One of the board games that I loved playing as a child (a long time again now) was Ludo. Ludo is a board game where you roll the dice and move your playing pieces from their home space to the finish space. It was, and still is, a great classic family board game (at least in my humble opinion anyway). Now I am playing another cross-and-circle running board game that is very similar to Ludo and Pachisi, this game is called HIT from Ravensburger, it’s Ludo with a twist, and a much more enjoyable twist.
HIT is a fast-paced running and deck-building game of strategy for 2-4 players, aged 8+ where players must collect coins to build their deck of cards in a race to the finish. The first player to get all their four playing pieces to the finish is the winner.
In the box:
- 1 Double-Sided Game Board
- 16 Playing Pieces
- 55 Cards
- 40 Coins
- 6 Guide Cards
- Game Manual
If you have ever enjoyed playing Ludo you will love HIT. Whilst Ludo is a roll the dice and move game, HIT is a deck-building game. There are no dice in HIT but you still need to get your four playing pieces to the finish line by moving around the board, strategically using the cards in your hand to make your moves.
Setting up to play is straightforward. Place the colourful playing board in the middle of the table so that all players can reach it. The board is double-sided; one side is for 2 or 4 players (4 home spaces), the reverse side is for 3 players (3 home spaces). If playing as a 2 or 3 player game, each player chooses a colour and takes the four playing pieces of that colour, placing them on the same colour home space (waiting space) on the board. If playing as a 4 player game, each player only takes 3 of the playing pieces. Each player then moves one of their pieces from the waiting area to the start space. Players each take their six start cards in the colour that matches their playing piece (these make up their personal deck at the start of the game). Each player shuffles their cards and places them face down in a pile to their left. Draw three cards and hold them in your hand. Shuffle all the neutral cards (don’t belong to any colour) and place them face down where all players can reach them. Draw five cards from the top of the deck and place them in a row, face up, next to the deck – these become the card market. Finally, each player receives coins to the value of 6.
Whoever is the youngest, or according to the rule book, last annoyed, gets to start. On your turn, where you would normally throw a dice you now use cards instead, and you must play your 3 cards in your hand in any order. These cards have a variety of functions from moving spaces around the board, capturing opponents, collecting coins, jumping over other players etc. Your aim is to get all your playing pieces into their own colour finish line (with exact moves).
Overall, I love playing Ludo but HIT is far superior. It has the same basic gameplay as Ludo but is definitely much more strategic, playing and building your cards to make the best moves you can to advance not only your pieces but to capture and scupper other players.
It has a good 30-45 minutes playing but this seems to fly past when playing as everybody gets drawn into the strategy and competitiveness of the game. Perfect for gaming enthusiasts of all ages (well, age 8+). Having no dice and building a deck of cards to make your moves is superb. And being able to win coins and purchase more cards from the card market to help your around the board is terrific.
The strategic nature of HIT is fantastic. Being able to capture your opponents and send that playing piece back to the start is great.
If you have ever played Ludo you are going to adore HIT. It has much better game play with more going on but isn’t complicated to understand or play. And if you have never played Ludo before, you are definitely in for a treat with HIT.
HIT would make an excellent fun family game for game nights. It is easy to play, the cards clearly show you what moves you can make and the simple Ludo-style game board is great fun. And we love that there are 2 different game boards depending on how many people are playing.
I think HIT is going to be a new favourite – easy to play and tons of fun.
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £19.99
For more information or to buy direct, visit www.ravensburger.co.uk. Also available to buy from Amazon here.
