Coconuts

(2-4 players; 15 minutes; ages 5+)

This is an absolutely brilliant dexterity game for Kindergarten students, but older students and adults will have a pretty good time too. Parents will often be beaten. The real joy in this game is how elegantly different winning strategies are balanced. Every time you get a coconut in a red cup you get an extra turn. That means you can win the game by only owning one red cup. A player wins automatically if they make a stack of six cups – red or yellow.

I cannot speak highly enough about the subtle game design that went into making this a real winner.  The only other Kindergarten dexterity games that get close to this experience are Gulo Gulo, Loopin’ Louie and the simpler game Jenga. You can look these and other games up on Board Game Geek.

I would like to brainstorm one rule change for younger children because at the end of the game it becomes increasingly difficult to make a successful shot. The new rule would be something like this… after six successive misses – the game ends.