Board games: novelties from Noris and Zoch

From February 01st to February 5th the Toy Fair Nuremberg once again opens its doors to trade visitors. In addition to many different products within the toy range, numerous board game publishers were of course also represented again. During the fair I had the opportunity to see the new products from Noris and Zoch to look at.

My Green Footprint - The Game

My green footprint is a cooperative board game for 1-4 players, ages 8+. The game has similarities to the smaller game my green footprint, but also adds many new elements. So there is now a big map of the world to travel around. But you also have to keep answering questions about climate and sustainability. You also have to make sure that the temperature doesn't rise too high, otherwise you'll lose. The game thus combines game elements with knowledge elements and brings the topic of sustainability closer.

Crazy witching hour

Crazy witching hour is a little game of skill. Each person has flat ghost figures to place on the clock. Sound easy? But it also has a pointer, I mean hook. Because you can only place the ghosts as long as the clock hand is moving. The problem with this is that it throws the ghosts down again. So try to anticipate the movements and quickly add new ghosts if any have been thrown down. A bell sound signals the end of the round.

flip4

Everyone probably knows the game Connect Four. Flip 4 brings a new element - as the name suggests: a flip. You may insert a chip in your color or close the playing field and turn it. Suddenly, down is up and a bad situation suddenly looks a lot better. Since the respective columns usually have different amounts, the situation changes and you have to take this into account when planning.

Like wombats

Like the wombats is a small cooperative assessment game. You will receive a task card that gives you a template. The wombat cards must then be placed according to this template. Of course, you shouldn't just count, but quickly assess where the card could fit, because you're playing for time. Every time you turn over the hourglass, you get two minus points. If the clock runs out before you turn it, you even get four minus points.

When it is your turn, you can perform the following actions:

• Place a new wombat card from the display next to a card that has already been placed.
• Remove a wombat card from the pattern and return it to the display
• Swap the position of two already placed cards.

You can coordinate, but remember, time is of the essence.

Clear

Finally, try to be able to place cards and collect valuable stars.

At the beginning, each person receives five hand cards. One person starts and places a card in the middle of the table. In turn, you may now place a card that is either a card with a higher number, with a star of the same color, or both.

If you don't have a suitable card, you say "I pass" and place the cards in your hand face down in front of you. That person is out for the entire round.

A round ends as soon as all but one person have passed or all players still playing have placed their last card. Whoever played a card last wins the round and receives a star. In addition, this person immediately draws five cards from their hand. All other people can decide which of the remaining cards in their hand they want to keep or discard. Then they also draw up to five cards and the next round begins. Subsequent rounds are always opened by the person who won. Once a person has collected three stars, they win the game.

Transylvania

Riding the train with monsters and remembering which monster wants to go to which station? Welcome to Transylvania. The small playing field shows four different train stations. Each person has four figures, on the underside of which you can see which station they want to go to. With the help of the hand cards you can move the train, let figures get on and off and also carry out combinations of these actions. However, there is only room for three figures on the train, as soon as a fourth gets on, the figure at the back flies out, where the train is currently standing. It is therefore important to remember the figures and their destination stations and to use the cards appropriately.

Pizza Rabazza

Delivering pizza sounds easy at first, but the city is shaking quite a bit. You get orders in each round and you have to deliver the pizza to a certain person. To do this, you put the pizza on the slider and drive through the city. The special feature: The slider is attached to a rod and therefore moves at a distance. But you can basically reach every corner of the city. As soon as you arrive, a magnet pulls the pizza to the person - but that's also a problem because if you get too close to other people, they'll take the pizza too. In addition, there is also the wobbling. The city stands on four feet and has a wobbly motor in the middle; this causes the whole city to vibrate, making it harder to traverse every alleyway and not lose the pizza too soon.