In our house we have a son that is obsessed with dinosaurs.
I mean, obsessed to the point where he will talk to you endlessly about how the Spinosaurus is bigger than the Tyrannosaurus even though everyone thinks the T-Rex is the biggest carnivore and that the Ankylosaurus while smaller than both could have probably survived an attack from either of these “top predators” because of it’s body armor.
He’s 4.
He can’t say “Spaghetti” but don’t worry, he can rattle off the name of a pachycephalosaur like it’s nothing.
So we knew when we saw SOS Dino that he’d be all about it.
What we didn’t expect was that we too would be just as thrilled with the game as he was!
This is another great game from LOKI that is sure to delight your family; dinosaur obsession not required!
What is it?
SOS Dino is a cooperative tile placement game where players need to work together as a team to save four dinosaurs and six dinosaur eggs! The prehistoric era is dangerous and the terrain rough, requiring the team to navigate around flowing lava and meteor strikes in order to find safety in the mountains.
How do you play?
One of the main things I look for in a kids game is an ease of play that is simple for kids to pick up and easy to remember. SOS Dino delivers on this.
Players will attempt to save the six dinosaur eggs on the board and get all four dinosaurs to safety high up in the mountains. On their turn they will follow three steps that will allow them to advance towards their goal.
The turns are simple:
- Draw a random tile from the bag
- Place the tile on the game board
- Take the action depicted on the tile.
Each lava tile in the bag has one of four types of colorful flowers on it letting players know which volcano it needs to be placed next to. Each tile will extend the flow of the lava from the volcano which will begin to limit the areas dinosaurs can be moved.
Along with lava tiles there are meteor tiles. These tiles match a symbol on the board where the meteor must be placed.
If any lava or meteor tile is placed on a space that occupies a dinosaur that dinosaur will, sadly, be lost and must be removed from the board. If any lava tile would run into an egg, that egg too must be removed from the board.
On each tile there are symbols that indicate the action players must take after placing their tile on the game board. Some will require you to move one or two dinosaurs, others will require you to draw another tile.
If ever a lava tile is drawn that cannot be placed because the lava flow from that volcano has ended, then this tile causes the volcano to explode! You’ll then remove the volcano from the board to reveal underneath a tile with four lava flows. You’ll then place your drawn tile extending out from one of these new spaces, continuing the spread of lava from the volcano, then taking the action on the tile as normal.
The game plays out until either all dinosaurs on the board have climbed to safety on the mountains, all dinosaurs have been eliminated by lava or meteors, or there are no more tiles in the bag.
Points are then tallied up and players see how they did. Each egg saved earns you 1 point. Each dinosaur saved earns you 2 points. A perfect score is a score of 14.
What do we think?
I have been really impressed by this game!
First of all, the components are just about perfect. With all of the different elements included, the game looks very impressive set up on the table. The 3-dimensional structures are so fun for the kids to see and set up and really add to the over all feel of the game more so than using a flat marker or board art would have. They do take a little bit of time to punch out and put together, but the cardboard is nice and sturdy and they are easy to store once the game is over.
The dinosaur characters are completely adorable. I think they are perfectly age appropriate and inviting without making the game feel like a big toy. Even after multiple plays, my kids still want to pick them up and examine them. They all have their favorites, too.
Speaking of favorites, one thing I really liked was that you weren’t required to play a specific dinosaur during the game. Not only does this eliminate the chance of fighting over a specific dinosaur as your player marker, but it also gives kids the chance to examine the whole board and work together to make the best move on their turn rather than the best move for their particular dinosaur.
This means the chance for better strategy and teamwork. Everyone stays invested on each person’s turn and can offer suggestions and talk through potential moves together. Our kids have been able to see that, “I may not be able to save the egg on my turn, but if I move this dinosaur closer to it, then on their turn they can save it!” Everyone helps save everything on the board. There isn’t one hero.
Another aspect of SOS Dino that I really enjoy is the “high score” aspect of the game. While you can win straight forward by saving all six eggs and all four dinosaurs, gaining the highest score, if you lose a dinosaur or an egg you don’t lose the game.
There is such an element of luck as to what tiles come out when that in some games we have played an area of the board can quickly become overtaken by lava. This may mean that an egg or a dinosaur is lost, but because the game isn’t over, no one gets discouraged.
