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Time for hide-and-seek! If you are looking for a nice, simple game for young children then why not try Garden Heist. It really is an easy game to play and as it is suitable for ages 6+, young children can enjoy the fun.
What’s it about then, eh?
Well, the essence of the game is this, you take the role of cheeky and greedy raccoons sneaking into a garden to steal food from the trash can. Watching out for the rascals is the gardener who is in the house when the raccoons come to explore.
The board layout
Garden Heist is a very easy game to set up. The pieces are easy to assemble and fit together and whilst some parts are a little flimsy, the game is robust enough this shouldn’t be a problem.
The player pieces are nice and chunky and should be easy to identify and use by children and they add a great tactile feel to the game. The obstacles are clear and for neatly into the holes in the garden game board and the card stock is thick enough it should withstand little fingers not being too careful.
How to play
It’s simple! One player takes the role of the gardener and sits behind the house looking through the window. No looking round the side and cheating now! The remaining players pick up their racoon playing pieces and wait. The gardener then closes the window and is supposed to say, (not looking through the window remember), “1, 2, 3, ready or not, find your spot!” and then opens the window so they can see the garden again.
Remember, this is a children’s game, so, if you want to ensure a number of seconds go by for ease of play or say anything else, go ahead. Feel free to use hilarious accents too. The important thing is to make sure all players have a chance of placing their raccoon piece so the gardener may need to adjust the speed and what they say based on the ability of the players.
Then the gardener looking through the window tries to see a raccoon and selects an obstacle and a player lifts it up so the gardener can see if there is a raccoon behind. If there is, he or she gets a token. Any raccoon player with their piece behind a yellow based obstacle that wasn’t detected also gets a token. One raccoon spotted (if any) has to go back to the end of the garden.
Play like this continues until at least one player is able to get their raccoon o the trash can or collects five tokens. At this point, all players, including the gardener scores their points on the victory point track. If no-one has reached the finish line, another player takes over the role of gardener and the above process is repeated. Play then continues until at least one player reaches the finish line and wins the game which can be a shared victory.
Thoughts on the game
Clearly, this is a game for young children. That doesn’t mean adults can’t enjoy it and it is probably best for an adult to be supervising if all the other players are very young to avoid arguments. But essentially this is a fun game for children to engage with and it is very tactile and involves active participation. Older players can enjoy, but it is likely that beyond a novelty value, it is likely that the game remains engaging only when teaching and playing with young children, which in fairness looking likely by design.
Although player interaction isn’t direct and confrontational, which in this game is a good thing, there is definitely the threat of getting in each other’s way as players scramble to move their pieces and complete for the same hiding place. This is part of the fun and there should be enough time for every player to move their piece.
There is a roleplaying element to the game too. I’m sure players will enjoy taking on the gardener role and talking funny to amuse the children playing (or fellow adults) and young children will probably enjoy the idea of sneaking around to hunt for food.
I like the playing pieces too. They are chunky, tactile, brightly coloured and suitable for young children and without too may rules and details getting in the way of the simple premise of move your piece and try and hide it behind an obstacle.
Is Garden Heist worth getting? Well, that depends on who you intend to play with. I think it can be fun with the right players and taken in the light-hearted spirit in which the game is designed, so in that case, yes for young children.
