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Quick Look: Frog Chess

Publisher: Binary Cocoa
Year Published: 2019

No. of Players: 2-3

Ages: 7+

Playing Time: 10 -15 minutes.

Find more info HERE.

From the Publisher:

Disclaimer: The publisher provided the copy of Frog Chess. The opinions expressed in the review are completely my own.

Review:
 

It is a bit of a minor fluke that I am reviewing Frog Chess right now.

I happened to be in the process of admiring a new cooperative survival Kickstarter game called Shadow Brume when I reached out to Binary Cocoa to see if they had any prototypes available. And while they do indeed have one that they will hopefully be able to get to me prior to their KS ending, it was sadly not to arrive in my hands immediately. As an aside for those of you into the idea of an epic co-op horror/survival game, I invite you to check out the KS page, https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/binarycocoa/shadow-brume/description 

I recently checked out Straight 4 from Binary Cocoa (if you did not check out the initial review, I invite you to seek it out, as it explains how I came across this unique little company), and even though it was a simplistic design, it nevertheless remained something that has proven useful in my families’ collection of games. 

Today, I will relay my impressions of Frog Chess, another family-friendly game that I would most aptly describe as “3 player checkers”.

I know this idea doesn’t exactly seem groundbreaking, but hear me out, as there is once again a bit of charm to this idea.

In this particular offering, 2-3 players will take turns filling up a gridded area with their chosen color of frog until all interior spaces are occupied (there is a small outlying perimeter that is considered to be The Swamp where pieces cannot be placed). Once this is done, each player must remove one frog of any color from the board to leave some wiggle room for jumping frogs, and the game begins.

Players take turns jumping any frogs of their choice, either orthogonally or diagonally, and are able to chain jumps together in a fashion similar to checkers. Jumped frogs are removed from play, and players can even leap into the swamp for added strategic maneuvers, but lose their frog if it ends its series of jumps there, so there are some occasional decisions that need to be made as to when it is appropriate to sacrifice your frog for the ultimate win.

If a player cannot jump during their turn due to placement, they are eliminated from the game (though their frogs remain on the board). The last person to jump wins.

In summary of our experience, Frog Chess builds upon the sometimes archaically-viewed classic of checkers and revitalizes it for a more modern experience. 

It comes with a great foldable neoprene mat, and 3 distinct colors of frogs. Of particular note is that Binary Cocoa went the extra mile and didn’t just make each players’ frogs simple palette-swap renditions that were identical to each other in all but color ; each player has their own unique breed of distinct frog, which is a warmly surprising touch.

Gameplay is both swift and fun, being able to get started in short order and set up for multiple replays in quick succession. Sore loser syndrome is less likely to abound when it is very easy to challenge your opponents again for a victory.

 It is also very portable, though not quite as much as the previously reviewed Straight 4.

So my family loved this game. 

Were there any downers? 

Yes, but just one. The neoprene mat, while classy, is a bit larger than that in Straight 4. As a result, when you unfold it, it doesn’t always quite remain flat, and has some awkward bumps that can make for an uneven playing surface at times. This doesn’t render the game unplayable, but it is less aesthetically pleasing than it could be ; a traditional cardboard surface may have rectified this issue, but those eventually break and bend over time (especially with kids), so even that is not necessarily indicative that it would be a better option.

All in all, as with Straight 4, this would be a fantastic game for anyone who works with kids or as a coffee shop experience. So far, Binary Cocoa has made two hits that we are certainly getting the most of, which has me excited for their first big adult complexity game, Shadow Brume, which is on Kickstarter as well as I write this. I strongly encourage you to check out both their catalog and Shadow Brume,  because the experiences I have had with Binary Cocoa seem to indicate a desire to make fun experiences that are easily accessible to all types of players, regardless of skill level, and that sure counts for a lot at our table!