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Rapid Rumble is available on Amazon here.
{I purchased this game and, as always, all opinions are my own!}
After finding Guess in 10 States of America, I decided to do a little research to see what other educational games Skillmatics had available. Of course, they have a series of other Guess in 10 games, one of which I will be reviewing next week, but the one that really caught my eye was Rapid Rumble. Marketed as “the fastest, funniest, cleverest category game,” I was a little nervous that it might be too simple of a game to play with anything other than young kids, but, as it turns out, that nervousness was totally wasted! Read on for a detailed REVIEW.
In addition to reviewing the
FUN FACTOR
and the EDUCATIONAL VALUE,
I will also include info on the
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT,
SKILLS USED,
CLARITY LEVEL
and an OVERALL SCORE.
Game Review: Rapid Rumble {General Knowledge}
NAME: Rapid Rumble
PUBLISHER: Skillmatics
TIME COMMITMENT: Minimal+ {20+ minutes}
PLAYERS: 2-6
AGES: 6+
CATEGORY: General Knowledge
SUB CATEGORIES: Animals, Culture, Science & Nature, Things
SKILLS FOCUSED ON:
- recognition of categories
- ability to connect specifics to a category
SKILLS PRACTICED:
- spelling {initial letters}
- creative thinking
HOW TO WIN: Be the first player to finish their deck of Letter Cards.
HOW TO PLAY IN ONE SENTENCE: Play as many Letter Cards that fit the selected Category Card before the timer runs out.
ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT: ♥♥♥♥♥ Rapid Rumble comes in a sturdy, medium-sized box with 100 Letter Cards, 120 Category Cards, 1 wooden die, 1 timer and a set of directions. Everything is housed inside its only little labeled section and the box is easy to open with a separate lid. Everything is colorful and sturdy, however, the directions are printed on just a thin folded paper sized the same as the cards. I would suggest laminating the directions to insure they last longer. ORGANIZATIONAL COMPONENT SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
EDUCATIONAL VALUE: ♥♥♥♥♥ This game is not designed to teach new facts, but rather to help players access their previous knowledge, put that knowledge into a category and then assign it to its first letter…all in a very short amount of time. The categories cover a wide range of topics and the prompts vary from easy {a food that is red} to more difficult {a city in Asia}. There is no control over the prompts’ difficulty, making it randomly educational for all ages. And, the fact that players are limited to choosing a word based on their Letter Cards means it will be a necessity to dig deep and get creative. Unless a player happens to be holding an “R” for the prompt “a color,” he/she may need to think outside the box and come up with magenta, chartreuse or aqua. One note: I do not entirely agree with the suggested starting age of 6, unless you played as teams or removed some of the tougher cards {unless your six-year-old is well versed in world geography and specific names of famous people.} EDUCATIONAL VALUE SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
FUN FACTOR: ♥♥♥♥♥ Rapid Rumble was way more fun than I was anticipating. My teenage son and I laughed a ton while we played. We were constantly amazed and amused at how great we were at some categories, but how horrible we were at others. It was also interesting, in a funny way, to be looking at a simple prompt {animal that has a tail} but to find that your brain was stuck on “cat” as the only option. With the objective to think of as many words to fit that prompt AND that match your Letter Cards before the time expires, “cat” will not suffice by a long shot. FUN FACTOR SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
CLARITY LEVEL: ♥♥♥♥♥ The directions are clear and concise. The rules are very easy to understand and the game is simple to play. We read the directions one time and never needed to reference them again. CLARITY LEVEL SCORE: 5/5 ♥♥♥♥♥
OVERALL SCORE: ♥♥♥♥♥ My teenager and I were both pleasantly surprised to find that we totally agree with Rapid Rumble’s tagline, and think that you would love “the fastest, funniest, cleverest category game” too! OVERALL SCORE: 100% ♥♥♥♥♥
This looks great for helping kids develop their language skills!! Thanks for sharing.
This looks like so much fun! I’ll have to try it when my son gets a little older!
I love this game now that I’ve read your review!! It’ll be perfect for my child who struggles with language skills!! Thank you!
I love to find new games to add to our homeschool! This one looks like a lot of fun 🙂 Also, finding games my older kids can play with my youngest is always a bonus.