Matthew BaileySummer Games Fest 2025 – Game 32 – Fire in the Hole! I really do like a good dexterity game, and I’m here to say I’m going to lead with this… Fire in the Hole! is one of the best dexterity family party games I have ever played.
Created by small indie publisher McMiller, Fire in the Hole! is something truly special from the moment you take it out of the box.
Like many of McMiller’s games, it’s plastic-free, and this one is no exception, coming in a beautiful clamshell box with strong branding that makes it instantly recognisable. When I first got the game, I thought you had to construct the pirate ship, and in my head, that meant building it piece by piece. But when you open the box, inside is this absolutely beautiful pop-up pirate ship, complete with waves, that is truly marvellous. The boys were absolutely bowled over by how cool it looks. I’ve put a video of me opening the board below, and it’s well worth a watch.
The game also comes with these really cool eye patches that everyone gets, which you may need to use on your turn if the card you play requires it.
How the game works is simple. You start with a hand of four cards, and on your turn, you play a card and then do what it says. In most cases, this involves throwing a coloured cannonball at the ship, trying to land it in the correct spot. This might be done in a number of ways, such as throwing two hands at once, or doing it blindfolded with the eye patch on to make your depth perception worse. There are also other actions, such as placing the X token to block a scoring space, moving another player’s cannonball to a different location, or swapping your cannonball colour altogether, thereby stealing a spot someone else has already claimed. This adds an element of strategy to an already awesome dexterity game, which I really appreciated, and it definitely increases the level of fun.
After you’ve chosen and played a card, you roll the dice, which tells you whether only you get to throw a cannonball or whether everyone gets a go.
The cannonballs themselves are brightly coloured and made of a soft material with a really decent weight to them. If you’ve played The Fuzzies, they feel kind of similar, but these are definitely a bit denser. That means when you throw them, they’re not going to damage anything, even if the kids end up hitting each other, but they still have enough weight to feel satisfying to throw.
What you’re trying to do to win the game is get four of your cannonballs linked together orthogonally, and this is definitely easier said than done, especially with four players.
All of the kids absolutely love this game. It has incredible table presence, and the quality of the components is simply outstanding. I cannot stress enough how enjoyable this is to play. It sits at the perfect balance between a silly, family-friendly dexterity game, and something with just enough strategy and a decent level of actual skill required to make the whole thing work. Even for people or younger kids who might not be that good at the throwing aspect, there are strong cards that let you move balls or change colours, meaning even the best players can still be undone by someone else.
It also comes with extra balls, so if you lose one or two, you’ve still got enough to play, which is excellent foresight. My only slight negative, and I really am clutching at straws here, is that the pink and orange balls look quite similar under certain lighting. I personally would have gone with a more distinct colour than orange, but honestly, this is such a minor issue that it doesn’t really matter.
Fire in the Hole! is by far one of the best games I’ve played in a really long time, and I reckon it is definitely my favourite non-stacking dexterity game. It’s absolutely wonderful. I couldn’t recommend it any more highly and for what you get for £24.99 this is an absolute bargain.
Disclaimer: A copy of Fire in the Hole! was kindly provided by McMiller for the purposes of review. All of the thoughts and opinions about the game are my own, and those of my boys.
