GamerDad.com
Danny Webb
February 2006
USA

In this new dexterity game from Out of the Box, players compete to create a pyramid of round pieces, and then race against the clock as they try to remove pieces and stack them on top. Given its low price, Wallamoppi makes quite a first impression. The game comes packaged in a sturdy wooden box. The components are thirty-six wooden disks in two shades—each with the image of a kiwi (the bird, not the fruit) on them. The disks are thick (at least twice the height of a standard checker) and heavy. Also in the box are two marbles and a wooden running board. This board is attached to the interior of the box, which has grooved rails affixed to the back wall. Once assembled, the box becomes a timer. Players can put a marble into a hole in the top of the box which will slowly roll down the rails until reaches the bottom and falls into a hole in the extended running board.

To play the game, players choose a shade and take one disk of that shade. The remaining disks are placed in an included cloth bag. Players then take turns pulling one disk out of the bag and placing it on the table to create a wall. When all the disks have been pulled and placed, the players place the disks that were held back to finish building a pyramid that narrows from eight-disks on bottom to one on top.

The next step is where the fun of the game is found. Players then alternate pulling one disk out of the pyramid and placing it on top of the structure, forming a tower. The catch here is the time limit. Before each player's turn, his or her opponent places a marble into the timer. A player must complete his or her turn before the marble falls into the hole in the bottom of the timer. If he or she does not, the game ends and the active player loses. Of course, the player also loses if the wall collapses (or even if a single disk falls from the structure).

That's basically it. Wallamoppi is a simple dexterity game--though possibly not as simple as it seems at first blush. The phase where players build the wall can be very tactical. I won a few games quickly because of better disk placement in the wall-building phase. It is possible to give tan opponent very few good options right from the start. Despite the chance to manipulate the wall structure at the beginning of the game, most games are still decided in favor of the player with the steadiest hands and most nimble fingers. I imagine players that are good at Jenga and Bandu will be good at this game.

I enjoyed Wallamoppi. There is nothing earth-shatteringly original here. It is an incredibly simple and light game, but the timer adds lots of tension. In fact, the timer with our game (I imagine there is a bit of difference from box to box) seemed almost too fast. It was very challenging to get a disk out of the wall and onto the tower in time to stop the marble—especially the first few games. It got easier, but even after about a dozen games, only the first few, easy moves were made comfortably. After that, I always felt rushed by the timer. The constant clicking of the falling marble helps to add to the tension of careful block placement. With a low price, fast gameplay, and great components, Wallamoppi is a nice addition to the dexterity genre and another winner for Out of the Box.

I think the timer would really frustrate younger players. I didn't get a chance to play it with any kids in the 7+ category, but my three-year old could come close to making a move withing the time limit (though she loved the timer and was the full-time clock operator for all the adult games). Fortunately, the game plays fine without the timer, something I recommend when playing with a mixture of kids and adults or with the physically challenged. Without the timer, the game is even lighter, but it is still rather enjoyable. Slowly building the pyramid of blocks one by one plays a more sedate counterpoint to the frantic deconstruction in the second game phase. If the game is played with impatient players, two blocks can be drawn and placed at the same time to speed up the building phases without seriously changing the game.

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