Final Score: 4.5 Stars – A fantastic dexterity game that’s both unique and an absolute blast to play. Given how competitive some of us are (sibling rivalries, anyone?), you can imagine how ICE COOL can – and will – become the smash hit of the evening at your games night.

Created by Brain Games, Ice Cool 2 is a standalone game. It also acts as an expansion to the award-winning Ice Cool. Ice Cool 2 is a standalone expansion, meaning you can play the expansion without needing the base game (although its way better if you do have the base game, more on that later). The components in Ice Cool 2 are nearly identical to the original. There are 4 penguins and matching fish in different colors from the original. The cards have gotten a bit of an upgrade with the addition of tasks on the 1 value cards. A player can also use two value 2 cards to move any fish to a new doorway. The box setup is also very similar, being a mirrored version of the original. Finally, the rulebook has gotten a bit of an upgrade and is much clearer now. The game consists of as many rounds as there are players (except in a 2 player game). In each round one player is the Catcher and the other players are the Runners. Each round consists of 3 phases: Phase 1 - Round Setup

The Story

Players gain victory points for catching others or for collecting fish. When either the Catcher has caught all the Runners or any of the Runners has collected their 3 color fish, the round is over. Not only does Best Ice Cool offer hours of fast-paced fun but it also brings many other beneficial elements too: If there is one genre that I can’t get enough of it’s card drafting games. But if there is a second genre that I am addicted to, it’d have to be dexterity games. I love them. I think it’s because they always feel so unique when you compare them to each other. That and they are usually the genre of games that seems to inspire the most talked about moments. That one amazing shot will always create a lasting memory. The round ends when either one truant penguin has collected all their fish, or when the hall monitor has confiscated all the hall passes. Then fish are returned to the starting set-up, a different player becomes the hall monitor and everyone plays again. (Everyone will have one round of being the hall monitor.) Whoever collects the highest total of fish on their cards wins the game. The basic rules and win conditions are the same in a five-player game. With six to eight players there’s an extra catcher. In this scenario, the hall monitors work as a team to bring their delinquent peers to account. Because catcher roles rotate, with seven players someone will play this role twice. This unevenness might ruffle the feathers of more particular players. But this game is best for light-hearted play.

The round ends when either a runner has collected all their fish, or the catcher has collected all the other player’s ID cards. At that point, each players draws a VP card for each ID card they currently have in their possession. If the Catcher at any point during his turn touches one or more Runners, he takes away their ID cards.Each game includes 4 colorful penguin figures, 8 doors, 16 pieces of fish, 1 game board, 1 rule booklet and 4 colored bases. ICECOOL 2 has won numerous awards, such as the Toy of The Year Award and the Creative Child Magazine’s 2017 “Game Of The Year” Award. Award winning – Zingo has won many awards including an Oppenheim Gold, Parents’ Choice Award, ASTRA Best Toys for Kids Award, and is a three time Toy of the Year Nominee. We had one game where the catcher actually jumped two walls and caught me on the other side of the board. To be honest, I wasn’t even mad, that was an amazing shot. It’s moments like this which make Ice Cool so much fun. Ice Cool is going to be one of those games where there will be cheers or cries of anguish as people make particularly difficult or impressive shots. What use is Maths when you could have the easy life you see the other penguins having when you watch David Attenborough on TV? Cutting class is so much more fun and there’s plenty of fish to be had in the kitchens, so long as the hall monitor doesn’t catch you!