Every so often we discover a game which just makes us chuckle and truly brings out our competitive sides. As part of the Asmodee UK Board Game Club we’ve been having fun with Cobra Paw, and working on our ninja moves.
The game is aimed at those aged 6 years and over, for 2 to 6 players, with play time lasting from 5-15 minutes. Cobra Paw consists of 21 Clawfuku Stones, 2 Catnippon Dice and instructions.
The game is so easy to play and really helps to work on recognition skills as well as hand eye coordination. In a standard game you are aiming to be the first player to grab 6 Clawfuku Stones that match the combinations thrown with the dice.
All of the stones are placed in the centre of the playing area, symbol side up. Players take turns to throw the two dice and then all the players try to be the first to pounce on the stone with the correct combination of symbols. You are only allowed to use one hand to retrieve the stone. The first player to collect 6 stones is the winner.
My 8 year old son and I have been playing the 2 player version of this game, having fun with Cobra Paw and have needed to collect 8 stones to be declared the winner. It does get a little tricky with younger players at times when they realise it’s part of the rules that you can take your opponents stones if one they’ve already collected gets thrown by the dice combination again. My son still has a lot to learn about winning and losing points!
It’s a really easy game to pick up, and we’ve been playing most afternoons after school. The playing pieces themselves are of a high quality and are so tactile, the symbols are easy for children to recognise too. It’s been a big hit here already.
There are three other variants to having fun with Cobra Paw. In Ghosts of the Fallen you remove one to five of the stones from the centre. Then when the dice roll one of the combinations featured in those removed stones, the first player to call out Cobra Paw gets to take a stone from the centre. The player with the most stones is the winner.
In No Touchy, if you accidentally touch the wrong stone when you are trying to claim a combination then you cannot claim the correct stone on that turn.
Two Ninja Stand Off sees two players trying to be the first to collect 11 stones, with the No Touchy rules applying too! For some real fierce fun.
Having fun with Cobra Paw can be thoroughly recommended. The only thing I would change is the packaging. To my mind this game is the perfect travel companion, and the storage box could be considerably smaller to make this an easier option.
In a small pouch or box, I could see us taking this game everywhere as it’s so quick and easy to play. But we still love it and I’ve included my Amazon Affiliate link below for your reference too.
disclosure: we were sent this item as part of the Asmodee Board Game Club, my opinions still remain my own.
Now this looks and sounds fun
It’s a great game and so easy to pick up