Tiger Stripes Card Game Review

 Card games are a BIG part of our gameschooling day. They're usually quick to learn, quick to play, and a fun way to take a break from "work." For this reason, I'm always on the lookout for cute, new card games that I think my kids will enjoy. That's why I was excited when Tabletop Tycoon sent me a copy of Tiger Stripes: The Card Game, by Flying Meeple, for review. 

So let's take a look at the game!

Tiger Stripes: The Card Game is a simple game that plays 2 to 4 players and takes approximately 15 minutes.  In Tiger Stripes, each player is a tiger cub trying to earn their tripes by collecting cards to make matches that will earn them stripes.

Here's what we loved:

1.) The design! - The art is so adorable on this game!  Each player gets a score card that has a cute illustration of a tiger cub without stripes on one side.  Once the tiger earns all their stripes, they turn their card over and there's an illustration of the little tiger, complete with stripes! 

2.) The gameplay! - My kids really enjoyed the simplicity of the gameplay. In the game, you're collecting prey cards by picking one from the top of the draw pile or by purchasing them using the gems on the cards in your hand. Discard sets of 3 matching Prey cards to earn the number of stripes shown on the bottom of the cards. The first person to earn all 7 of their stripes wins the game.

3.) The rulebook! - The rulebook is just 7 pages. That may seem like a lot, but they are tiny pages, so it's a very quick and easy game to learn.

4.) The portability! - The game contains just 4 score cards, 50 game cards, and 28 stripe tokens, so it's a small game.  This makes it easy to carry with you. It also doesn't have a large profile during game play.  You need enough room to reveal 5 cards in the center play area and a place for the draw pile and the discard pile.  Then each player needs room for their score card and their small stash or stripe tokens. That's it!

5.) The educational value! - Admittedly, this is a very simple game. But that doesn't mean it doesn't have educational value. You can use the game to begin a discussion on tigers and the fact that they are, in fact, born with stripes, but the stripes are faint at first and get darker as they grow older.  You can use the cards to discuss predators and prey, food chains, food webs, and animal habitats. The gameplay involves some basic math, planning ahead, and decision-making.

I'll admit, this wasn't a hugely strategic game.  But it's not meant to be.  My younger kids really enjoyed playing it though! They wanted to play over and over.  And my youngest immediately thought of her friend, who loves tigers, and suggested we teach her to play as well. So if you have young kids (my younger kids are 5th and 3rd grade), this is definitely a cute, fun game to add to your collection!

I received this game, free of charge from Tabletop Tycoon, in exchange for my honest review.