Falcon Jumbo Nibble Nibble

Remember the story on Hansel and Gretel…? The little people who find the house made of sweats and chocolate and decide to eat some of it… only to find that the owner of the house was a wart faced witch and… well you know the rest, (but if you don't then I don't want to spoilt he story for you…)

Anyway… Jumbo have taken the story idea and made it into a board game… (clever things aren't they..?) and when my youngest daughter say it ...
...with me being a strict father I picked it straight from the shelf, ( I need to toughen up a bit I think..?)
When we got it home the four of us set it up, (luckily I had some batteries in the house as there were none supplied with the game…that is so annoying isn't it?), and, after a short read of the rules, (which, as always, are now lost somewhere in her room), we began to play the game… with some hilarious results as the witch began to show ... more

Remember the story on Hansel and Gretel…? The little people who find the house made of sweats and chocolate and decide to eat some of it… only to find that the owner of the house was a wart faced witch and… well you know the rest, (but if you don't then I don't want to spoilt he story for you…)

Anyway… Jumbo have taken the story idea and made it into a board game… (clever things aren't they..?) and when my youngest daughter say it in the shop she asked me to get it her…and with me being a strict father I picked it straight from the shelf, ( I need to toughen up a bit I think..?)
When we got it home the four of us set it up, (luckily I had some batteries in the house as there were none supplied with the game…that is so annoying isn't it?), and, after a short read of the rules, (which, as always, are now lost somewhere in her room), we began to play the game… with some hilarious results as the witch began to show her face… her croaking voice sending my kids into fits of laughter, (especially as there is a button on top of the chimney which, when pressed, sends the witch into a shrieking frenzy…much to the fascination of my youngest)

** THE GAME ITSELF…

* The image on the box really explain the game…consisting of a witch poking her head out of a cottage window, watching two children as they search the floor for sweets…

** WHAT'S IN THE BOX…?

* A board.. (obviously)

• A well constructed moulded cottage, containing the witch,(Needs 4 AAA batteries not supplied)
• Four playing pieces… (Hansel and Gretel stuck together for each piece)
• 16 pieces which you need to collect…( 4 pink hearts/ 4 brown wafers/ 4 chocolate chunks and 4 blue 'ice gem' like sweets)
• A dice
  
• WHAT IS IT..?

As I said, it is a small board game for 2-4 players, ages 4+. With each player trying to collect as many of the pieces, (sweets and treats), which are attached to the roof and wall of the cottage, without disturbing the witch inside..

* HOW TO PLAY…

After you have fitted the four AAA batteries (not supplied) into the bottom of the cottage, (small cross head screwdriver required), simply switch the game to either the easy game, (single) or the harder game, (double)… the switch can be found at the opposite end to the doors of the cottage… then place the cottage onto the middle of the board.

Now you are ready to begin…

Each player chooses a playing piece and then starts from their respective colour… Then you choose who goes first, (argument may start at this point), then with the roll of the dice the player moves the stated number.
When you land on the pictured squares you then take the piece from the cottage that the image tells you to…(ie. if you land on a pink heart you have to take a pink heart from the cottage, or a chocolate chunk then take a chocolate chunk from the cottage…etc…etc…)
As you take the piece from the cottage one of two things can happen…

• 1) The witch stays undisturbed, hidden behind the door…. This means you get to keep the piece you have taken.
• 2) The witch stirs, pushing the top of the door open, slowly poking her head out, softly speaking as she emerges…. If this happens then you must replace the piece where you took it from and it is the next persons turn to throw the dice…

* *THE WINNER…

To win the game you must collect one of each sweet/treat without disturbing the witch… sounds easy but it's not…. (the box states that the playing time is approximately 15 minutes to play the game).

** IN CONCLUSION…

If you do get one of those precious moments to spend with your kids then this is the sort of game you should be playing.
It is so easy to play and is simply harmless fun for everyone, with laughter thrown in for free… which is something every family needs.
Although the game doesn't take a long time to actually play, (I think the longest game we played was just under ten minutes), it is a very enjoyable and is the type that you can play many times without it becoming boring…(although it can get a little irritating if the witch keeps appearing on your turn, so if you do have a short fuse then it may set you off).

On our first sitting, after setting out the game and explaining the rules to the kids, (and the wife), we played a good four games, each one with some hilarity, especially when my youngest discovered what happened when the button on top of the chimney did… shrieking and running from the room on the first encounter… giggling thereafter.
All four of us laughing at the witch appears from behind the slowly opening creaking door, softly speaking her almost eerie words, (words which I will not put in the review as I feel it would spoil the funny surprise if and when you play the game).

I have to admit, I tried to figure out if different pressure whilst taking the pieces had any effect on the witch emerging from the doorway, but it didn't … much to my annoyance as I replaced piece after piece, whilst the others giggled, (Although there are certain ways to avoid the witch coming out but I won't spoil it in this review… you'll have to discover it for yourself).

As for the construction of the game… well, in on word… 'excellent'… the figures, sweets and treats are solid piece and not your flimsy, easily broken bits of rubbish, and the actual cottage is well thought out, giving a feel of long lasting, even the doors where the witch emerges look strong enough to stand up to small fingers pulling and prodding, trying to get at the funny looking witch…(although there is a whirring sound as the hag slowly pushes the door open, which I presume is the tiny little motor which moves her), but this does seem to add to the eeriness of the entire idea).
Compared to some flimsy games on the market at the moment this one seems to have been built to last, (not like that MB game of 'Guess Who', which is so shoddily made that I'm amazed the company haven't been sued… I mean, the flimsy plastic bits seem to snap when your just getting it out of the box… and the cards with faces on keep falling from their holders when ever the wind blows).

In all, Nibble Nibble is definitely designed with heavy handed kids in mind…and believe me my kids can destroy 'Tonka-Trucks' with a single blow… so to find a well made and a great fun to play game is a god send…

If you haven't already played this game and want to have a go then you can get the game from Toyrus for £14.99 or www.amazon.co.uk for £14.65 

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