It is also a great way to further encourage critical thinking in the kids’ strategy decisions. Perhaps it is wiser to lose one egg rather than attempt to save it and lose not only the egg but a dinosaur as well. Or maybe they’ll realize that they need to work together to get a dinosaur to safety quickly because it is in an area that they are losing control over.
Either way, it’s great fit for this style of cooperative game and a really nice way to keep each game going even when the tiles don’t go your way.
The tile placement/route building aspect is also well done. With each tile pulled, the kids have to think about where the best spot is to place it so that not only will they be able to keep their dinosaurs safe, but also so that they can continue the lava route without forcing the volcano to explode. This won’t always be possible however, and once the volcano does explode there will be even more options for both placement and threats the players will have to think through.
This creates the perfect amount of tension and suspense. The game isn’t too easy. You won’t get a perfect score every time. In fact, after multiple plays, we’ve only gotten a perfect score once! And that was by the skin of our teeth.
I love a healthy amount of tension in a kids game. I find that it helps to keep them invested in the game and makes it feel like an exciting story they get to be a part of, especially in these cooperative style games.
Does it work for the intended age group?
The mechanics of the game are perfectly suited for children 7 and up. It’s also plenty easy to teach to those younger, around age 5 or so, allowing them to play with perhaps a bit of help.
As mentioned above, our son is four, he’ll turn five in just a couple months and this game works really well for him. There is an element of experience involved in that. He has played a wide variety of games during his short few years of gaming and has built up some confidence that helps with this one.
That being said, he still requires a bit of guidance and assistance to play SOS Dino but it’s fairly minimal and mainly relegated to reminding him to look at all of his options before choosing which dinosaur to move.
Our daughter is seven and finds this game fun even though the theme doesn’t spark her interests as much as it does her brother. SOS Dino could easily become a game that she would outgrow quickly, but luckily they have included a “Thorny Bush Variant” that adds a greater challenge once the normal game feels too easy.
This adds five thorny bushes, similar to the pointy rocks onto the board. With more obstacles in the way, tried and true paths don’t work as well so everyone will have to rethink their plan of attack.
One of the best parts is that this game is also fun for adults. There is nothing worse than having to play a game that your kids love but you can’t stand. That’s not the case here! This game is sure to be one that you will enjoy playing together and may even try your hand at playing solo! Ramp up the difficulty by adding in the extra elements and enjoy the puzzle-like quality of placing the tiles as you try to achieve your own personal high score!
Anything We’d Change?
There’s really not much to not like in this game. It is a really well designed game for the intended age group and very well implemented both in components and mechanics.
Each game that we’ve played has clocked in around 30 minutes. This does tend to be a bit longer when it comes to kids games which I usually like to sit around the 20 minute mark. However, due to the engaging theme we haven’t notice our kids struggle with the time or attention required to keep playing. It probably won’t be one you’ll want to play back to back though.
Summary
Packed with amazing components, great 3D table presence, and requiring pleasant amount of tactical strategy, SOS Dino is another great addition to the LOKI line up of kids games. It is fun for the whole family and will especially delight any dinosaur lovers in the house. Because it is a cooperative game, players younger than 7 can easily play with the support of a parent allowing for a wide variety of ages to be involved, extending the life of the game for your household.
Thanks to the luck element in tile drawing, each game feels different while still requiring similar strategies so kids get better with each play. Some games will have more of a sense of urgency depending on which tiles are drawn, making it hard to achieve a perfect score each game. (We’ve only done it once so far after many plays!) Allowing the game to play out and players to score on a points/rank system rather than a straight win/loss system keeps the game from being too much of a beat down. It’s hard to save everything each game, if this was the requirement for a win, kids (and parents) would probably get too discouraged. Making it a point scale keeps it competitive from game to game as you try to do better than last time.
All in all this is a wonderful choice for kids around 5 or 6 years of age and up and a game we highly recommend checking out!
Game Info:
Title: SOS Dino
Ages: 7+
Price: $29.99
Designer: Ludovic Maublanc, Théo Rivière
Artist: Mathieu Leyssenne
Publisher: LOKI
Published: 2018
Thank you so much to IELLO and LOKI for providing us a copy of SOS Dino to play and review. As always, our thoughts and opinions are our own.
* This post contains affiliate links at no cost to you. To read my full disclosure policy click here.*
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