It’s time for a family game night (we have regular ones in our house) and you need to pick a game or two to play. You might want to start with something quick and simple to play just to ease everyone in to fun. Some of the best quick and fun family games are the simplest games and we have been playing one such game – Dobble.
Dobble is a card game for the whole family, suitable for 2-8 players, aged 6+ and has a playing time of 10-15 minutes. It is a game of observation and speed, very similar to Snap, but much more challenging and certainly more fun.
Dobble has 55 circular cards. The cards are supplied in their own handy little travel tin so that it can be taken and played anywhere. It is actually five mini-games in one tin, but they are all variations on the same theme. Do you think you are observant and fast enough to play?
Dobble is a strange name, it is a play on the word Double – which gives you an idea what the game is about. Like Snap, it is a game of observation, suitable for the whole family. In Snap, you play the card by laying down cards with an image or number on them and players must match two to win the cards. Dobble is similar, but different. Every card has a variety of images on them, but every two cards have ONE symbol in common and the idea is to be the first to spot them, name it and win the card. There are 57 symbols in total, and you must be fast enough to spot the matching pair.
Each of the circular Dobble cards has eight different colourful images on it, in various sizes. If you look at any two cards, they will have one, and only one, matching image on them, along with seven that don’t match. Players must be eagle-eyed enough to spot the two matching images on your card and the draw card and call it before any of your opponents do. It is a game of very speedy observation which tests your visual perception, pattern recognition, and reflexes.
There are five mini games to play all based around observation; Fill the Well, The Towering Inferno, Hot Potato, Catch Them All, and The Poisoned Gift.
Overall, I found Dobble to be a really great game, lots of fun and quick to play! I grew up playing Snap with a normal deck of playing cards, and Dobble is a vast improvement. It is one of the very few games that can be played by adults and children at the same time, without either age group being at a disadvantage and no adaptations needing to be made to level the playing field.
It is a very quick game to play as playing time can be as long as you want it to be – a round of Dobble only takes around five minutes, depending on the variation of the game you are playing, but it’s so good that one game just won’t be enough. You just have to decide how many rounds you want to play – 3, 5, 10, it’s your choice!
We have played it as a family game (2 adults and 2 kids), the kids have played it between themselves, and we have also played it just with the adults. It didn’t matter in what way it was played, we all agreed that it was excellent fun. I thoroughly enjoyed playing it, as did the rest of the household, although we did find that it was most enjoyable when more players were involved.
With five variations of the game to play, the general consensus in our house for the best version to play and definitely our favourite was Fill the Well, just because it is fast, fun and furiously competitive. The aim of Fill the Well is to be the first player to get rid of all your cards. That said, we have enjoyed ALL five games.
Dobble is supplied in a nice and compact tin with a secure lid. This makes it an ideal travel game for taking almost anywhere. It will fit nicely in your bag and is easy to throw in the glove box of the car and is a great size for taking camping, to the beach or even on a train journey. All you need is a flat surface to play on and a few spare minutes to play.
A simple game to play and easily learned in less than 30 seconds. It is lots of fun for children, teenagers and adults of all ages, with the added bonus that everyone can play equally as well together. A game that encourages concentration, observation and speed.
A compact game that is BIG on fun and can be played anywhere!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £13.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
DISCLOSURE: All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
