Dobble Connect Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Claire Giles
The classic Dobble game is already a family favourite in our house. The kids love competing to be the first to find and match their symbols, so they were excited to try Dobble Connect and see what it was about.
Dobble Connect is like a mix up between Dobble and connect 4. The aim of the game is to match the symbols and get four cards in a row to win the round. There are 90 cards featuring 10 symbols on each, with over 91 symbols in total. The game is for 2-8 players age 8+ and takes an average of about 15 minutes to play.
After receiving the item the first thing I noticed is that the box is much more vibrant and funky than the classic Dobble. It instantly stands out and grabs your attention. Even the Dobble cards inside are hexagon shaped rather than round in classic Dobble. One of the best things about Dobble is there aren’t loads of pieces like a lot of games. There are simply the Dobble cards and games rules leaflet inside. Making it a quick and easy game to set up and play.
After a quick read of the game’s rules leaflet, which took literally 5 minutes and was easy to understand, we were ready to play. I simply sorted the Dobble Connect cards into five piles. One for each of the five colours that edge the cards so orange, green, blue, pink and black. The players then choose whether to play individually or in teams depending on numbers. It is advised if more than 3 people are playing to form teams. Each player / team chooses a colour of either orange, green, blue or pink and takes that pile of cards facedown. The black cards are the starter / points cards. A black starter card is taken from the pile and placed in the centre of the table. Each team / player then turns over the top card from their coloured pile and try to be the quickest to match a symbol on their card with one on the starter card. The symbol will be the same shape and colour but may be a different size. There is always 1 and only 1 matching symbol between any two cards. Once found they shout out the name of the symbol in common between the two cards and then place their card along any of the 6 sides of the starting card. They then turn over the next card in their pile and both players start looking for a symbol in common on both the cards that are now on the table. Players can use any cards on the table to find a match as long as there is room available around the edges of that card. Players can’t place a card on top of another.
Game play then continues as above until one player gets 4 cards in a line either in a row, column or diagonal to win the round. A certain number of rounds have to be won to win the game depending on the number or teams / players as set out in the game rules. Once a round is finished the winner takes the starter card and turns it over to become a point card (there is a trophy on the flip side of the starter cards). Each player / team then takes back their own colour cards from the table and adds them back into their pile. A twist in the game is that the losing team each then gives the winning player / team one of their cards which they must shuffle into their pile. Winning teams receive two cards from each opposing team after scoring their second point, three cards after their third point etc. This makes it harder for the winning team as if the opponents cards are drawn from their pile the card must be played and depending on placement could inadvertently help another team win. Once a team / player scores all their points, they win and the game ends.
Game play is quick and often frantic and everyone plays together at the same time which my kids love. There is no waiting around for your turn. The game was so easy to set up and understand. We were literally playing the game 5 minutes after opening the box. Lovers of the classic Dobble will love this new version of the game as much as those who have never played Dobble before. It can be played with just 2 players or up to 8 players. The more players, the more frantic it becomes with everyone trying to look for their symbol at the same time. It was a lot of fun to play and the kids got very competitive looking for their symbols and trying to matching 4 in a line to win! I can see us playing this game a lot and it will definitely be played over Christmas with visiting family and friends. It is fun for both children and adults alike. My only criticism would be that unlike classic Dobble that comes in a small round metal tin that makes it so easy to just pop in your bag and take it places this just comes in a small cardboard box which isn’t as convenient.
Rating: 4.5
RRP: £14.99
This product can be purchased from Amazon.co.uk here.