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Ahh
- memories. Some people have a good one, and some people don't. No, I am
not referring to memories as in life experiences - I am talking about
one's ability to remember information for the short-term. Some people find
that theirs is lacking, and therefore despise moments when their
short-term memory is called upon. while others strive on simple tests of
short-tem memory. Personally, I find myself somewhere in the middle, maybe
leaning a little bit to the former.
Of course, testing and building short-term memory at a younger age is a great idea. If you can hone your children's memory skills early, it will assist them in all of their years to come. Along this idea is a game called Chicken Cha Cha Cha from Rio Grande Games, but is it worth your money if your looking to purchase a memory game for your child or children? In a word: No. Let me explain:
In Chicken Cha Cha Cha, each player is given a VERY high-quality wooden playing piece that is, as you might have guessed - a chicken. Each chicken is also given one tail-feather that matches the color of their chicken. I can not stress enough that these pieces are of very high quality and add a lot of value to the game. Trust me - your kids will love 'em should you purchase Chicken Cha Cha Cha.
After the chickens have been "assembled" (add said tail-feather to said chicken), you create the playing area using 24 egg-shaped tiles that have one of twelve different pictures on them. This is where the chickens "cha cha cha" around the circle (created by the eggs) and try to take the tail-feathers from the other players in order to win. Inside of this circle, there are 12 octagon-shaped pieces that are placed face down and randomized at the start of the game.
To move your chicken, you
choose one of the 12 tiles in the middle of the playing field. If it
matches the tile in front of your chicken, you move your piece and
carefully place the tile back in the spot from where you drew it. Draw
another tile, and if it matches the next tile, repeat the process. Do this
until you draw a tile that doesn't match the one in front of you. Play
then passes to the next player in clockwise order.
Now, if a player happens to be directly in front of you, you need to match the egg that is directly in front of that player. If you are successful, you take their tail-feather and add it to your chicken. You can do this even if there are 2 players or more lined up in front of you. Once you collect all of the tail feathers in the game, you win!
Ok, so you get the idea on how to play then, right? Good. So, why is the game not worth your money? Well, as you can see, there are only 12 tiles that a player needs to learn as to their location. For younger players, this may not be an issue, but after they grow a little bit, this game may become obsolete. My son, who was 9 when we played, locked the 12 tiles into his memory in no time and cha cha cha'd his way around the board to victory. He liked it, but wasn't impressed. At a retail price of $37.95, you may not get your money's worth on this one. You could pay about one-third less of this price and get a game that offers more of a challenge (if needed), and probably far more replay value.
If you want a game that just looks nice, Chicken Cha Cha Cha fits the bill. The egg-shaped pieces as well as the octagon-shaped ones are of a durable, high-quality cardboard and should last for some time. But the chickens themselves are superb - nice, heavy duty wooden playing pieces that actually look like chickens - because they are! Each chicken is about 3 inches tall with an inch to an inch-and-a-half diameter base. Be careful, though - they could double as nice weapons should little Timmy or Tammy get upset for loosing a game of Chicken Cha Cha Cha. I wouldn't want to get hit by one...
Written by Gene Vogel
(Posted 04-17-2005)