Smile, it’s almost over.
I mentioned it in my Dinosaur Island review, but I will say again: I absolutely love dinosaurs. Jurassic Park is one of my all-time favorite series. Layer that with cute things?! I’m sold. Happy Little Dinosaurs is a cute, satirical little game from the artist behind all the fantastic t-shirts at TeeTurtle! (No, I was not paid to advertise for them, but seriously, if you haven’t heard of them, you should check them out; they have an animal or theme for everyone!)
Players are dinosaurs trying to avoid all of life’s disasters, especially their inevitable doom: meteors! Whoever escapes with 50 points or remains the last one standing at the end of the game wins! These dinos live quite the modern lifestyle. Not only are they trying to avoid natural disasters or other dinosaurs stomping on them, but they can also have bad hair days, an existential crisis, or even become friend-zoned.
Thinking about it, Eeyore was always my favorite Winnie the Pooh character, and this game epitomizes everything about him. Such sad little dinos coming across anything and everything that could put a rain cloud on their day. Sadly, the situations they find themselves in are hard not to laugh at. So sad, yet so funny.
Mechanics & Categories: Card, Animal, Family, Humor, Party, Take-that
ART: 9/10
The vibrant, cartoon-ified dinosaurs are the perfect design for all their games that blend the adorable and the diabolical. They are eye-catching for all ages and have punny names. The handwritten font adds a nice touch to combine playfulness with impending disaster. The weapons cards are also silly and very clearly depict exactly what they intend to do with no details forgotten (such as a meteor cannon).
The art has strong black outlines with vivid colors and shadows. As a web designer, I often enjoy flat design, so this game stood out to me. Everything is legible and well laid out, keeping the UI minimal and quick to understand.
STORYTELLING: 5/10
The overarching story we all know: dinosaurs left this earth by a meteor shower. But now, we know each individual dinosaur’s story! What horrible encounters did these little (and big) guys run into trying to escape the shower? Semi-relatable to real-life situations, it can hit home for some players.
That being said, these dinosaurs do not look like they could wield a weapon. As players, we are using these weapons to outlast the others. This falls flat for me as I don’t see how it helps them avoid disaster. If they had hands, sure, I could use my more powerful tools to slow down the others. Why a pet rock can become anything it wants to be also makes no sense.
COMPONENTS: 8/10
Vibrant, playfully colored dinosaur meeples. What else is there to say? Our household always appreciates that added bit of charm. Each player board is thick and unfolds to save real estate in the box. The insert also has a spot for everything, another major, notable UX tidbit for this category that always deserves a callout. The cards are the only thing that aren’t of top quality. The company even sells sleeves, so what does that say?
COMPLEXITY: 2/10
War is one of the early games we are taught as children, and this is just a glorified version of that. Can you determine if one number is larger than another? Great. There is a reason this game is marked for eight-year-olds. Nevertheless, there is some strategy to keep adults and seasoned gamers entertained.
Do you always want to play your highest card? Based on the weapons you have seen thus far, what are the chances the other players beat you? When do you spend your “saps” and “zaps” to modify the other players’ numbers? A child doesn’t need to read into all this, but I know some of you out there will think these very things.
So there you go; you can play strategically if you want, but there still isn’t anything complex about this game. Just ensure you don’t get a red, blue, and green disaster or three of a kind, and you can win!
TRAVEL-FRIENDLY: 9/10
Small box with honestly unnecessary player boards. They look and feel nice but aren’t needed at all. If you have a phone, you can keep track of the score, then all you need is a place to store a deck and a discard pile, that’s it. Pack the cards in a deck box, and you are good to go!
You can easily bring this and play if you need a quick filler game. I would bring this to corporate events or family gathering trips for sure. Definitely feels more welcome at a party than a casual night with my family. That being said, I’m sure the kids will love it.
UNIQUENESS: 1/10
Points here are given due to its innovation but not much else. The game is literally war, but you score points based on the card you play. Not a massively exciting introduction. “Sappers” and “zappers” also buff or debuff your and your opponent’s card values. So many games add this ability as it makes the game more interesting and surprising.
Innovation:
As these designers are known, their adorable, sarcastic designs win over the hearts of many. It is done in such a way that feels inclusive of everyone. No feeling of “Oh, that’s too girly and cute.” Not many games can pull off humor in such a relatable way. There is a nice mix of light, slapstick, sarcasm, and sometimes dark humor that will appeal to a wide variety of players.
Final Comments
I love the humor and adorable dinosaurs. The depressing humor is right up my alley and is an excellent filler game to play occasionally. However, the gameplay isn’t super exciting and is not something I strive to play. Getting it to the table to enjoy the artwork is an acceptable reason to play.
I can only stomach one game of this in a session, as it is far too simple for my needs. Unstable Games offers various other titles with the same adorable creatures with varying depths of strategy. This game is a solid choice if you want something easy to play with new gamers or children. But if you want more strategy but retain the cute, I suggest one of their other titles.
Similar To: War, Backstab, Exploding Kittens, Munchkin
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Publisher: Unstable Games
Game(s) Pictured: Happy Little Dinosaurs Base game
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