Feed Me! Review
Advert: this game was gifted by Gen42 Games, this has not affected our opinion.
The phrase “I’m hungry” or “Can I have a snack?” will often reverberate around our house. Fortunately, this has never become the demand “Feed Me!” like the man eating plant in Little Shop of Horrors. But that is the name of a puzzle game we have been playing over recent months.
We are lucky that our three children get along, most of the time at least, and are happy playing with each other. They particularly enjoy playing board games, although I have no idea who they get that from! However, there are moments when they just want to be on their own and that is healthy too. So they will often go off and read or play. This year we have added to our collection of puzzle games for them to play on their own. Feed Me! is one such game and coincidentally here is our review of it…
©boardgamereview.co.uk
Gameplay
Feed Me! is a gravity-based logic puzzle game for solo players designed by Yossef Sonnenfeld. Players need to work out how to feed Chooie, a cute little character reminiscent of Om Nom from the Cut the Rope video game. To achieve this, players will need to navigate ball bearing candy into a trough where Chooie is waiting. The maze like gravity conundrum comes in the form of a group of predetermined walls.
Feed me is ready to go straight out of the box. The player will slide in one of 40 puzzle sheets into the playing board. Set up involves placing a set number of ball bearings and walls as directed on the puzzle sheet. The walls come in three different lengths. This leaves one or two walls that you can use to alter the direction of the candy so that it reaches Chooie.
The levels vary in difficulty, but not consecutively, so for example you might find level 28 harder than level 40. Sometimes you will be faced with two hungry green monsters to feed, or need to get multiple candies to the bottom. Other sheets require you to block some balls, so that Chooie only gets the amount of candy he wants.
Once completed, you can turn the sheet over to check you have done it correctly.
What it’s like
Sometimes you will be completely discombobulated, even as a grown-up! The box says it is for ages 7 and up, that’s probably about right for most. Younger players will be able to do many of the levels but with varying degrees of assistance.
It can be tricky, and you will find yourself desperately trying to make a piece fit where you think it should go, but obviously doesn’t. A few levels you might fluke by doing it slightly different from the way it was intended but not often.
My children love marble runs, who am I kidding, I love marble runs too! There is something very appealing about watching the marbles drop in Feed Me! This even makes failing a pleasurable experience as you still get to see the path it takes. You then tinker and learn from your mistake to try again.
It’s a very clever puzzle game and forty levels is a good amount. I think once a child has completed all 40 levels they will come back a few months later and are unlikely to remember how they did most of the levels. There are also a few blank puzzle sheets for you to create your own should you wish. So although there is a finite amount of levels I think replayability will still be there.
The photos below show you two levels ready to puzzle oout. Level 3 requires you to use one yellow piece to get one candy into each of the monsters at the bottom. Level 27 requires you to add two yellow pieces to get one candy into Chooie’s mouth.
©boardgamereview.co.uk
Table Presence
The contents of the box are great quality. Younger hands sometimes struggle to get the puzzle sheets into the slot but overall they are sturdy enough to withstand a bit of jabbing.
I have always found something very appealing about ball bearings, but obviously these would need to be kept away from very young siblings as this candy is for Chooie only!
The similarity in look to Cut the Rope is no bad thing. When trying to unplug a child this has an app-like feel to it that my boys certainly were drawn to. Whenever I see my boys playing it I get drawn in too. I’m not even going to lie, I have played this often, once the kids are in bed and my wife is watching telly – and not just because I wanted to review it!
If you want to see more, you can watch our unboxing and playthrough video here.
Final thoughts on Feed Me!
If you’re looking for a solo puzzle game for children then you will struggle to find better than Feed Me! It is very cleverly designed and teaches logic, problem solving and even learning from trial and error.
I was genuinely surprised how much entertainment I got from it too. However, as this is a game for children, I thought the final thoughts should be out of the mouths of my three boys:
Harrison (12): “It’s a clever puzzle game and I like it a lot.”
George (9): “I like it because it reminds me of the video game.”
Max (5): “I love it, it’s one of my first favourite games.”
In conclusion, we all really recommend Feed Me! as a solo puzzle game, what better reason to add it to our Hall of Fame!
Key Facts
Number of players: 1
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 6+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 7+
Playing Time: 4-10 minutes per level
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 2 minutes
Designers: Yossef Sonnenfeld
Publisher: Gen42 Games
RRP: £22.96
Summary
As a solo game for children Feed Me! is brilliant. It has provided my boys with hours of entertainment and is a great puzzle game to have around the house. It would be a great gift for any family, but particularly for those with a single child.
-
Artwork and Components
-
Complexity
-
Instructions
-
Interaction
-
Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Fantastic solo puzzle
- Likeness to a popular app
- Easy to dip in and out of
- Can be challenging
Cons
- Kids don’t like sharing it
- Cheats may look at the reverse of sheets for solutions.
- Set up between levels
Need more games?
If you already own Feed Me! and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
Buy Feed Me!
If you want to buy Feed Me! after reading our review please 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. We were kindly gifted this game by Gen42 Games, this has not affected our review in any way.
We may however earn a tincy wincy commission if you buy a game having clicked one of our affiliate links like the one above… this hopefully gives us a bit of pocket money towards hosting costs and new games to review!
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
Board Game Review is a brand ambassador for Out of Town Games.
We also are an affiliate of Board Game Prices, a price comparison website for Board Games.
These affiliate advertising programs are designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to their websites.
