https://www.starburstmagazine.com
  • Subscribe
  • Featured
  • Reviews
  • Podcasts
  • News
  • Trailer Park
  • Subscribe
  • Film Festival
  • Store
  • Cart (0)
  • (0)
  • Account

Sorry there are no results, please try searching for something else

Please Use the search box on the left to search the site.

Search Results:

News

Out Now – ISSUE 448

STARBURST celebrates the anti-hero with previews ...

reviews

SOFT MATTER

A nonsensical sci-fi comedy, Soft Matter is Jim ...

reviews

WE

Put bluntly, STARBURST wouldn’t exist if it’s ...

reviews

GRIZZLY (1976)

Children of the 1970s in the UK fondly remember a ...

reviews

NEON BULL (BOI NEON)

Anyone coming to Neon Bull expecting a narrative ...

reviews

RED MOON, PHASE 4: ECLIPSE

In the fourth part of the alternate history series ...

reviews

THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT

The Strangers: Prey at Night is a sequel to the ...

reviews

CURE (1997)

Many would cite 1998’s Ringu as patient zero of ...

reviews

NOT SO STORIES

One of the most delightful developments in the ...

reviews

STAR WARS: LAST SHOT

With the latest Star Wars movie, Solo, looking to ...

News

Netflix’s WITCHER Could Premiere in 2020

One of the upcoming projects that has the ...

Reviews | Written by Ed Fortune 13/07/2016

ICE COOL

Sometimes, a game is a so well thought out and charming that it becomes really easy to get into. Ice Cool is a clever game firmly aimed at families, but is pretty guaranteed to delight anyone who is fond of whimsy.

The premise for the game is delightfully silly. You are a baby penguin at penguin school. (And yes, that makes the name of the game a pun.)  Lunchtime is coming and the teachers are all going to have a fishy feast. However, being a hungry little bird, you’ve snuck out of lessons to nab yourself as many delicious fish as possible. All you need to do is avoid the hall monitor.

The actual game consists of a small number of cards; some colour coded hall passes (one for each penguin), wooden fish pegs, boxes and specially balanced wobbly penguin counters.  The boxes form the board; Ice Cool is marketed as a Box In A Box game and they all pack away into one box. You assemble the board using the wooden pegs, some of which are specific colours.  Some boxes have ‘doors’, which are really square holes in the side of the box. The counters are cute looking with curved bases. To earn a ‘fish’, you have to flick the little rascal through the ‘doors’.

It’s much trickier than you might think; anyone who grew up playing Subbuteo may understand the strategy here, but most of us simpler have to flick and prey.  Birds that get trapped in corners can be dragged back into specially denoted areas, and this clever rule means that though big handed types have an advantage in power, those with smaller hands have finesse.  To make things trickier, players take turns to be hall monitor; whack your penguin into another and you get to take their hall pass. Once either everyone has been caught or someone has nabbed all the fish, players draw ‘fish cards’ for the number of fish counters or hall passes they’ve earned. The game continues until everyone has gotten a chance to be hall monitor.

It’s a quick and fiendish little game, with pieces bouncing off walls and people doing their best to get that clever trick shot in. The game art and model design are spot on and very charming; it’s full of clever little nods and every aspect of the game has been considered and included. The rules are simple yet written in a fun and clear way.  It’s a great family game and deserves a place on your shelf.

ICE COOL / DESIGNER: BRIAN GOMEZ / ARTIST: REINIS PETERSONS / PUBLISHERS: BRAIN GAMES / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW

Reviews you may like

Read More

reviews | 22/04/2018

STREETS OF RED: DEVIL’S DARE DE...

Taking its cues from games like Streets of Rage and Double Dragon, Streets ...

View Article Read More

Share

reviews | 9/04/2018

ASH OF GODS: REDEMPTION

There’s always a line between inspiration and outright copying. It’s the ...

View Article Read More

Share

  • STREETS OF RED: DEVIL’S DARE DELUXE

    Taking its cues from games like Streets of Rage and Double Dragon, Streets of Red adds a modern twist to old school beat em ups by includ...

    Read More
  • ASH OF GODS: REDEMPTION

    There’s always a line between inspiration and outright copying. It’s the difference between an artist taking references and outright ...

    Read More

© Starburst Magazine - all rights reserved

  • Contact
  • Privacy