Review : Angry Birds - Knock On Wood Game

It happens all the time. A company comes up with a great idea that actually sells, and then the next thing you know, they’re expanding their new-found “brand” to encompass every other gadget imaginable to take full advantage of their brilliant initial concept. Such is the case with the Angry Birds market. While it started from an explosive mobile app featuring a cynical yet appealing flock of angry birds, there are numerous other products on the market today attempting to capitalize on the flying icons from stuffed animals to T-shirts, and apparently, now board games as well. The Angry Birds premiere board game called Angry Birds: Knock on Wood is designed for kids ages five and older and promises a real-life replication of the wildly popular mobile app.

Fun and Simple Concept

Unlike a lot of other games (even the ones targeted towards kids), this game is not hard to play. The rules are pretty simple: you pick a card, follow the instructions to build a structure, and your opponent tries to knock it down by using the included slingshot to shoot the birds at your masterpiece. For some reason, lots of youngsters (and quite a few adults as well) find this kind of destruction incredibly entertaining. Plus, little kids can play it too since no reading is required and the concept is fairly (ok, really) simple.

Educational

Yes, you heard that right. This board game based on a seemingly pointless but wildly entertaining video game app has some redeeming educational qualities. No, it won’t teach your kid to spell or perform calculations in his head, but it will help him develop  the fine motor skills and coordination necessary to build the required structures, plus his imagination is a bit more engaged that it would be were he simply playing the game on a cell phone or computer.

 

The Pros

• The rules are simple, easy to explain to younger children, and you don’t have to know how to read to figure things out, so that’s also great for little ones.
• Games with catapults are always a hit around here!
• I love, love, love Angry Birds anything!
• Set up was easy – within a few minutes – and they have been playing with it ever since. This one is a keeper!
• Fun for the whole family.
• This is the BEST investment in fun I have made in a LONG time!!

The Cons

• Requires coordination and patience…
• I wanted to love this game, but the plastic pieces are so flimsy and light.
• Most of the time, you spend a long time building the structure only to miss it completely with the birds.

The bottom line is that if your kid loves the original Angry Birds app or computer game, he’s going to love this game as well. And chances are, even if your little one doesn’t know what Angry Birds is yet, he’s still going to love this game. After all, what kid doesn’t like building things and then destroying them? Although you may balk at the millions of pieces or lack of durability, your kid is not going to care one iota about those things. So, your decision making really comes down to this - are you willing to make a little sacrifice to see your kid smile as he engages in technology-free fun? Of course you are!