WBG Score: 8.5
Player Count: 2-5
Published by: Catch Up Games
Designed by: Stefan Alexander
This is the reviewer's copy. See our review policy here
You wake up in the morning with Morning Mood by Edvard Grieg playing (you'll know it when you hear it) which is odd because you haven’t put on any music. Then you realise that you’re probably in an intro bit to a board game review so it all makes sense. You look out the window at the birds perched on your fence and think, “wow they look blocky.” So you rub your eyes, look again and see the same blocky birds facing you? It’s only then that you realise the kids have been mucking about with your copy of Cubirds and now you have to go out in the cold and peel them from the fence that they’ve sellotaped them to. Yep that’s right, tape, not blu tack!
How to get your ducks in a row.
Set up by laying out four rows of three birds and make sure that each row has three different species of bird. Shuffle the deck and give each player eight cards to make up their starting hand and then give them one card to keep face up. This is the start of their collection.
To win you’ll need to be the first player to either a) gather at least one card of 7 different species (there’s eight in the game) or b) gather 2 species of at least three birds each.
On a turn you have to lay birds to one end of one of the four rows. Choose a bird from your hand, you then have to play all of that species on the table. Pick any row and all the cards have to be placed on either the left or right of that row. If there are any birds of the same species in that row then you’ll take all the cards that are in between those cards. For example, if you play a Robin down and there is a Robin on the other end of that row then all cards In between the two robins will come to your hand. Slide the remaining cards together then add cards to the end of that row until there are two different species there.
Now if you want to and are able to, you can complete a flock. All birds have a small flock and a large flock number on them. If you have cards of that species equal to or higher than that number then you can play a flock. With a small flock take one of those cards and place it in your collection and discard the rest. Do the same with a large flock but this time add two to your collection.
If you play birds down that don’t surround anything then you have the option to draw two cards from the deck or pass. If at any point a player empties their hand of cards, everyone discards all of their cards in hand and then get dealt right new cards. The person who triggered the end of a round now takes a turn.
Birds by Picasso
At this point I’ve certainly racked up more plays of this on BGA than I have physically. But regardless of which platform I play it on, one thing is usually abundantly clear. it’s still not enough. I need more, because this game is addictive. Is it perfect? No. It’s got its flaws and in reality this should probably be a 7 or a 6.5 out of ten and maybe for some people it is! But despite everything I still find myself wanting to rack this game up time and time again but I’m still not sure I’ve got a grasp on why. I appreciate that for a reviewer informing the reader what makes a game great/bad that this isn’t entirely helpful but maybe I’ll work it out when I’m writing this, or you’re money back.
From the off Cubirds asks you to put on your best, feathery, set collection cap on and gets you to make some interesting decisions and sometimes take a gamble. Surrounding birds with cards you know are going to complete a set is a bit of a no brainer. Except on the occasions where you’re sacrificing a lot of birds to complete a set, which then runs the very high risk that you're handing your opponents a free set. So in that case you’d just hold onto them? Maybe, but then there’s the ever-present possibility that someone could empty their hand of cards and trigger a new round which would then make everyone discard their hand and leave you with nothing. In fact a good little strategy is to purposely empty your hands to not only make your opponents start from scratch and to give yourself a refresh in the case of a less than stellar hand. It’s a really fun and interesting balancing act and it really keeps that, in between turns, tension going. Of course this amplifies with the player count as the time between turns gets longer and the “board” state changes more drastically.
I love how the race element ramps up as the game goes on. The tension as you hope no one else takes your cards and those almost sweat-inducing moments as two people are close to victory and you nervously wait on a wing and a prayer for those cards you need. It’s easy to look round the table at others collections and the state of the cards and see how close people are to winning and you instantly start thinking “if I can just get one more turn” and then it’s that agonising wait to see if your able to pull off your winning turn or if someone else is going to win by a beak.
Angry birds or lucky birds
Luck of the draw can definitely be a factor in how your game plays out. I’ve had my share of games where the cards just weren’t falling properly either in my hand or on the table and I just couldn’t complete flocks quick enough. It’s possible to get games where you feel shut out. I’m not gonna deny that it’s a frustration when things aren’t going your way and it’s out of your control. That sort of bad luck seems worse in a two player game since there’s less chance for the game state to change dramatically enough between turns. As the player count grows, that bad luck has more chance of changing between turns and hopefully becoming less of a factor on the table at least.
The orientation of the bird type and the numbers are a bit off as well. On the top left of the cards you’ve got the bird type and on the top right you’ve got the number you need for a flock. It means that whichever way you fan the cards you’ll be covering some important information.
Despite the possibility of bad luck shutting you out of the game there’s something about Cubirds that just makes me want to rack it up and try again. There’s a part of my brain that no matter how well or badly the game went just wants to go back in for more. I’m not sure what sort of addictive mechanisms they’ve put in this game but whatever they are, they’re working.