ThinkFun Goats' Day Out: A Hilarious Addictive Chaotic Goat Themed Board Game

They really nailed it on this one.They managed to produce a game that my precocious 4-year-old can play well and enjoy, which has enough depth for it to be fun and competitive for thinky adults, while working equally well AND EQUALLY QUICKLY (due to the simultaneous play) with anywhere from 2 to 5 players.The theme is fun, the artwork is clear and charming, and the production is really excellent, particularly for its price range. The double layer boards for the goats and streets are an especially nice touch, which make it so as you tetris in the chunky cardboard pieces, they can satisfyingly press against the sides and each other, rather than you having to carefully keep them from crossing the edge boundaries.The choice of one or two space bonus pieces, or to feed a two-space rock to an opponent's goat, adds a fun element. And the simple-yet-layered scoring (number of pieces, groups of colored pieces, groups of chomped pieces, lost points for empty spots, and a bonus for a completely full goat) works really well and is quick to tally in each of the three rounds.---In board game terms, this is a polyomino (i.e. tetrisy shape) and a drafting (take a shape each turn and pass the rest on) game.It doesn't do anything new in the niche board game world, but it takes existing ideas and combines them into a fun, simple, small-box package that works great as a casual game, and which can also be as competitive as you like (when I play with my little daughter, we don't use the stones that mess up other people's goats, for instance.).I own way too many games, and have to regularly get rid of some to make space. This one is a keeper.

Good and fun

To hard for 8 year old to set up.

It was fun to play once we rewrote the silly rules. Will get many years out of this game.

This is a fun, challenging, and easy game to play. Directions are simple. It is a lot like the game Tetris. I did take away one star because the directions were not clear on how to use the scoring board so we just add up our points on paper.

Good game

boring, kids didnt like it.Manufacturer makes good stuff, this is not one of them.

This game is fun right from the start. Punching out all the shaped “food” pieces is just the beginning. The instructions seem long and complicated, but one read through and a couple of rounds, and its easy as pie... which you can win if its in your fridge (a little motivation to win so you get your choice of food from the fridge!)Basically, you take turns placing tetris-type “food” pieces into your goats stomach. The better the fit with no gaps, the more points you can make. There's a lot of rules about colors on the background pieces, chomped pieces, multi-colored pieces, dark squares, etc. But its fairly simple to pick up. By the 3rd round we didn't need to reference the book anymore (each game is 3 rounds). It's fun with two players, but more would be better.The shape placement is a really great spacial awareness activity and the scoring uses a lot of basic math skills (using the board of course). For young children, I would suggest simply place as many food pieces they can and not worry about scoring color points. You could also give them extra gold bars and coins the younger they are (and to even the playing field).Full disclosure: I ordered this because I've been a goat owner and I couldn't resist the goat game. And while the game does perpetuate the myth that goats eat everything (in reality, goats are grazers and tasters who love to taste everything, not consume it), the story-line is quite fun and I am thinking about ordering a second game so up to ten people can play at once.The only thing I could find wrong with this game were the instruction booklet staples... I'm not sure if they sat in a humid warehouse or what, but mine were consumed with rust! (See photo). Maybe they were themed for the game... haha!