Hey folks, I’m back again with another kids game. This time we’re playing with an ax and chopping down trees. We’re wearing flannel, eating flap jacks, and other lumberjack stereotypes. We’re looking at Toc Toc Woodman, or the newer edition called Click Clack Lumberjack, by Mayday Games. It’s a dexterity game for 2-7 players.
The game comes with the rules, a tree stump, a plastic ax, 8 center discs, and 32 bark pieces.
To set up, you’ll place the tree stump within reach of all players. Place one of the center discs on top of the disc. Next, you’ll slide the bark pieces onto the center disc. The discs work using slots and gravity. If there’s something underneath the bark, it stays on. As soon as there’s a lack or ground under the bark, it will slide off and fall down. Repeat the process for all the discs. And that’s it for set up.
Game play is really easy. Each player gets two chops at the tree. They can use the ax any way to hit the tree. After they take their chops, it’s the next players turn. During a player’s turn, anything that falls off the tree is claimed by that player. Players are trying to just get the bark and not the center pieces off the tree. Game play goes on until all the bark is knocked off the tree. At the end of the game, bark is worth 1 point each and the center pieces are worth -5 points each. So as you can see, if you knock a whole layer off the tree, 4 bark pieces and 1 center piece, you’ll net -1 point total.
There you have it. A quick dexterity game meant for kids. It’s sort of like a reverse jenga. Instead of building it up, you’re knocking it down. And that’s what my youngest likes. I’ll be honest, it’s what I like about it too. The components are plastic and sturdy. Only concerns about the components would be losing the pieces. It’s a kids game, so at some point expect to be missing pieces when kids are playing it. The game play is simple and easy. Hit the tree twice, and pass to the next player. Now, there’s some strategy when hitting the tree if older “kids” are playing. Try and keep the center of gravity by knocking a center piece one way, then back the other side. Or you can go the other direction and make the tree unbalanced and easy to knock over for the next player to deal with. It also matters how hard you hit the tree. Too light, and nothing falls off, too hard and everything falls. My youngest that likes this game often hits it too hard. He’s still a bit young, but after a couple of plays he was understanding that concept. This is a really light kids game. It’s a nice break from the typical kids games like Ants in the Pants, Pop the Pig, or Don’t Break the Ice. Do I recommend this for any family to get? I’m a little undecided. While I like this game, I like Rhino Hero better. I know it’s a different game, one you’re building up, the other your knocking down. I recommend this if you’re a big fan of dexterity games and want to add more to your collection. If you’re just looking for one dexterity game to add to your collection, I would look elsewhere first.
Everyone and their Grandmother Games 