I am always on the hunt for unique dexterity games. Sure, most dexterity games are usually unique in their own right, but I’ve seen countless games where you have to flick or toss something. The reason I gravitate towards a good dexterity game is because they are easy to bring to the table and they also offer a different experience than your standard card or board game. Our newest Game of the Week fits that bill to a T.

Riff Raff

The goal in Riff Raff is simple. You must be the first sailor to load all of your cargo onto the ship. Clearly you have important drinking to do, so the faster you can get all your cargo onto the ship, the better. However, the seas must be fairly unstable that day because the ship in Riff Raff is pretty unstable. It’s actually balanced on a round dowel and has a counterweight at the bottom. So every bit of cargo loaded onto it will alter its precarious balance.

The game play is just as easy as it sounds. Each player starts with an identical pile of misshapen cargo and a hand of cards numbered 1-10. Each round, players will choose one of their 10 cards to play, which indicates which area of the ship the player has to load cargo. The low numbers are on the base of the ship (much easier), while the higher ones will have you loading cargo on the unstable yard arms of the ship. Should pieces fall off, you can try and catch them and if you don’t, they go back into your pile to be loaded on a future turn. And that’s basically it.

Riff Raff is simple to learn, but incredibly entertaining. I brought this game over to a friends house (all non-gamers) and they said it was easily the most enjoyable game they’ve played in a long time. The swaying ship provides for a lot of tense moments as you carefully try and load your cargo. While the ship may look stable for a few seconds, cargo could just as easily fall overboard quickly if luck is not in your favor. If you are looking for a unique game to bring to the gaming table, Riff Raff is definitely it.

2-4 PLAYERS • AGES 8+ • 30 MINUTES • $70