One of the first things I did when I got to New York Toy Fair was run to the North Star Games booth. They sent out a press release earlier in the week announcing Happy Planet, a new line of party games that are similar to Happy Salmon!
North Star Games has an very specific focus with these new games. They want to, simply, make people happier. They told me the story of how they made their decision while I was at their booth. One of the things they noticed as they watched people play Happy Salmon last year was that no one who played the game came out unhappy when they were finished. It wasn’t the deepest game. It wasn’t the heaviest game. It didn’t have all sorts of miniatures or other trappings from popular board games, but it was designed just well enough to make everyone smile.
This was really exciting to watch, so they set out to do it again. The results of their efforts are two new games that made me smile just watching them.
Funky Chicken
Funky chicken, which can be identified by its chicken shaped carrying case, is more or less an expansion to Happy Salmon. It includes four new moves:
- Swing – Wherein players will link arms like they are Swing dancing and spin around.
- Funky Chicken – Wherein players do… the funky chicken. Additionally, they have to say “Get Funky” while doing it!
- Bump – Wherein players bump hips.
- Spin- Wherein players spin around in place.
For real folks… just READING that made most of you smile. Imagine how much fun playing it will be?
The Monster Match Game
The Monster Match Game isn’t related to Happy Salmon directly at all. This is a matching game where an series of cards are laid out on the table. Players roll a pair of dice. One of the dice represents an number between zero and five. The other will show either eyes, arms, or legs. Players then race to pick an card featuring an monster that has the appropriate number of arms/legs/eyes indicated on the dice. Play continues until the deck is done. The game is adorable, fast, and accessible for almost all ages.
There is a deeper strategy as well. Each card has a stack of doughnuts on them and the winner is determined by who has the most doughnuts on their total cards at the end of the game.
I didn’t get to play a complete round of either of these games, but just talking about them and watching other people play put a smile on my face. I can’t help but think that you and your family would feel the same way. These games will be available at retail soon and will be available for a relatively low price. Keep your eye on EFG for more information about these games.
What do you think? Sound off in the comments and let us know your thoughts!
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Guest Writer 
Linda Wrobel