The first time I played Pickleball was back in high school. It was fun but didn’t really capture my interest. I felt like I was playing tennis with a ping pong ball. After graduating, the game faded from my memory. Yet, apparently, pickleball has made a massive resurgence. I keep hearing about people playing this sport all the time now. An indoor court has even opened up near me in an old Office Max building. Who knew this would be the newest craze?
What does that have to do with tabletop gaming? Today, we are going to take a peek at Pickleball Blast. A quick-playing dexterity game published by Moose Games.
Gameplay Overview:
Not surprisingly, playing Pickleball Blast is relatively easy. The game consists of a freely rotating pickle attached to a pole with a counterweight. Its pivot point is in the center of the “net.” On either side of the board are three “pickle jars” with rotating lids. Your goal is to use the paddle flappers to knock the pickle back to your opponent’s side. If you can hit one of the pickle jars, it will (usually) spin over revealing a color. If you manage to turn 2 out of the 3 jars on your opponent’s side to their color side, you score the point.
The game is then reset and players go another round. The first player to four points is the winner.
Game Experience:
At first, I was hesitant to review Pickleball Blast. We get offerings from mass-market publishers all the time, and for the most part, they don’t really resonate with any of us. But after watching a video on how the game is played, I figured the game was probably stupid enough to be fun.
And that was a pretty spot-on assumption. Once I put the game together, it ended up being the kind of silly fun that you’d expect from just a casual glance at the box. You are whacking a pickle (add that to the list of things I never thought I’d say in a review) back and forth hoping to score points. I mostly got it because I thought it would be a good family game to play with my kids, and while it is, we’ve had some entertaining matches with our gaming group as well.
After playing Pickleball Blast for a while, I’ve come to realize that they channeled the gameplay of fan-favorite Loopin’ Louie into a two-player, head-to-head game. The gameplay is pretty similar, and while I enjoy Loopin’ Louie, I think Pickleball Blast makes a solid variation. It’s a game that doesn’t take itself too seriously and that’s ok. The fun comes from the silliness and the dexterity element.
My one big criticism of the game is trying to break it down when you are done. The net and board snap together, and while they do come apart, they are a pretty big pain to remove. The box won’t store the game assembled, so you need to decide whether you want to keep it in the box (or even keep the box that has the rules on the lid), or leave it out assembled. I wish they would have figured out a way for it to fold up and down simply rather than this version.
Final Thoughts:
With a game like Pickleball Blast, you are getting exactly what you expect. A silly dexterity game that you’ll play for 5-10 minutes as a solid filler. I’m not really sure how much I can say about a game where you are hitting a pickle with a padle. It’s light, accessible to just about everyone, and a great game to play when you want to have some fun and not think too hard. As a bonus, you can play with a cocktail in one hand and the paddle in the other.
Final Score: 3.5 Stars – Silly fun that’s good for a short distraction, and the kids love it.
Hits:
• Easy to set up and play
• Silly fun
• Components work well
Misses:
• Game is a pain to break down to store
Source: Board Game Quest
