Syd is 6 soon, and has recently developed a love of board games. When University Games got in touch and asked us to review Don’t Rock The Boat, I knew she’d be thrilled. The game has an RRP of £14.99 and is suitable for children aged 4 and over. It can be played by 2 – 4 players.

Don't Rock The Boat

What’s Don’t Rock The Boat?

The game consists of a post, a stand to balance it on, 3 masts and 16 penguin crew members. Before you can play, you have to attach the 3 masts (pictured below). This is a 3 second job. They have to be removed from the boat to fit everything back into the box once you’ve finished playing, but that’s easy to do too.

Don't Rock The Boat

Once the masts are attached, you pop the top of the stand into position (this also needs removing to fit it back into the box after use). Once it’s in position, you balance the boat on top of the stand. There’s a small black circle under the boat – this is where they should connect (pictured below).

Don't Rock The Boat

How To Play?

Now for the fun part… All players take it in turns to put one of the penguin crew members onto the ship, taking care not to tip the boat and send any crew members overboard. The first player to send a crew mate overboard loses.

Don't Rock The Boat

We found the best approach was to stick to the middle of the boat, and concentrate on putting crew members around the central mast. It was still tricky though, and we were sending crew members overboard every minute or so!

Don't Rock The Boat

Thoughts?

Syd and I had great fun playing this game. We played taking it in turns as per the instructions, then she spent a good hour trying (in vain) to get all 16 penguins onto the boat without it tipping. We’ve also played in a “knockout” style tournament. Once you send someone overboard, you’re out and everyone else carries on playing.

All told, I’d definitely recommend the game. It’s good fun and I like that each round only takes a few minutes. It’s an exciting game too, and I can see us playing it a lot.

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