Quick-paced dexterity games, especially those with direct player competition, are just plain fun. There is something about pitting your skill (or lack thereof) against the skill of your opponent that makes playing these type of games enjoyable. Recently, I got my hands on the game Pucket, and it delivered the most enjoyable experience I’ve had from this type of game in many years.
For starters, Pucket is extremely well produced. It looks nice because it is nice. Pucket is amazingly hand-crafted, and it looks beautiful. Taking the game out of the box (which also looks great and how everything is packaged is well thought out), it is immediately apparent that you purchased a high quality item that was built to last. The board itself has a super smooth surface and the pucks effortlessly glide over it. You can read more about Fair Trade craftsmanship of ET Games (the publisher) here: https://playetgames.com/about/fair-trade/
Playing Pucket is fun for the entire family. In my household, we’ve all played against each other and no matter who is playing against whom, playing Pucket usually ends in boisterous bouts of laughter. After playing a few times, I’ve found that a gentle launch of the puck works best. At first, this was very counterintuitive to me as I want to really launch the puck into my opponent’s side of the board. However, there is a moved called the “Cardinal’s Revenge” which happens when your puck goes through the gate, bounces off the other side, and comes back through the gate to stay on your side. This is almost maddening, and the first time it happens to you, you’ll bellow in perplexed frustration. On one occasion, I was able to send the puck through the gate, have it come back for revenge, and then go through the gate for a third time and end up staying on my opponents side. That was amazing!
As fun as playing Pucket is against an opponent, my son enjoys playing the game by himself. It is fun for him to try and get all the pucks to the other side. He’ll do this for about 30 minutes at a time. I’ve also sat down by myself and starting playing, trying to improve my skill. When Pucket is left out on the table, it is difficult not to sit down and play.
I imagine Pucket doing really well in certain bars I’ve been to. So much so that I’m almost considering opening up a tavern or pub just so I can have a section where Pucket and other games like it are always set up and ready to play. Since I mentioned bars, one of the downsides to some bars is how loud they are. And that’s really the only complaint I have about Pucket. It is a loud game. When those pucks hit the gate they do so with a loud smack. In a pub this probably wouldn’t be noticeable, but at home it can be a bit of a distraction if you aren’t one of the players.
While I got the premium edition of Pucket, which can be found on the publisher’s website I’ve recently learned that there is a mass market edition that is sold at Target and on Amazon. Whichever version you choose, Pucket is a fantastic game and makes a great gift. Go out there and get your puck on!