Remember that game from your childhood that you couldn’t get enough of? Something about the game brought you back time after time because it brought that balance of laughter and frustration. This is how our family describes Drop It from Thames and Kosmos. This was a big surprise for Erin and I when we played a demo at Origins.
Drop It is a fantastic family dexterity game that has players dropping colored shapes into a clear vertical display. Players score points by passing scoring lines as the unbalanced structure climbs up the acrylic channel. Bonus points are earned when that players shape covers one of three different sized circles. The smallest circle will earn you 3 points, the medium circle 2 points and the largest circle 1 point.
Drop It Like it’s… Angular?
This style of gameplay will instantly bring you back to playing Connect 4 as a kid. But, Drop It is more of a physics puzzle than a mathematical equation. Each player has the same number of pieces that come in one of four shapes. You have the circle, square, diamond and triangle. When a player drops their piece, they have to avoid touching any pieces of the same shape along with any pieces that share the same color. Touching one of these “like” pieces means that you will end your turn without scoring any points.
There are plenty of games on our family game shelf that brings a level of frustration that can question how much fun you’re actually having. Drop It is not one of these games. At times, you will drop a piece with confidence just to have it take an obscure bounce to the left and rest on another piece of the same shape. But, when you can land that perfect piece, scoring points and bonus points, you feel like the king or queen of the table. A real physics master, sharing to the other players “I meant to do that”.
Classic and Accessible
Drop It is an easy game to teach that is accessible to both adults and kids. With solid wooden pieces, a sturdy acrylic board and thick card board mean that it’s going to withstand a lot of play. The rulebook includes additional rules for simplified gameplay for a younger audience. The game also includes additional pieces to slightly alter the rules to give variety to the game.
I’ve been really impressed with how Drop It brings players to the table. Our friend Bob has multiple stories about playing Drop It at a local gaming meetup at a restaurant and having strangers step up and ask to play. It can be frustrating when a piece doesn’t land just like you want. This is easily forgotten as you laugh at your opponents piece that takes an unforeseen bounce.
This game has been one of our favorite filler games and it travels with us for family vacations and holidays. It’s easy to imagine my kids hunting down a copy of Drop It 20 years from now because of the memories we’ve made with this game around the table as a family.
You can purchase a copy of Drop It at your local game store or online through Amazon today.
Highs
- Simple dexterity game that is quick to teach
- Dropping the perfect piece for a high score is very satisfying
- Great table presence
Lows
- Not a big fan of the cubes that are the scoring tokens
- If you dislike fun, you may dislike this game
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