Stick Stack (Wonder Forge)

When I was a child, I remember playing Pick up Sticks a lot. It was a cheap, easy, and quick game, so it never overstayed its welcome. Recently Wonder Forge released a game that looks somewhat similar, but plays vastly different. It is called Stick Stack. Stick Stack is a game for 2+ players, ages 8+, and retails for $17 at Target.

Setup
1. Assemble the tower by putting the post on the base and putting the cup on the post. Place the tower in the middle of the table.
2. Place all the sticks in the draw bag, so they cannot be seen.

Game Play
1. Draw one random stick from the bag or from in front of you if you have sticks from previous turns.
2. Place the stick on the tower so that all parts of the stick are touching only matching colors on the tower or other sticks. (Note: Your hand may not touch the tower or other sticks. You also may not move another stick intentionally with the stick you are placing.)
3. During your turn, if any sticks fall off the tower, you place those sticks in front of you. (Note: These count as points against you at the end of the round, if you can't get rid of them.)
4. Your turn ends when the next player draws a stick.
5. The round ends 1. When all the sticks fall off the tower or the tower itself falls over, or 2. A player can't draw a stick from the bag and has no sticks in front of them to play.

Scoring
1. Score one point for each stick in front of you at the end of the round.
2. Score five points if you caused all the sticks to fall off the tower or the tower to topple.
3. If at least one player's score is 11 points or more at the end of the round, the game is over. Lowest score wins.

Review
Stick Stack is a light dexterity game that can accommodate as many or as few of players as you have. I would best describe it as a cross between Pick up Sticks and Jenga. The components are of good, sturdy quality, and I like that the sticks are not all uniform in color distribution. There are some solid colors, some 50-50 of two colors, and some that are more skewed to 70-30 or so. The game is simple to learn and fun to play, especially with younger kids who are just learning games. It is also a good game to just bring out with your game group to kick off the night or as a game in-between two longer games to help refresh the senses and the mind. It's such a simple design, but very well-executed and I can see this staying in my collection for years to come.

This game was provided to me for free by Wonder Forge in exchange for an honest review.