Review - Pounce! (2005) - Gamewright

Tyler picked this game to be the next one to review because it's a Gamewright game. Ever since we purchased Cube Quest, Tyler has had a fondness for Gamewright.

The Blurb

The animal cards are sorted and placed on the table. Every player receives 5 cards with animal houses. Before each round a player secretly chooses a house. The youngest player starts with the 'stop-card.' The player places the stop card on one of the animals. Then all the players call 'GoGoGo'.

Players try to be the quickest and place their hand on the animal needed. The first player which placed his card on an animal wins the card.In the next round the second player places the 'stop-card.'

The first player that has collected four matching animals with its home, wins.

The Gist

Attack various parts of a house with your hand, pretending to be a ferocious feline.

The Play

Right after I explained the rules, Ty decided to rename the dog (whose name is Bruno) to Bruno Mars. When he blocked a room, he would say, "Bruno Mars protects the living room!"). We decided to make it a best-of-3.

GAME 1.  Dad ekes out a quiet victory. No highlights, no fanfare.

Dad - 1,  Tyler - 0

GAME 2.  It all comes down to the last card and we.... TIE? what's the tiebreaker, you ask? Another game? Okay, we will just count this as a half point for each side.

Dad - 1.5 Tyler .5

GAME 3. Tyler smashes me from start to finish (his hands are faster than mine, but to be fair, I'm 4 times his age)

Dad 1.5, Tyler 1.5

We're all tied up!  Now, we have to do the tiebreaker!

GAME 4.  Ty goes up super-quick, and it's 3 cards to 1. I can see that he only needs one of two cards to win. I get a card the next round, and he does not, which brings it to 3-2. He still only needs one of two animals/rooms, but I have no idea which one he will pick. The parrot or the kitchen? Can I choose correctly? I have Bruno, who blocks a room, and I choose parrot......And I am correct! On the last play, he has Bruno, and blocks a card I don't need. We lay our cards down and.... SLAP! Tyler rather quickly lays his hand on the card we both need, blocks me out, and wins.

Dad 1.5, Tyler 2.5

The Bits

Dad:

"For some reason, this card reminds me of A Clockwork Orange. That fish is doomed, and he knows it."
    

Ty:

"Bruno Mars orders you to stop. So you must stop!"

The Good, the Bad and the Rating

Dad:

"To start, this game is probably way better with more people. But also way more likely to cause you a hand injury if you play with aggressive people. The art is very good. It's a decent filler, but I don't think I would play it again with less than three people."
2.5/5



Ty:

"This game reminds me of Jungle Speed. It's a lighter game, but it's pretty fun to slap your hand down on the cards."
3/5