Kerplunk! (Kerplunk)

Member Name: katykicker

Product:	Kerplunk
Date:	21/06/09 (32 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy to set up, great fun, good price.

Disadvantages: None

Kerplunk is a game which has been around since the 1960's and it is a game of skill.

Kerplunk is a multicoloured plastic tube that has lots of small holes in it and to set up the game you simply take the plastic straws provided, push them through the holes in various positions in order to create a 'web' affect and then you drop the marbles provided in the top of the plastic tube and then in order to win the players must remove the straws.

At the start of each players turn the plastic tube is rotated so that a hole in the bottom of the base holding the tube is aligned with that particular players tray and then when they remove a plastic straw, if they dislodge a marble it will fall down the tube and in to that players slot. As soon as a player has touched a plastic straw they are not able to change their mind and must remove it. The player at the end of the game with the least amount of marbles is the winner.

This game is recommend for 2-4 players and it's for ages 5+ but I have a nephew whose almost 5 and he will happily play along, although, it is best to supervise play at all times because of the marbles.

The game takes about 5-10 minutes to set up and it can be set up by small children or big children alike but I prefer to set it up myself as my nieces & nephew tend to just put the straws in basic places and don't put much thought in to how that's going to stop marbles getting through whereas I like to try and make the game last as long as possible. It's usually very easy for me to win this game as my nieces & nephew are a variety of age ranges but it would seem that they mainly just think about what one straw is going to do not what the overall affect is going to be whereas I don't mind moving a straw and gaining one marble if I know that it's going to make someone else get two marbles on their turn.

The design of this game has not really changed since I was a small child and I've really been interested in all of the old games recently as it's available for under £10.00 and can provide hours of entertainment for myself and the little ones when they come to visit. Also, I have been known to play a game against my other half from time to time and that's far better as it's good to be up against someone else who will think ahead and really think about which straw to remove before taking their turn.

It is possible for games to last just a few minutes or a lot longer, it really does depend who you are playing against.

I am rating Kerplunk 5/5 as it's easy to set up and suitable for most ages, the price I paid (£11.65 including postage) is very reasonable and the game is very easy to store away again in it's large, sturdy box which I can stack with all the other boardgames.

Summary: A fantastic game for all ages.