SNAP Review – Yum Yum Island

Rescue all the animals on Yum Yum Island by feeding them food tokens – and keeping it away from the giant.

Yum Yum Island is a cooperative game for 2-5 players, ages 6+, from Space Cow (an imprint of Space Cowboys).

Listen to what we and our kids think of this game, or read on below.

Setup

Set the giant in the middle of the table, and put the four palm trees near his hands and feet. Choose at least five animals and set them out around the giant.

Pour all the food tokens into the giant turtle’s back. Give each player a set of “aviator goggles” (blindfold).

How to Play

Players try in turn to “air drop” food to the stranded animals.

Start by rolling the die. There are three possibilities:

• Add 2 food tokens to the giant, then other players can give you instructions.
• Player must try to feed the animals, all other players must stay quiet.
• (Yellow palm tree) Rescue an animal that has at least 1 food token in its mouth. Then turn to the “no talking” side and continue the turn.

The current player figures out which animal they’re going to try to feed – and memorizes what kind of food tokens that requires. Then they put on their “goggles” blindfold.

Now they must pick up food tokens from the turtle’s back (in one hand), then try to drop the whole pile from their hand into an animal’s mouth – keeping their hand above the palm trees at all times. But the palm trees can help guide you toward the animal you’re looking for – and away from the giant!

Any tokens that do NOT end up in the animal’s mouth (on the table, on the giant, on the “outside” of the animal) are stolen by the giant. Put them in the giant’s throat.

If an animal received food tokens that do not match their specific diet, those tokens also go to the giant.

If an animal has received enough food, you’ve rescued that animal! Put it back in the box.

Some animals trigger special effects when they’re rescued. The Lion “bites the giant’s butt”. The Spider tidies the turtle’s food supply. Not all animals are helpful, though – the baby Elephant covers his mama and must be rescued first; the Gorilla frightens food out of other animals.

All players win together if all the animals have been rescued. But everyone loses if the giant’s throat and mouth are so full that no more food can be added – or if the turtle has run out of food to feed the animals.

Impressions

Yum Yum Island is a fun group game, and the age range of 6+ seems just about right. The tokens are very bouncy, and younger kids may get frustrated when they play.

But although it’s difficult (and stressful as the giant gets full), it’s also very silly, which helps defuse the tension of the game.

And it’s really easy to adjust the difficulty for your family. Add or swap animals to make it just right for your family.

We love the different animal abilities, and the chunky two-layer cardboard animals provide a nice touch to corral the bouncy food tokens.

Yum Yum Island provides two ways to assist a blindfolded player. The trees give a way to feel around & get oriented without hitting the table. The turtle’s back has a “runway” that a player can orient towards the animal they’re feeding before they put on a blindfold.

We think Yum Yum Island is best for families with several younger kids, but we’d play it even in a group of adults if we wanted a quick silly game.

We give Yum Yum Island 3 food tokens out of 5.

Find it on Amazon or ask for it where you buy toys and games.

---

The Family Gamers received a copy of Yum Yum Island from Space Cow for this review.

This post contains affiliate links, which do not change your price, but help support The Family Gamers.

SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?