Matthew BaileyWe kick off game 1 of our “Travel Games Log” with “Barbecubes”, a small tin-box game from Alley Cat, and the sequel to the highly recommended group favourite “Tinderblox”.
You begin by setting up the game, placing the wooden grilles over the box itself, laying out a deck of cards, and placing all of the meat pieces into a pile. We used the lid of the box itself, which helped prevent pieces from falling all over the place—a definite plus for a travel game.
The gameplay involves drawing a card and using the BBQ tongs (tweezers) to place a piece of meat onto the BBQ as per the card’s instructions—either placing it on one bar or across two bars. Some cards introduce an extra challenge, such as using your non-dominant hand, which, for some of us, was like building a house of cards in a thunderstorm.
If you knock or drop a piece of meat into the BBQ, you take the card, and the game passes to the next player. If someone collects two cards, they are eliminated, and play continues until there is a winner.
Much like a real BBQ, space becomes a premium very quickly. A big part of the strategy is not only fulfilling the placement rules but also making it harder for other players to fit their pieces onto the grill. As the game progresses, nudging and careful placement become crucial, adding a tense, strategic layer to the dexterity challenge.
The component quality is top-notch. The tin box is always a nice touch, the tongs are well made, and the wooden grates fit perfectly. Most importantly, I absolutely adore the pixelated meat pieces—they are stylised, fun, and appealed massively to my kids, who, like me, are into video games. The pixelated design also improves grip, and I imagine if they had been curved, the game would have been far trickier. Everything fits neatly back into the box, which isn’t always a given with tin games.
I don’t currently own a copy of it, but there is also a vegetarian version for those who prefer not to engage with meat. I fully intend to get hold of it and try out the double-play version, which Alley Cat have hinted will have extra rules for a special combined game.
In case I haven’t already made it perfectly clear, “Barbecubes” is an absolute winner in my book. I always found “Tinderblox” a little too fiddly, but “Barbecubes” is a worthy sequel and, in fact, was preferred by everyone who played it. We did attempt to play with Henry (three years old), but the dexterity required for the tweezers was a bit too much. That said, it’s very playable for kids who can handle tweezers, and, as I mentioned earlier, it’s far less fiddly than “Tinderblox” due to the slightly larger components.
“Barbecues” is a fantastic little travel dexterity game that I highly recommend. The existence of both the meat and veggie versions is a thoughtful touch that will be appreciated by many. And, if all goes well, I look forward to potentially bookending this travel series with a look at the vegetarian version and the special combined game.
What a great start! Disclaimer: “Barbecubes” was kindly provided by “Alley Cat Games” for the purpose of review. Caezar Al-Jassar from Alley Cat Games is an active member of our community. Our thoughts and opinions are, however, our own.
