Ages 7+ :: Publisher – Blue Orange Games :: Designer – Jeff Lai :: 10-15 mins
Race to Build Your Sushi Tower!
Kid Rating: 3.5/5 || Parent Rating: 4/5
Maki Stack is a dexterity game where players race to be the first to build a stack of sushi related components. Game play is simple, splitting players into two teams of two. A card is flipped that shows a specific stack configuration of the sushi related wooden shapes. The two teams must then match that tower … but there is a twist. The back of the card indicates two game modes to make the task more difficult.
Chopsticks mode – As a team of two people, each player uses one of their fingers to pick up and stack pieces matching the tower depicted on the card. Each player’s individual finger represents one of the pair of chopsticks. They work as a team coordinating their fingers to carefully beat their opponents and build their tower first.
Mask mode – One player puts on the blindfold and builds the stack under the verbal direction of their teammate.
That’s it! Sounds simple? Yes it is. Blue Orange Games have been known to put out games with simple rules that are just addictively fun. Dr Eureka, a Blue Orange hit, is a favourite of ours and Maki Stack adds perfectly to that line of games.
The Kids Love it
From a child’s perspective there is a lot to love. The components are fantastic as always from Blue Orange Games. Included are big chunky wooden maki rolls, soy sauce bottles, and wasabi dipping bowls that the kids love to play with after they are done with the game. It’s a smooth transition from “game” time to “sushi store imagination” time. Also, they don’t over-do the number of components. With just 5 pieces to stack, the game doesn’t get overly complicated with crazy configurations. Instead it relies on the odd shapes of each piece to create a level of difficulty.
Although the game is best with two teams competing, it can also be played without the racing aspect with just two players working together to complete their goal. This makes the game accessible to ages much younger than 7. My youngest daughter, at just under 4 years old, was able to do both the chopsticks mode and blindfold mode with me. It was great in promoting teamwork as well as for improving dexterity control for my younger daughter. The fine muscle control to hold up one side of the maki piece is surprisingly challenging, but doable. Mask mode allowed the kids to practice spatial reasoning. My 6 year old still confuses her left and right, and this was absolutely perfect for her to get a grasp on relative positioning. Whether she was directing my movements or blindfolded herself, it was great to see her build the association between words and direction.
Lastly, gameplay is super fast with each task only taking a few minutes. You can vary the game length by setting a number of cards to go through. Play as long or short as you want!
The only caveat with playing Maki Stack with younger children (under the recommended age range of 7), is the tendency to peek under that mask. The mask is made of a flexible foam that can leave a gap around the nose bridge making it easy to peek by positioning the angle of your head. My 4 year old couldn’t resist the urge to peek; completely understandable at her age. My 6 year old would peek at times, but did put an effort to resist temptation. Fabric eye masks might have worked better and I might use a sleep mask with the game for only the kids.
The Adults Love it Even More
Oddly enough, I think this game will work better with adults than with kids. Something about dexterity competition that makes adults turn into children. Just like Jenga, Rhino Hero, Animal Upon Animal and Dr Eureka, adults can’t withstand the urge to show who is best at completing tasks with their hands. The team based race is what makes this work. Each team is trying to get it done as fast as they can, which leads to mistakes, which leads to laughter from the spectators. The game rules includes some variations to adjust difficulty, such as mini-chopsticks mode which forces players to use only pinky fingers. Or even chopsticks mode where one player wears the mask!
You can’t take the game too seriously. It’s a fun activity where winning or losing is the last thing to make the game enjoyable. It works wonderfully as a group party with drinks in hand (sake anyone?). Perfect for home or at a board game cafe. Probably not so good at a sushi restaurant.
Final Thoughts :: A Game for Every Age
We think this game is a great addition to a family game shelf. It works great for a large range of ages with easy ways to scale it for young children. Having it while my kids grow works perfectly because they can transition from toy play, to casual play, to competitive play as they get older. It doesn’t make itself out to be more than what it is, a great filler to occasionally bring out for 15-20 mins of fast chaotic laughter-inducing fun. A great family level game that can double as a late night short party game.
During the game testing with the children there were some laughters mixed in with some accusations of cheating when peeking happened. These accusations did hurt some feelings and had to be managed and reframed to keep the game fun. In the next article we will go over some tips on how to help kids follow the rules, resist the urge to cheat and win and lose gracefully. Stay Tuned and be sure to comment below to share your thoughts!
Maki Stack was generously provided by distributor Ilo307 . Other than receiving the game we were not paid or compensated in any way. The review and comments provided herein are entirely our own and are independent from all third parties.