Board game review: Brainwaves: The Astute Goose
There’s a lot of colons there but I think you got it. A memory game from Dr. Knizia that’s worth checking out
Brainwaves: The Astute Goose
Publisher: Thames and Kosmos
Designer: Reiner Knizia
Number of players: 1-5
Time: 20-30 minutes
Cost: $10-15
Type of game: Memory
High level overview: A fun, memory game where you roll dice and try to remember exactly what the robber looked like.
Pros: - the robber/criminal has nice hair
- easy to learn and fun memory game
- doesn’t seem like it should work but does
Cons: - it’s a memory game
Rules/gameplay overview: In order to set up the game, you must first decide how tough you want the game to be. In the default set up, you arrange the dice markers to be in the order of 1-2-3 in one row and 4-5-6 in the other row directly below 1-2-3. You shuffle up the cards of the suspects and deal one to each column. You leave them face up. There are three things you are trying to pay attention to with respect to the suspect. Each of these three things have five choices to remember.
The color of the outfit
The style of the outfit
The animal the suspect is holding
Once you believe you have memorized those things for each suspect, you flip the suspect cards back over. Then the first player rolls the two dice. One die will indicate which column you are going to try to guess. And the other die tells you what you need to guess. So if you roll a 6 and color spot, you have to guess what color the suspect in the 6 column is wearing. If you are right, then you take the card into your personal supply and you flip over a new card to memorize it. If you are wrong, the next player in turn order gets to guess what it is. If they are right then they get to take the card for themselves. But if they are wrong, it goes to the next player. And so on. You do that until you run through all of the cards in the box.
Then the players count how many cards are in their respective decks and whoever has the most cards, wins.
What does it feel like: It’s an easy to learn memory game. And it feels like a game that you have played when you were growing up. Or a game that you maybe made up when you were a kid. It’s a little surprising that the game didn’t exist before it.
When you are playing, it seems pretty easy as you start the game. But a few turns into the game, you get to a point where it is: Ok, red, stripe cockatoo. Ok that one was taken. Yellow, bow tie, dog. Wait, was the first one? Alright, I know everything except 2 and 5. Please not 2 or 5. Great, it’s a 2. And that’s how the game goes.
It is fun to play. My SO and I play this game when we have been drinking a few alcoholic beverages. It is a lot of fun and makes the game a little more difficult. But I still think it is a lot of fun. It is probably my favorite memory game.
The game can be frustrating if you don’t have a good working memory. Or if you are playing with someone who has a much better memory than you. But, honestly, just don’t take the game too seriously. It will be over in 15-20 minutes.
Recommended: Oh, of course. But I will give one caveat to this. If you don’t like memory games, this is probably not going to change your mind about memory games. But if you are interested in a game that you can play with friends and probably your children while using simple memory mechanics that people will intuit, this is a game worth checking out. I’ve enjoyed the two games in the Brainwaves series that I’ve played. I look forward to trying the third.