Cookie Magazine
Christopher Healy
July 2006
USA

Two players take turns stacking dark and light wooden discs, taking care not to topple the tower they are creating. If that sounds dull, try it for yourself. The task becomes increasingly difficult as the game progresses—especially once you’ve used all the discs and have to pull pieces from the bottom of the pyramid to resituate at the top. Plus, you have to complete your turn within an eight-second time limit. But Wallamoppi’s unique, tension-building timer is where this game goes from plain enjoyable to outright exciting. This is no silent hourglass that players forget about until someone finally notices time is up; it’s a wooden box with a series of ramps inside. At the start of your turn, you drop a marble into the top. Then you quickly pull and replace your piece (without knocking the tower down, or you’ve lost) before the ball reaches the bottom of its slide maze. It rolls slowly, making a sound that ratchets up the suspense with an eerie proficiency. But if the tension is too much for younger kids to handle, take heart: Wallamoppi can be played without the timer, still working wonderfully as a challenging test of spatial thinking and manual dexterity.

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