SNAP Review – Tapple

Quick, what’s a restaurant that starts with “T”! How about a country that starts with “W”?

Is this a Facebook data-mining thing?

No, it’s a SNAP review for Tapple.

Game

Tapple is a category-word game for up to 8 players ages 8+, from The OP.

Art

At first glance, there’s not a ton of art here – it’s 20 letter buttons arranged in a circle with a central buzzer button, and there are cards with some text.

But the device with the buttons and the timer is clever and really intuitive. From the very first time we opened the box, we were trying out the buttons (I love pressing the buttons! They feel so good!) and the reset mechanism.

In another bit of clever design, the cards are stored in a compartment that’s part of the device. That means, once you open the box and understand the rules, you never actually need the box again – everything you need is right here!

Mechanics

So how do you actually play Tapple?

First, you take out the cards and turn on the power switch.

Have one person in the group draw a card and pick a category. How about “4-Letter Words”? In a Family Gamers SNAP review? Sure, why not! Okay…

Then hit the central timer button and get going!

On your turn, shout out a word that fits the category – like “food!” and press the corresponding letter that hasn’t been used yet. Then you press the timer button, and it’s the next person’s turn.

If you run out of time, or if you use a starting letter that’s not available – “foul!” – you’re knocked out of the round. Keep passing and shouting until only one player has not been knocked out. That player wins that card for the round!

Play until someone has won 3 cards… or really just until you feel like stopping.

Expectations

What did we expect from Tapple?

Well, it wasn’t a whole lot to look at, although the buttons seemed a lot of fun. Word games can be hit or miss, especially when you’re playing with a wide range of ages like we do.

But the box says “fast word fun for everyone” – so we wondered, could this be true?

Surprises

And that brings us to our surprises – yes!

Our 7 year old struggled a little bit, but the allure of being able to press the buttons was too hard to resist. He was usually knocked out fairly quickly, but it was fun to be around people who were laughing and talking. After a few rounds, he got to join an adult’s “team”, and that really helped him out.

Our other kids, who are 11 and 13, had a great time trying to stump mom and dad or steal our answers before we could say them. And they chose categories where they might have an advantage, like Countries, or Colors… or Fast Food Restaurants.

Rounds went surprisingly long when we played with a larger group of 7 people. I think it’s because we had more time to think between turns and maybe set up a couple of options in case our letters got chosen ahead of us.

Because the rounds went longer, coming up with words also stayed hard for a longer time – and then we learned another rule.

Once you press everything, you can actually keep going. Hit the reset button, and now the remaining players have to come up with two words on their turn. And if you still have players left after using all 20 letters again, then they’ll need to say three words starting with different unused letters.

[Clip: people playing Tapple] “Norman, Edward, and … Mason.”

Recommended?

Our family had a great time with Tapple. It’s playable with just two players, but it’s best at three or more, so you have some time to think between turns; and so one knock-out doesn’t immediately end the round.

Pretty much any kid who has strong reading skills should be able to play. But you may want to let them on an adult “team”, like we did, if they start to get frustrated. With the right categories, kids can beat the adults (“cartoons” anyone?).

One thing we really enjoy about this game, as kind of a party game, is that you can just sit down with the cards and just play. You don’t really need to work to three cards so somebody is the victor; it’s really just a fun game to help people rack their memories and have a blast doing it.

You can play it for 5 minutes, or 25 minutes, or 45 minutes, however long you want to keep playing.

Rating

What are we going to rate Tapple from The OP?

It’s not a classic boardgame, like the stuff we often talk about, but it’s a ton of fun, and it fits a great niche in our greater gaming library. So we’re going to rate Tapple 4 out of 5 letters.

And that’s Tapple, in a SNAP!

Find it at Target, or wherever toys and games are sold.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of Tapple from The OP for this review.

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