Boardgames have become increasingly more complex and more evolved as they’ve become more popular. Modern technology has made it really easy to fund the production of staggeringly intricate and complex games that model everything from the growth of bacteria to terraforming planets. As entertaining as this can be, sometimes you need something simpler. Such as Woo-Hoo!
Woo-Hoo! Is not a complex game; the plot is simple. After a hard days playing, the children have left all their toys in the sand-pit. Four small garden gnomes have stirred to tidy up, but first things first, they’re going to play on the cool elephant slide first. That’s right; it’s a roll and move game with a great big wacking cardboard elephant as its centre piece. Move the meeple up the stairs and slide it down the elephant trunk, then pick up toy counters to track your ‘score’. Like in life, whomever has the toys wins.
Woo-Hoo! is from Brain Games, the same people who brought us penguin flicking game Ice Cool. It has a familiar design concept; the box you store the game in is part of the game itself. Set up is simple; slot together to cardboard elephant, stick in on the side of the box, add counters and you’re good to go.
This is a game firmly aimed at small children, but designed in such a way that adults aren’t incredibly bored when playing it (unlike most games for little kids). What’s surprising is how much fun adults have with it. The ‘advanced’ rules allow for pieces to shove each other down the steps of the slide, and this is where grown-ups find the most fun. Forget the ‘gnomes’ story for the game, this is a game that lets more mature gamers act like children for a short while.
Everytime we’ve played Woo-Hoo! the game has turned into one running gag about how amusing kids are when playing. Roll the dice, get shoved off the slide and declare ‘it’s unfair’ in the most petulant comedy voice you can. Or whine that another player has nabbed all the toys. It’s also pretty short; 10 minutes and you’re done. This is a great ‘appetiser’ or ‘winding-down’ game for a regular games night. Great with kids, excellent for parents and fun all round. Woo-Hoo! indeed.
WOO-HOO! / PUBLISHER: BRAIN GAMES / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 2017
