Review – Dodo

Dodo is an action game for kids, in which players try to build bridges ahead of a bizarre egg rolling down a mountain. It’s fast and it’s silly… but is it fun? Let’s find out.

Review

Right out of the box, Dodo looks hilarious—its cardboard mountain, its goofy bird, its weird, round egg… the game just begs to be played.

Dodo is cooperative, and it has players working together to construct bridges down a mountain. They do this in real time, but time is not kept by a sand timer, soundtrack, or app. Instead, it is based on the rolling egg. As long as the egg stays safely on the bridges, the game continues; players’ goal is to get it into the boat at the bottom. If the egg ever rolls off, however… well, I guess that’s how the dodo went extinct.

First, it’s important to understand how the egg moves, and the best way I can describe it is that it seems to defy physics. It does not roll the way it looks like it should or the way you think it will. Instead, its movements are slow and erratic, even on the inclined plane of the bridge. It inches forward little by little, sometimes gaining a small burst of speed when it drops down to the next bridge, but then slowing back down. (I wish I knew what was inside the egg; some kind of viscous liquid acting as a counterweight, maybe? I honestly have no idea.)

Anyway, as the egg rolls down, players must stay ahead of it. At the start of the game, a bunch of tokens are spread about the play area, face down. Each token has a symbol on the other side, and on a player’s turn, they roll a die and flip over a token. If the symbol on the token matches the symbol on the die, the player gains that token and puts it toward building the next section of bridge. If the token does not match, they flip it back down, but can try to remember where it is in case that symbol is rolled later on. Some tokens are wild, and can be placed for free, which is extremely helpful.

Once players have built all the bridges, their last task is to build the boat at the bottom. If they construct it in time, so that the egg lands safely, players win. Otherwise, they lose. If desired, players can increase the game’s difficulty in two ways. First, they can remove some of the wild tokens, and second, they can choose to use the skull spaces on the bridges and dock. These spaces make things cost more, which means players have to do more in the same amount of time.

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Man, Dodo is a blast to play. I have tried many kids games over the years, and this is easily one of the best there is. It’s hectic, silly, and intense as players watch the egg rolling, rolling, rolling toward one precipice after another, and as they try frantically to complete the next bridge in time.

Perhaps surprisingly for this type of game, Dodo actually has something of an arc to it. Players will typically get the first few bridges built quickly, luring themselves into a false sense of security. It might feel like they have a comfortable lead, but as the bridges get more expensive to build, the egg tends to catch up, and then the race to build the boat becomes a final, climactic scramble (no egg pun intended).

The production of this game is great, from the 3D mountain to the plastic chute from which the egg drops, to, of course, the egg itself. (Seriously, what IS inside it? Inquiring minds want to know.) It feels like the components will hold up to many plays, which is a big plus, especially for a kids game.

For what is essentially a real-time game of dice rolling and memory—not a descriptor that would catch most gamers’ interest—Dodo is quite fun. The gimmick of the rolling egg obviously makes the experience, and it’s hilarious. This is one of those games that works well for groups of any age; kids can play it with each other, kids and adults can play together, and even all-adult game groups would likely have fun with it (think Rhino Hero or Loopin’ Louie). If you like exciting games with laughter, tension, and cheering, check this one out.

A review copy was provided by KOSMOS.