Review by Spellenwijs

Short review

Sheep Showdown exudes humor. And if your group likes this kind of games, you will undoubtedly have a fun evening.

“Um, 'these kinds of' games? What do you mean by that, Hans?”

Well, short games with 'Take That'. Games where you can do actions to the detriment of another player. Games where you deliberately try to thwart each other. The best comparison I can make is Exploding Kittens .

Do you like that one? Then you'll be fine with this one too.

A friend of mine even said while playing: "oh, this is a party game !" but I don't give it that definition. A hilarious or funny game . That's what it is.

But a party game feels a bit lighter to me. Sheep Showdown still allows you to think a bit.

Or well, you can try ;). Most of the time you lose track of the chaos on the board or you just get screwed by your opponents. And with the right group that will give funny situations.

Furthermore, Sheep Showdown features player elimination. Players can be eliminated in a round. Also relatively early. Well, you don't have to wait long. A few minutes at most. I just don't think this is a feature for a party game.

In terms of production it is neat. It is an eco-friendly game , which means that the environment was taken into account in the production. Even the bag that contained the wooden dogs I could throw in the green waste.

The critical note is in the rules. First of all, I don't like long, foldable leaflets - but okay, that can be a cost-conscious choice. Secondly, I missed some explicit explanations for a number of things. I submitted these to Growly Games. Below you can see their answers:

• Question : What happens if you move a dog with the wolf to a green field?
• Answer : Then the owner of the dog will receive the relevant card.

• Question : Are you allowed to drive a dog across a field with another dog?
• Answer : Yes

• Question : Do only dogs die on cards besides Kowalski or all dogs?
• Answer : All dogs, including the dog on Kowalski.

• Question : Are you blocked if you can continue to make a run with action cards, but you cannot take new sheep?
• Answer : No, as long as you can reach another field with a move than your starting field, you will not get stuck. You may not collect anything anymore, but you will not be blocked and therefore no card can be stolen from you.

In terms of gameplay, it can go either way. Sometimes you perform poorly in the first 2 rounds, but you flourish in the 3rd and still win.

Personally, I always wonder what I'm playing the first 2 rounds for... on the other hand, the game remains interesting for everyone - even those who start badly - until the end.

Finally, I want to say that the downside of the wolf feels somewhat negligible. Sometimes you can really take away points from someone by moving him or her. And that in exchange for only 1 wolf. Which – if someone steals from you – can also be taken away from you. Often that is really worth it.

My point is: just grab that wolf, because that's usually when the best moments arise!