Bamboleo

Pull oddly shaped blocks off a wobbling wooden platter: bigger pieces score more, but a spill costs you.

Designer: Jacques Zeimet
Published by: Competo / Marektoy
Editions by: Rio Grande Games, Kaissa Chess & Games, Swan Panasia Co., Ltd., Zoch Verlag, Vennerød Forlag AS

A round wooden platter balanced on a cork ball on a cone, covered in oddly shaped wooden blocks, and your job is to take them off again one by one. That is Bamboleo (1996), and it is exactly as nerve-wracking as it sounds. On your turn you remove a piece without letting the whole contraption tip. The bigger the piece you dare to pull, the more points you score, but a spill costs you negative points, so greed has a price. There is no deep strategy here, only steady hands, a bit of gambling on how risky to go and a table of people holding their breath. Best with three to five, done in half an hour.

Wooden platter balanced on a cork ballBigger pieces score more pointsA spill scores negative points

Who it's for

You want a quick dexterity game for a mixed group, kids from six and adults together, where nerve beats brainpower.

Not for you if…

You like planning, or you have shaky hands and a low tolerance for spilled pieces. The whole game is the wobble.

Vibe's take

Tense, then loud. Everyone goes silent while someone slides a block free, and the whole table erupts when the platter finally tips.