Boom Party is, as the name of the parlor game suggests, a party game. "Yeah!" scream one player. "Oh no," say the others. The fact is: With the title, you can quickly get two to six players at the table for a round of conversation. There are no hurdles, even the youngest can take part. And: Boom Party is better than one would expect given the simple title.
"Welcome to the funniest and sassiest birthday party ever," Boom Party announces itself in big words. After all: The interactive card game for the whole family is funny, and it's basically about spoiling the fun for the others. The basic idea is not wrong: ruin other people's parties with lots of nasty actions. You know that: You usually have the most fun when other people aren't having any.
Boom Party: "Boom" for balloons
The fact that other children celebrate the nicer birthday party is almost unbearable when they are children. Other kids are never cooler than you per se, and they certainly don't do cooler things. In the case of the Boom Party card game, which was localized in this country by the small publisher Taverna Ludica Games, this is exactly what you work with: you treat yourself to everything, but nothing to the others. Boom Party is so called because it's about popping the balloons of the other players - and with that their party plans.
You don't need much for this: player boards, small wooden balloons, playing cards and lots of interaction. The author Pablo Jiménez partially enforces the latter in the three-round game, because there is one thing you must never do: pass. When it is your turn, you play a card on your own tableau or that of an opponent. This is subject to a few conditions, which the brief eight-page rulebook explains. Important to know: Not all cards have positive effects. The annoyance factor in this game is correspondingly high, assuming that you have to spoil the fun of others in the most humorous way possible.
Party crashers!
The focus is on the pretty wooden balloons: which you can blow up, burst, even steal. Among other things, there are points for the number of balloons at the end, but not exclusively for this, because the party guests also bring counters and gifts. Boom Party is all about theme - the game doesn't do that badly. On the contrary: the illustrations are funny, ranging from the crazy clown to intestinal gas, and are symbolic of the different actions to be triggered. Then there are balloons for the tableau, sometimes a protective shield, even extra points. However, the fun is greatest when it comes to raging on the boards of the opponents.
All of this is ultimately as simple as it sounds. The games are pleasantly short with a playing time of around 15 minutes, because there is no more gameplay. However, Boom Party fills the quarter of an hour with fun. Effect follows effect, because – we remind you – you can't pass after all. So there's plenty happening on the table and glee always comes up. You can also use tactics by protecting your balloons - at least until an opponent eliminates this protection with the bazooka. With the "balloon thief" effect, there is even an added mini-game.
It's never really exciting, but it's funny. Boom Party obviously doesn't want to be more than that. It's about uncomplicated fun with simple basic rules. The bigger the round, the more fun it is, because then the cards are distributed more evenly and at the same time you have more playgrounds to wreak havoc on. In duel mode, i.e. with two players, Boom Party is much less appealing, because then you always know in advance who will get the full load of meanness.
The additional visualization level with the player boards and wooden balloons enhances the essentially simple mechanism, at least visually. After all, you not only play and count points, you can also read the success of your actions on the gaming table. Taverna Ludica Games' localization work was successful - this was limited to the rules and packaging texts for the card game anyway. Otherwise, Boom Party does not require language, another plus point for a family game that children can not only play, but probably also want to.
In contrast to other child-friendly formats (apart from the knife in the hand of the party star), the youngest can live out their nasty sides uninhibitedly. Boom Party is a door opener into the world of games, which adults are not averse to, not least because of the nasty, humorous illustrations. In short: There are much worse party games than this one.
Infobox
Number of players: 2 to 6
Age: from 8 years
Playing time: 10 to 15 minutes
Difficulty: easy
Long-term motivation: medium
Genre: family game
Core mechanisms: hand management
Author: Pablo Jimenez
Publisher: Taverna Ludica Games
Official Website: Link
Year of publication: 2020
Language: German
Cost: 40 Euro
Conclusion
One round of Boom Party isn't a science, and neither is three rounds. The fixed end after three action rounds limits the playing time, which is beneficial to the entertainment value. You wouldn't want much more and wouldn't find it fun either. As it is, however, it is all about positive and negative effects, which ultimately all boil down to the final rating. The counting of points, however, is the attached mechanical part in order to be able to somehow determine a winner. Significantly more fun comes up during the actions.
The degree of interaction is maximum, it's always about doing practical jokes on your or your opponent's boards. Like similar party card games, Boom Party capitalizes on the hassle factor and glee of the players. This can sometimes be frustrating when the group has picked a victim. At least: The idea of the balloons as a visualization and the restrictions on the card display have a regulatory effect, so that everyone gets plenty of damage even in a larger round. The card game thrives on its interaction, which the author insists on by rule. It is impossible to escape the nasty duels at the gaming table. From a certain point - and depending on the hand cards - you can't avoid annoying your fellow players.
Boom Party is not an evening filler, but it can hold its own as a fun card game for in between. Anyone who doesn't need tactical aspirations to have fun will surely experience one or the other entertaining game with this title.
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