I haven't played Yahtzee in about 2 years, but for a while there, I was quite addicted to playing the mobile game, as it was quick and easy to play in my downtime while in college. When I received a review copy of Yahtzee Naruto from the folks over at The Op Games, I was eager to teach my 9-year-old nephew and 11-year-old baby brother how to play. I've been teaching both of them various tabletop games over the last 2 years, and Yahtzee, as a well-known game, would be another good one for them to learn.
My nephew just so happens to be a fan of Naruto as well, so this was a no-brainer to check out and review. I was a fan of Naruto when I was a teen over a decade ago. It's been fun and somewhat surreal to see my nephew go full-on nerd about it, especially when I handed him my old Naruto manga.
After a quick refresher of the rules, I sat down to teach the kids. As always, Yahtzee is pretty simple. There are 13 rounds of rolling the dice and attempting to get rolls to mark down in each of the categories on the scorecard. It's a game that employs strategy, math, and chance. My nephew was already pretty intrigued by the Naruto theme of this Yahtzee set, but as we played, he started to get into trying to understand the strategy. He normally beats me at most games, but Yahtzee happens to be one where I happen to be very good, and his abnormally good luck struggles more against my strategic scoring. I'm sure once he figures it out, though, he'll put up a good match.
Now let's get into the theme of this Yahtzee set. The design of the dice for this set is all ramen ingredients. Particularly of the kind Naruto would eat. Any fan of ramen would recognize the scallions, egg, pork, narutomaki, menma, and of course, ramen. Each of the numbers on the dice is represented by a different topping. The design would be pleasing to any fan of not only Naruto but ramen in general. However, I will note that the colors are very light, and the corresponding numbers are very tiny. This particular set might be a problem for visually impaired players.
The ramen bowl is a nice touch and perfect for rolling. I think Naruto himself would be pleased with it. Believe it!
The packaging is mostly on point for marketing purposes of this set as a Yahtzee Naruto set. The bright orange matches Naruto's typical costuming pretty well. While I think this packaging will certainly do its job showcasing the set for those collecting it as fans of Naruto, it's not as great for those who might buy the set to play with and want to keep their game in good condition. I like to keep my games in good condition. One of the best ways to do that, in my opinion, has always depended on good packaging for easy storage. If you're planning to keep your Naruto ramen-themed Yahtzee set on a shelf and never play it, it's perfect. However, if you do plan to play with it, perhaps invest in a large enough Naruto-themed or orange dice bag to store it. Or just display the ramen bowl with dice in it on a shelf without the box entirely.
Overall, Yahtzee Naruto Shippuden would make a great and easy gift or stocking stuffer for a Naruto fan that you know this holiday season. At just $22.99, it's a good idea to get your copy shipped asap as we close in on the holidays.