I’ve written previously about how valuable I find playing board and card games with my kids. Not only are they fun, entertaining, and develop both logical and creative thinking, they also are a fantastic way of us spending really high quality time together as a family.
As much as i love games however, I do find that you need to be careful to chose games that are enjoyable for everyone – both adult and kids.
Dobble (or <em>Spot It</em> in America) is one such game.
The gameplay of Dobble is incredibly easy. Each round card features eight different symbols, with any two cards having exactly one symbol in common. The players then have to spot what symbol the two cards share.
For example – what symbol do these two have in common?

And that’s all there is to it. There are a number of different mini game variants to choose from; but all boil down to that basic rule.
The fantastic thing about Dobble (and it is fantastic) is that not only is it equally fun for people of all ages, but that it plays on a very level playing field. I am regularly beaten by my son and daughter without me having to make any allowances for them at all. And the joy and delight on their faces when they grind me into the dirt makes my humiliation at being beaten by a six year old almost worth it. Almost.

Dobble comes in a neat little round tin (think of of those tins of travel sweets your granddad used to have in his car) and is perfect for slipping into a coat pocket or bag ready to be whipped out in order to combat a boring wait at the doctors or the like.
In short, it’s a damn fine game.
You can pick up Dobble for about £12. I’m not sure if places like Toy’s R Us stock it or not, but I’d personally recommend picking a copy up from a local specialist games store (you can find one near you here).
Or you could always use my own local games store – the fantastic Imagination Gaming – as they have an online mail order shop. In fact Dobble recently won gold their UK Games Expo Player’s Choice Award.
Many thanks to Esdevium Games who sent me a review copy of Dobble to take a look at. Cheers guys.