The Fuzzies

The Fuzzies. What a ridiculous little bundle of silliness. There are not many words that I can use to describe this game. I mean, you can see the pictures, just look at it. It is a stack of woolly balls and a pair of tweezers. What can be said to introduce such a simple concept other than letting it speak for itself.

But if I simply let it speak for itself then I wouldn’t be doing my job. So here are some words cobbled together to give you some sort of understanding of The Fuzzies.

The Leaning Tower Of Fuzzy

The Fuzzies is quite honestly the simplest game I have ever reviewed. That might in turn, make this the smallest of my reviews. I am sure that will please my editor, as I tend to have a habit of writing for days. Hashtag sorry not sorry. Are the kids still using hashtags these days? I am in my thirties now; I have no idea. Speaking of kids though, this game has most definitely been made with them in mind. But us big kids can still enjoy it.

In this game, you will have the woolly pile, a pair of tweezers, and a deck of cards. On your turn, you will need to use the tweezers (or your fingers) to pull off a fuzzy from the stack that matches the colour of the top card of the deck. You then place the fuzzy anywhere on the stack that is higher than it was. That is so easy though right? And you will be right in thinking that there is a catch.

When you inevitably let other fuzzies fall off the pile during your turn, you will have to take that many cards from the top of the deck. To a maximum of three. These cards will then tell you (on the reverse side) how you must take your next fuzzy. Each colour card has a different instruction on it, and there are five different colours. You could be taking your next fuzzy using your middle and index finger, placing it as the highest fuzzy, using your non-dominant hand or covering one of your eyes. The killer one is making you touch your nose with one hand, looping your other arm through the loop it creates and taking your turn like that.

On top of this, you need to do the actions on your collected cards all at the same time. You need to complete your turn doing these actions in order to discard the cards. There are no winners in this game, just the loser who managers to topple the tower.

Balls Of Fuzzy

Anyone who has read any of my reviews before will know that I am a fan of simple, clean designs in a game. And there is not much simpler than a stack of wool balls. Whilst party games aren’t necessarily one of my favourite genres, dexterity games definitely are. The Fuzzies nestles itself pretty nicely into both of these genres. Whilst I can see this being a party favourite game for some groups, I would not necessarily recommend it for that crowd. The last thing you want is a fuzzy falling into a drink, or landing on a damp patch from a previously spilled drink etc. I cannot advise on how easy the fuzzies are to clean. It is down to you to take that chance.

That being said, it is an easy recommendation for families, younger gamers, and more social game groups. I can even see this game being one of those random ones you see in the corner of hipster cafes across the land. Like I said, I am in my thirties now, hipster cafes are my jam.

The Good, The Bad, The Fuzzy

I really need to find a new line to insert into my reviews to make puns from. I use ‘The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly’ to riff puns off all the time. I haven’t even seen the film. Anyway, let’s smash this section out nice and quick. Not unlike a game of The Fuzzies.

There is plenty of Good to be found here. The game is simple and incredibly easy to teach. It has the best set up of any game I have ever played. Just take the cards out the container, flip the container, take the lid off and bam, the game is ready to go. It’s great. It is literally a five second set up at most. The game has perfect appeal for any group.

There are of course a few things I would like to see improved though. The whole concept for the game is that you take a fuzzy out and move it higher. For the majority of the game this comes down to popping the fuzz ball on top of the stack. It would be much better if the balls generated more static and stuck together a little easier. This would make it more viable to place the balls to the side of the tower, opening up the game a little more.

The rule book is literally just a few words long. And whilst it is great to just be able to spend a couple of seconds learning a game, I feel like I would prefer a little more clarification on a few things. What happens to fuzzies that fall off? What if you forget to do your tasks? These little things don’t really have answers. It is a simple party game though, so I let it slide.

Wrap-Up

The Fuzzies isn’t much of a game. But that does not mean it isn’t fun to play. It is one of those things that you know straight away from looking at it whether or not you are interested in it.

I do wish the balls stuck to each other a little more. It might be something that happens naturally with more plays. The more the balls are used, the looser they might get, making them more susceptible to static. But that is just me guessing. And hoping.

Either way, the ‘game’ is very fun. Usually, I am against games that make you do silly things but The Fuzzies doesn’t go over the top with silly actions. The tower of fuzzballs is the star of the show here, and as it should be.

The Fuzzies is great fun. It is cheap, easily accessible, and anyone of any age can get involved. Check it out! But, word of caution, maybe not check it out around cats. Or do, I’m not your mother. I am a 31-year-old hipster with a coffee addiction.