Matthew BaileySo, after playing a few more complex games over the last few days, today we are going to simplify it down to the core.
Therefore, Game 10 of the “Bailey Family Summer 2023 Board Game Bonanza” is “Dobble,” also known as “Spot It” in other countries, played by myself, Jack (8.), and Toby (5).
To be clear, my main interest here is actually in the free version of Dobble that the boys got at McDonald’s a few days ago. Every year, McDonald’s normally includes a mini-board game set in their Happy Meals, and in the past, they have done Jenga, Frustration, and my absolute favourite, Hungry Hippos, which, in my opinion, is better than the retail game as there is a dome over the playing area so you don’t lose any of the balls.
There are actually 6 versions of mcdonalds Dobble to collect and here i have the classic version.
Now, I’ll be straightforward and admit that while I appreciate Dobble for what it is, I am not a massive fan of the game in general. If ypu have been reading my ramblings for a while you know, I am not often a big fan of games that require reaction time, as playing these with children of different ages often leads to an unfair playing field. However, in recent times, Toby’s reactions have become a lot quicker, and the playing field has levelled a little, so we have been trying a few more reaction games lately.
If you don’t know how to play “Dobble,” it essentially works like this: you share out the cards equally to all the players, leaving one card in the middle. One image on your card will match one image on the card in the middle, and you need to slam your card down quicker than everyone else around the table, stating what image you have matched. The first person to get rid of all of their cards wins.
As time has gone on, people have developed more games, both officially and unofficially, that can be played with a “Dobble” set, and they are becoming increasingly like a pack of playing cards, offering a variety of things you can do.
For this review, we looked at three different versions of Dobble (just accept that I have three versions (now four) of a game I am not overly enamored by in general)), and most importantly, we looked at the free version currently in the McDonald’s Happy Meal.
The three normal versions of “Dobble” we looked at were the original, the kids’ version that has slightly fewer symbols on each and actually lines up with the McDonald’s version, and the number/shapes version. They all play largely the same, and I must admit I did enjoy playing this with the boys, as did they, a lot more than the last time we tried a few months ago.
Now, as you can see by the attached photographs, the free version of “Dobble” that comes in this year’s set of Happy Meals has slightly fewer cards and is quite a bit smaller than the retail version of “Dobble,” and it was this smallness that really attracted me to it in the first place. “Dobble” in itself is a pretty portable game, but this version is like an ultra travel version that I could almost put in my wallet, letterbox, handbag or suitcase.
So, would I recommend you go down to McDonald’s and either buy a Happy Meal or spend one pound and get an ultra-travel version of Dobble? Yes, I would 100% say that would be a good idea. This set is cute, it’s got decent production values, the box it comes in is like a playing card box, and it really is tiny to the point where this could easily go anywhere with you.
So now the only question left to ask is, why does McDonald’s not produce a wrap-based Happy Meal?
