Barbecubes Review
Advert: this game was gifted by Alley Cat Games, this has not affected our opinion.
A glimpse of blue sky and we all start talking about the summer. While George Ezra gets used to bikini bottoms and lager tops, I’m thinking about gin & tonics and barbecues. Alongside BBQs, comes friends and with that the opportunity to play some board games! How about playing Barbecubes at a barbecue, it’s a dexterity game about managing the grill of a BBQ! Now that is meta! Wanna find out more? Of course you do! Read on…
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Setup
Empty the contents of the tin onto a table top, place the grill racks on top of the base of the tin and shuffle the cards. That is Barbecubes completely set up – easier than cooking a chicken drumstick huh!
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Gameplay
Barbecubes is super simple. On a player’s turn, you will flip a card and place the depicted piece of meat using the tongs provided on one the required number of grills, either one or two. Some cards will insist that you use your non-dominant hand too. You can nudge items already on the grill if required.
If ever you drop your piece of food outside the tin, that’s no worries, pick it up off the table with the tongs and try again, presumably this is echoing the three second rule!
However, if ever you drop your food or knock another piece into the tin through your own clumsiness, you have to take the card you were attempting. Get two cards and you are eliminated. Last player remaining after all others are eliminated is the victor!
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What it’s like
Barbecubes is like a pot of Ronseal, it does exactly what it says on the tin. Quite literally – the basic instructions are on the back of it! It’s a quick dexterity game that you can take anywhere and play with almost anyone. It is light and silly fun.
Of course, the fuller the grill becomes the harder it becomes. The harder it becomes, the more the pressure mounts. The more the pressure mounts, the more you begin to shake. And the more you begin to shake, the more likely you are to muck it all up! It’s what’s often called a vicious circle.
With the right crowd, the oooos and ahhhhhs will be followed by smiles and laughs. It’ll be like your barbecue has become a firework!
One thing I’m not sure on is when players place their pieces of food not on its flat edge, standing it up. There is nothing in the rules that says you can’t do this, but it upsets me when people do.
Player elimination is something I dislike in games, but Barbecubes is over very quickly so no one will be waiting on the sidelines too long, plus it’s fun to watch.
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Table Presence
I rather like the pixelated styling of Barbecubes and the variety of shapes on offer. It obviously doesn’t sprawl across the table top, but in its compact form it looks swell.
The cards with their iconography are clear but nothing too fancy. There isn’t a lot more to say about it in terms of looks.
The rulebook is rules light, but then the game is rules light so I think that is fine.
Regular readers of my reviews will know that I am not the biggest fan of tins, so I won’t dwell on their proneness to denting and misshaping. I have a particular gripe with this tin however, in that it doesn’t have those little ridges in the base to attempt to keep the lid on, so although snug, a few dents and dings may make it less secure. This is far from perfect with a game that would ideally be slung in a backpack to take on your travels. I imagine the uncooked pixelated meat will regularly be found decaying in the bottom of my bag in time. Elastic bands will soon sort this, but it annoys me a little.
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What the kids thought
Max (10): It’s quite hard. I struggle with the hand to eye coordination. I like the theme and the way it looks. I really like how the grill fits so neatly on the box. In general, it’s a good game.
George (14): I think that Barbecubes is a fun but tricky game that is easy to learn and hard to master, I enjoy the simplicity of it and I think it’s very exciting when the barbecue is full.
Harrison (17): Barbecubes is a quick and light game, yet is still great fun. The theming of the game is excellent and the mechanics, despite being simple in terms of what you are doing, are still tricky enough in practice to make the game fun. The game naturally gets trickier as it goes on with less space, but that helps keep it interesting. I am also highly invested between turns!
Final thoughts on Barbecubes
Barbecubes is the successor to another popular dexterity game from Alley Cat, Tinderblox. You can certainly see the similarities between the two games, but for me, Barbecubes is just that little more fun and arguably more thematic.
This is light and easy to enjoy. It won’t tick the box for the super strategic boardgamers, or those with a tremor, but I would be surprised if that was your jam (or more aptly ketchup) you wouldn’t have got this far in the review!
I also really like that Alley Cat Games created a Vegetarian option of this game too. I partially regret not going for that version as it would’ve undoubtedly contributed to one of my ‘five-a-day’! Seriously though, I know plenty of people who would prefer not having the meaty option and I like how considerate the publishers have been creating this alternative version.
Barbecubes is a small tin of dexterity fun!
Key Facts
Number of players: 2 to 6
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 8+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 7+
Playing Time: 8 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 1 minute
Designers: Brett J. Gilbert and Rob Sparks
Publisher: Alley Cat Games
RRP: £12.99
Summary
This is a small tin game that shouldn’t be judged by its size. There really is a lot of fun to be had with Barbecubes.
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Also a Veggie option
- Up to six players
- Light and quick
- Dexterity game
Cons
- The sturdiness of the tin
- Player elimination
- The pressure of placing
Need more games?
If you already own Barbecubes and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Meeple Circus
- Tinderblox
- The Fuzzies
- Kittin
Buy Barbecubes
If you want to buy Barbecubes after reading our review click on one of our affiliate links below (note there has been no affiliate links until this point)
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews. However, we were kindly gifted this game by Alley Cat Games. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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