I’m going to start this review with a strange question – do cobras have paws? Yes, they do when the cobra is not a snake but a stealth-like Ninja cat. No, I haven’t played too many games and had a brain meltdown, Cobra Paw is a tile-snatching challenge game where “Ninja-like know how steals the game!”
Cobra Paw, from Bananagrams, is described as “a tile-snatching game where ninja-like reflexes, sharp recognition skills, and mental fortitude are need to steal the win.” It is a game for 2–6 Ninjas (or if you prefer, players), aged 6+ (or about 40 in cat years) and game play is between 5 and 15 minutes.
Ninja-like know how steals the game!
In the box:
- 2 Catnippon Dice
- 21 Clawfuku Stones
- Instructions
The game comes with 2 dice, which are identical. Rather than showing the traditional numbers they depict six different style ninja images. The game itself is played with tiles called Clawfuku Stones (I would be very careful how you pronounce Clawfuku around the kids, I’m not sure what the pronunciation is but I would go with claw-foo-koo). The Clawfuku Stones are domino style plastic pieces, again depicting ninja images that match the images on the dice. Each stone has a unique combination of two of the images on it.
Before starting to play you really do need to read the instructions. They are simple to understand and a great read (as they are quite humorous). The rules of the game are not hard to understand.
To play, you must place all the tiles face up in the centre of the table. The youngest player starts by rolling the dice. When the dice stop rolling, the combination of images will match only ONE Clawfuku Stone, once you spot it, you must grab it! Simple enough – not quite, that wouldn’t make it a great game! There is a bit of a twist with Cobra Paw – players can only grab the tiles using their fingers (using your whole paw (hand) is considered shameful). If a player is successful in grabbing the tile, they add it to their winnings pile. The aim is to collect 6 or 8 tiles (depending on the number of players). To make it more interesting and challenging, if the images on the dice match a combination of a tile in your winnings pile, they are also up for grabs by the other players! So watch out, your winnings could be stolen from you!
Overall, Cobra Paw is a quick and fun observation, matching and grabbing game, we all loved it. Players of any age can play, there are no questions to answer, players just need great observation skills and speed of hand (just like a ninja). The ninja theme makes it engaging for the kids, and even the rule book that continues the theme in a fun way, makes it interesting and fun.
The tiles and dice are of a very good quality. There are no flimsy plastic pieces. The images are embossed on the tiles rather than just printed, so will stand the test of time. If I had to make any changes to the game it would be to add a drawstring bag so that all the pieces could be contained within it to make it that little bit more portable (although the box isn’t that big, so is hardly a problem).
We have loved playing Cobra Paw; it is quick and simple whilst still being challenging and lots of fun.
Cobra Paw is a fun and engaging family game, one that is very competitive. There is no complicated set up and game play is quick. It makes a great game for rainy days and family game nights.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £14.99
Available to buy from Amazon here.
