Dodo: A Cooperative Children’s Game
Dodo is an engaging cooperative game designed for children, featuring a unique 3D mountain and a precarious dodo egg. In this game, players must work together to safely guide the dodo egg down the mountain, which is at risk of falling off the edge. Utilizing teamwork and strategy, participants roll a die to match materials needed for constructing bridges that will assist the egg in its descent. Successfully transporting the egg to the boat results in a victory for the team. With its captivating design, Dodo has proven to be an enjoyable experience even for adults. This game is published by Kosmos and accommodates 2 to 4 players, making it suitable for children aged 6 and older.
What’s Inside the Game?
The game box contains various components essential for gameplay, including 3 boards and plastic connectors to assemble the mountain, a plastic mount for the egg, a base board, 14 bridge holders, one egg, a cardboard dodo, a cardboard boat, a cliff board, 6 bridge boards, a die, and 57 tokens.
Gameplay Mechanics
Dodo offers an exhilarating cooperative matching experience with an innovative timing element. Players encounter six distinct cardboard bridge sections, each requiring specific tokens to build. Each turn, players roll a die and select a face-down token to reveal. If the token matches the die’s result, it can be placed on the cliff’s edge. Otherwise, the token is flipped back face down. Players must quickly pass the die to the next participant to maintain momentum in finding matches.
A special token known as the Hagulaminapitopasi acts as a wild card, automatically matching with any die result. Once all the necessary tokens are used to fill a bridge section, it can then be added to the cliff. In the expert variant of the game, players must also complete additional spaces marked with a skull to secure the bridge section.
The game intensifies as players must act swiftly; moving the dodo cutout initiates the egg’s gradual descent toward the cliff edge. The egg essentially serves as the game’s timer. If it falls before reaching the boat, the team loses. However, if players successfully place all six bridge sections and manage to summon the boat in time, they win, allowing the egg to roll safely into the boat.
Winning and Losing in Dodo
In Dodo, teamwork is crucial. If players can coordinate effectively to place all the bridges and prepare the boat before the egg plummets, everyone shares in the victory. Conversely, if the egg falls off the cliff due to delays in building the bridges, the entire team faces defeat.
Final Thoughts
The game’s most thrilling aspect is the egg’s delicate journey from one ledge to the next. Its design incorporates a ball inside, which allows it to wobble slowly, creating a sense of suspense as it edges closer to the cliff. This unique mechanic serves as a captivating timer that adds excitement to the gameplay.
Dodo effectively utilizes matching mechanics in a way that is both fun and engaging for younger players. The game captivates children’s attention as they focus intently on the rolling egg, often forgetting the urgency of rolling the die and finding matches. Having played numerous games aimed at young children, I found Dodo to be one of the most enjoyable options available for this age group.
My children were so enthusiastic about the game that we eventually transitioned to the expert variant, even creating our own house rules to increase the challenge. We eliminated wild tokens, established new rules about who could place the bridge pieces, and continued playing after securing the boat to see how many extra tokens we could store before the egg landed.
Overall, Dodo stands out as a top recommendation for children’s games. However, it may not appeal to those without an interest in family-friendly gameplay or the fascinating mechanics behind gravity and the egg’s remarkable rolling ability. Dodo is available for purchase from Thames & Kosmos, Amazon, or your local game store at a suggested retail price of $34.95.
