I love a word game, particularly when it’s doing something a little different from the standard Scrabble or guess-the-word concepts, so when offered a review copy of Pounce for the blogs, I was curious to see what the game could offer.
For full disclosure, as I know this has shaped my experience: I have only played this with other adults, and I will say right off the bat that I feel the target audience is more steered towards families. That said, I liked that this is a game that can be accessible to all age ranges and abilities in a way that I feel is lacking with other word games.
Jump right in
This has to be one of the easiest to learn games that I have played, in that pretty much all the rules fit on the back of the box, though there is a little rulebook inside that goes a bit deeper. It is also beautifully compact in that all 80 cards provided are double-sided- one side has a large, bold letter, then the reverse side has a category.
Players set up a round by dealing out the same number of cards as there are players, with the letter side facing up. When everyone is ready, turn over one card to reveal the category and race to say a word that meets that category starting with one of those letters.
For example: if the category were ‘something you could use to fend off a goose’ and you had the letters B, H, T and P available as above, then you might suggest Bread, Hammer, Plank, Toast etc. Shout your word out and claim the corresponding letter, then sit back whilst everyone else continues. It’s not essential to be first, but you don’t want to be last, as there will always be 1 less letter than the number of people. If two players shout the same answer at the same time, they cancel each other out.
The winner is the first person to be able to spell out a 5-letter word with their own letters. If you run out of letters and nobody has managed to get a word yet, then those with more than 10 letters discard down to a maximum of 10 and play continues.
Suggested player age is over 8 years old, and player count is 2-6 people, although I would argue these are suggestions rather than hard and fast rules. Given the number of cards, I would say this could stretch easily to 8 players, and there will be some younger players who may enjoy this also, albeit it may be helpful to adjust to a 4-letter word as a goal.
Purrfectly accessible
The cards have been designed in a way that is very considerate to those who may have visual differences, and to younger players who may struggle with their letter forms. Each letter is a bold capital, outlined with a thick black border, then on a contrasting coloured background, making them clear for all players but also still usable for those with colour blindness.
The cards are also a decent quality card stock and easy to pick up, again making this suitable for young players and for those who may have trouble with their grip strength. Likewise, the rules are not overly complicated, and the rulebook comes with a QR code that can be used for visual learners to be able to watch how to play rather than simply reading.
My thoughts
I personally did enjoy Pounce as a palate-cleanser game - it took us as a group of 3 about 10 minutes to play the entire game, including the time to learn to play, which to my mind makes it something easy to pick out for between games or quicker sessions.
It did feel a little simple for the group I was playing with, but then, as stated earlier, I believe we were not the target audience - this overwhelmingly feels like a family game, and I think that would be the environment in which it would best shine. It is definitely a game that I will be keeping on my shelf for when the time comes to help future children learn their words in a way that is fun and not too challenging. When looked at from that perspective, this is a far stronger game.
