A while back, R&R Games sent my crew a whole bunch of games to try out and review. One of them was a card game called Flea Circus! The game involves trying to collect as many audience members (little plastic dogs and cats) as possible, by putting down cards from your hand. Putting down any card allows you to take a certain number of audience members... but if you play your cards right, literally, you can actually take audience members from the other players, gaining more for yourself and causing your friends to have less!
Pufferfish was too young to play this game, but she enjoyed sitting at the table with us and playing with the little dog and cat figures. As for Rafael, Little Bear, and Sarah, it took them a little while to get the hang of the rules. They had some trouble remembering what cards did what. But once they figured it out, it was a lot of competitive fun! They enjoyed stealing audience members from one another, similar to the way kids enjoy causing each other to draw extra cards in Uno or sending each other back to Start in Sorry. The dining room was filled with the sounds of good-natured ribbing, cheering and booing!
The game also did not drag on too long... when the last of the dogs and cats have been taken, the game is over. It was short enough for Little Bear and Rafael to demand to play again two more times before their short attention spans started waning.
We played this game after school, and I've been trying to get Diana to let us incorporate it into Family Game Night, which is really Family Uno Night since Uno is the only game Diana will play! (LOL!) Its definitely a great one to pull out on rainy days or for after school fun!
THE FINAL REVIEW
Positive Aspects: It is a fun, quick card game that depends on a combination of skill and luck. The little plastic dogs and cats add a novel feeling to the game and give antsy kids something to play with while they wait for their turn! Being able to take audience members from others gives it a playfully competitive feeling and keeps everyone involved.
Negative Aspects: It took a while for us to learn which cards did what, and when. I had to keep the directions next to me as a "cheat sheet" so I could remind the kids what moves were possible.
The Kid Who Liked It The Most: Actually, both Little Bear and Rafael wanted to play this game again and again! Whoever won each previous game was the most enthusiastic about playing another round, of course!
We Rate This Game: A!!!
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