BOARD GAME – Three Reasons Robo Rally is a Must Own Board Game

While I can’t say that every board game I own is must purchase, I think Robo Rally designed by Richard Garfield (creator of Magic: The Gathering ) is a must. Below you’ll find the three main reasons I think this is so.

This is a surprising little game that went out of print for a while. I bought it because the idea of the game, appealed to my six year old.

Once bought and played, we were blown away at how much fun we were having.

In the game, you control a little robot. You’re objective is to be the first robot to touch all the flags on the board.

That’s it.

Everyone at the table preprograms their robot using cards at the beginning of a turn. Then in the second part of the turn, the robots all move at the same time and you see what happens.

As you might expect, robots crash into each other, fall in to holes, crash against walls and meet all kinds of other crazy hilarity.

It’s so fun.

So here’s the three things that make this game a must own:

1. Easy to Learn

Let’s face it, one of the reasons most people don’t like buying or playing new board games is because they don’t want to learn the rules.  Fortunately, the rules for Robo Rally are very simple.

Everyone gets a hand of nine instruction cards. From those nine cards you choose five instruction cards for your robot.  Once everyone has done so, you reveal the cards one by one and move your robot according to the instruction cards you’ve chosen.

That’s it, in a nutshell.  Don’t be afraid of to read the 10 pages of instructions.  They basically clarify some things like what happens when robots fall in holes, get hit by lasers, go on conveyor belts, run into each other…stuff like that.  It’s actually really simple.

It’s all the stuff that makes the game fun.

2. Plays Two to Eight Players

It’s rare to find a board game that is fun with two and eight.  Robo Rally is one of them.

This is especially handy since I have such a big family.  There’s seven of us, and even though one of my kids is still a baby, at some point, he’s going to be old enough to join in the fun.

But even if you don’t have a big family, when you have friends over, you might end up with more than five players.  It’s often difficult to find a game that plays that many people and isn’t a party game.

3.  Fun For Just About Any Age

The age on the box says, “12+.” I played this game with my six year old and he LOVED it. Not only did he understand what he needed to do, but he even strategized.

I was very impressed. The game is deep but you can play it superficially and still have fun.

If you have young kids as I do, say around 3 or 4, and if you’ve trained them not to ruin cards, even they can play. They simply put down instruction cards in a chaotic way and then see what happens. Although, you may not want to keep count of their lives.

For everyone else, they add another element of chaos to the game that can make all the turns even more fun.

If you’re not playing with little kids, the “expert” maps will provide some crazy challenges for any adult player involved.

Some Other Side Benefits

I found it interesting that it’s a game about programing robots. In a lot of ways, this is a gateway to real programing.

My son loved the idea that he was “commanding” a robot. I can see how I can latter explain programing, using this game as an analogy.

It’s also a really good way to teach the kids to think ahead and think logically. The challenge of telling their robot to do what they want within the limits of the cards they have on hand is great for them.

It’s a great puzzle.

I can’t say enough good things. This game is worth a purchase.

My kids are obsessed with the game and the experiences it creates.