I gave Penguin, the last game in Fantasy Flight's Toy, a rather less than stellar review because it simply didn't stack up (literally!) as a toy or a game. But I'm still a sucker for toy/game combos, so the next game in the series, RattleSnake (Fantasy Flight Games, 2007 - Roberto Di Meglio), was still attractive to me - especially after I saw a video of it on the internet. Besides, RattleSnake has magnets - it's got to be cool, right? There already is a quite popular magnet game, Polarity, which I found merely a pleasant diversion - would RattleSnake be the same way?

RattleSnake is simply a game that utilizes "rattlesnake" magnets to produce a pleasant and quick children's game. Rattlesnake magnets are very strong thin egg shaped magnets. When they are drawn together, they snap with a rattling sound - hence their name. They're very durable, as I have had some in my house for several years - seeing heavy play amongst my children, with little or no damage. RattleSnake contains twelve of these magnets housed in a plastic insert along with a six-sided die and a board. The magnets are a little difficult to pry out with chunky fingers; but once you get one, the rest simply snap right out of the box.

The board shows a pile of snakes in five different colors (white, red, blue, green, and yellow) writhing around in the jungle. The board is fairly small, and probably good quality (I'm saying probably, because mine was slightly leaning off the table; and when I tried to bend it back into position, it snapped in half. I'm assuming this was my fault; the board pieces fit together well, so it's not been a big deal). The magnets are divided evenly between all the players, and the game begins.

RattleSnake is a very simple game; one that even very young players (four years and older) can handle. On a player's turn, they simply roll the die and place an egg (magnet) from their hand onto any part of a snake that matches the color rolled. The colors are all printed on the die once, except blue - and that works out fairly well, since there are more blue snakes on the board than any other.

The first magnet on the board is fairly simple; the player simply places it down. After this, however, the magnet being placed is going to affect the other magnets on the board. Since they are so powerful, there will likely be swaying and wobbling, which is okay. But, if another magnet goes off the board or snaps together with another magnet, the player takes all affected magnets into their hand.

Because of the sheer delicate nature of the game, you'll have to take precautions that players with magnets in their hands avoid the board, because the magnetic fields can and will affect the magnets on the board. Carelessly thrown dice can also wreak havoc; players must learn to be careful where they roll. It's hard, although not impossible, to get more than six on the board - getting more than seven I have not yet seen. Players will find the best way to put the magnets on the board, but sometimes they roll a color which gives them no hope. At that point they must place the magnet in such a way that they only get one or two added to their hands rather than a horrible snap, which can up to six to their stash.

Luck does play a role in the game, but really doesn't matter, since a game takes about three minutes. Games are so short that we've simply played them in sets, with the first player who wins a certain number of rounds winning the game. A four player game seems a bit disjointed, as players have only three magnets; and if you go directly after someone who takes most of the magnets on the board into their hand, it's very easy to lay down those last magnets. If four players want to play, they should be on teams, because RattleSnake works best as a two-player game with six magnets per side.

I enjoy RattleSnake, even though I would relegate it to my kids/teenager pile. With adults, it's tremendously amusing, but I don't know that I would pick it up on amusement factor alone. With kids, it's a great game that they can be on equal footing with adults and learn something about magnetic fields while they are at it. High quality components; fun, colorful artwork; and fast, simple game play make RattleSnake a great kid "filler" game that will produce lots of laughs and groans and keep folks entertained for fifteen minutes.

Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.thedicetower.com