision) |
| Contents: | 16 Pasture Boards 64 Sheep Tokens Illustrated Rules |
| Skills: | Social Play Abstract Thinking Strategy Focus & Attention |
Blue Orange Games has created another fabulous game! Battle Sheep is one of those games that doesn’t take long to set up, play or learn and is super fun for pretty much any age. Move your stack of sheep across the board leaving one or more behind to cover the most space on the pasture. Watch out though as other players can block your whole stack in a small area!
Battle Sheep is recommended for ages 7 and up but the Diva can play and she is 5. It is super easy to learn but a bit harder to master. This makes it challenging for adults who like to have more strategy in their games but it is easy and simple enough to play without too much strategy for kids who are learning that part of gaming.
We love it and in fact my son who is 7 trapped me in a corner and the 5 year old trapped her dad. Granted we were going a bit easy on them…for a bit then they go the hang of it and now we have to really watch ourselves…cause we lose. It’s both a proud and frustrating moment.
The game is made up of 16 Pasture Boards made out of chipboard but with a reinforced bottom. At least it seems like a harder material so it feels reinforced. They are made up of 4 hexagon shaped grass pieces per board. The artwork on them is grassy, hexagon shapes with a few white flowers. Simple and cute…which works for this game.
The tiles are a lot heftier than I thought they would be and made out of some type of smooth plastic. The words Battle Sheep are engraved on the back and a sticker of a sheep is on the front. The stickers are clear and have either a Red, White, Black, or Blue sheep on them.
No two sheep are the same in their color. Each set of sheep has 16 different sheep and they are adorable and silly and everything you would expect from a game like this. All four colors have the same set so you can find a Red sheep with a flower that matches a Black, Blue or White sheep in the same pose with the same flower but no two Red sheep are the same! I love that kind of little detail in games. The sheep don’t matter though…they are just cute, fluffy and fun.
Aside from the instructions that is all there is to this game. OH except the box…it is a beautiful example of everything in its place…I don’t have OCD I swear…The top just slides up and the insert is made of that nice plastic with sections specific for the boards and each color set of sheep….so pretty…ahem…now to the how to part.
Objective:
Have the most pastures once no more sheep can move.
Setup:
First pick your color sheep. There are only 4 so only up to 4 people can play. Make one stack with your sheep and set it by you. Then make sure each player has 4 Pasture Boards. It doesn’t matter how many people are playing. If there are less than 4 it just means there won’t be as many boards in play.
That is all there is to the set up technically. I guess we can count the board setup as setup and not play but you take turns like you are playing. Youngest player goes first and places one of their boards in the middle of the play area and then everyone else does going clockwise.You can place the boards so there are holes but one hexagon has to be touching at least one of the hexagon sections on a board already placed. Both of my kids like to leave holes in the board…they are kind of evil…I’m so proud. Once the boards are all in place, put your stack of sheep on one hexagon near you and touching the edge of the board, then you can begin the game!
Play:
Starting with the youngest again play will go clockwise…again. On your turn you have to split your stack of sheep into 2 stacks and move one of them.
You have to leave at least 1 sheep on the hexagon the full stack was on but can move the rest or any number of them you want but you have to move at least one.
When you do move a stack you have to go in one direction, so no turning or anything. You also have to follow that path all the way to its end.
You can’t stop halfway or wherever you want. Once you choose a path you have to follow it until you can’t go further. This will mean sometimes stopping at an edge and sometimes at another players sheep.
This one trips up the Diva now and then…meaning most of the time at first but she’s gotten better. She also gets really lucky…
The Gentleman gets how this works and also has learned that if he can he wants to block anyone else in…and he tries…all the time.
I mean that’s what your supposed to do…but I don’t like it when a 7 year old blocks me in…it’s hilarious when he does it to his dad though!
Winning :
Everyone keeps taking turns moving stacks of sheep and leaving one or more behind until they have no more sheep to move. Either your sheep are blocked or you got to move all of them or at least most of them. The idea is you cannot move any more stacks of sheep and still leave one behind…this ends the game.
Now all you have to do is count up the spaces of sheep and whoever has the most pasture spaces wins! If there is a tie by two or more players (3 way tie is possible!) then the player with the largest sheep herd wins! This just means that whoever has the most sheep grouped in one area connecting to each other will win.
My son won the game we played for pictures…he had every sheep out there and blocked me and his dad…clever kid. The Diva still likes to just go wherever and we still have to remind her she cannot in fact fly the sheep around and put them wherever she wants…to which she responds with “aww man…”
The game play for Battle Sheep is simple enough for my 5 year old to understand (it took a bit of reminding for a game and a half roughly) but can be challenging enough for adults to want to play over and over as well. Then there are those cases where you have a 7 year old (almost 8) who plays better than you sometimes and you have to step up your game…and still lose…
If you’re looking for a quick and fun game for the whole family or a game night Battle Sheep is perfect. Easy to setup and put away, quick and easy to learn, educational for young or beginner gamers and fun for all ages!
Show us your Battle Sheep! @MyGeeklings @BlueOrangeGames #BattleSheep & for your chance to win a copy enter HERE!
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