I’m part of the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club and recently I was gifted the ‘Maki Stack‘ board game in exchange for an honest review. In case you’re not aware, Asmodee UK is an established distributor of games, collectables and toys – both domestically and across Europe.
Back in May 2019, when the opportunity first came about to be part of the Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club (organised by Playtime PR) I jumped at the chance to try out some of their games! I was given the opportunity to select board games from a huge list they supplied me with and then fingers crossed I would get my choices sent out to review. Guess what, I did! 
So far I have received ‘Hey, That’s My Fish!‘ (Click here to read the review) , Ticket to Ride – Europe (Click here to read the review) , Jungle Speed (Click here to read the review), Dice Academy (click here to read my review), ‘SET‘ game (Click here to read the review), ‘Just One‘ (Click here to read the review), ‘Ticket to Ride London‘ (Click here to read the review) and Maki Stack. I have also been gifted ‘Azul’ to review in the next month. Exciting!
I love being part of Asmodee UK’s Blogger Board Game Club as it means we are gifted loads of great games to try out. My 10 year old daughter and I both love playing games so this collaboration with Asmodee is perfect for us!
For today’s review I am writing about a game called ‘Maki Stack‘ which is published by Blue Orange.
Here is Blue Orange’s description of ‘Maki Stack’ >>
‘Order’s up- it’s time for a sushi showdown! Put on your mask and grab your teammate, or prepare to use your fingers as chopsticks. Balance and arrange the sushi, plates, and soy sauce bottles, and make sure to execute the order exactly as shown on the card. But be careful, one wrong move and everything might tumble over! Race a friend or challenge as a team in this sushi stacking extravaganza. High-quality wooden pieces and crazy stacking combinations make Maki Stack perfect for a game night full of fun and laughs.’
At the UK Games Expo Awards 2019 ‘Maki Stack‘ was crowned ‘Best Party Game‘ by the judges.
My daughter has played this game with me on one occasion and she has also played it with her grandma and her cousins (aged 6 and 9 years old). This is her review , in exactly her own words:
“Hi, Can I just say thank you to Asmodee for sending this game to me for review. I think that the colours on the packaging are very complementary colours and the red, black and yellow makes it stand out on the shelf and it will appeal to young board game fanatics. I have played the game with my mum and it was very fun because it was new to us which made it very exciting. Then a week later I played it with my cousins and my grandma. My grandma teamed up with my 6 year old cousin (as he needed a little bit of help) and I teamed up with my 9 year old cousin. The instructions are easy to understand but we did get a little bit confused at first so we had to read them again to make sure we played properly. The aim of the game is to be the fastest team to stack the wooden sushi items on your mat so that they match the images on the cards.
My favourite cards were the ones that needed us to use one finger each (like chopsticks) to pick up and stack the wooden sushi items. Me and my 9 year old cousin did find the game a little bit easier than my 6 year old cousin and I think that it’s a very good game for younger kids.
It’s a good game for families with young children as normally you don’t get many board games that younger children can play. With this game they can be part of the game and feel included. There is one problem and that is the fact that after a little while the saying ‘Practice make perfect’ comes true and it becomes a bit too easy to play. So if someone who is used to playing the game plays against someone who is new to it – the person who has played it before may find it easier and then win more often.. unless of course the other person has beginner’s luck!
The sushi pieces are good quality and sturdy – perfect for stacking! If I’m honest, I do feel that the game is a bit over-priced for the amount of play time that you get from it when compared to other games that you can play for an hour or so. However, like I mentioned before, younger kids can’t normally be included in some other family board games but they can in Maki Stack. Which is great. Normally, when me and my 9 yr old cousin play board games we find it hard to include her younger brother because he doesn’t always understand the rules or the strategy of normal games but with this one it was easy to explain to him and he enjoyed it. I think overall at the end of the day it is a great game that all the family can enjoy, especially during the festive season.’
For that review my daughter told me what to write and I typed it up ….I agree with everything she has said. It is an easy game to play and one that is good for younger children as they can play with their grown up. I do also feel that the game is a bit expensive for what it is but that is only because as a family we prefer more long-play strategy games like Monopoly and Ticket to Ride which you can sometimes get for the same kind of price (Maki Stack has an RRP of £25.99). So therefore we would prefer to spend the money on a game that takes longer to complete, however the plus side of Maki Stack being quick to play is just that….you can get it out of the cupboard, set it up in a minute, play for 10 minutes and then put it away. If you find that you only have time for a short game then this is perfect!
Maki Stack is available to buy from various retailers – both online and in store. At the time of writing this review Zatu games have the game available to buy for £18.29 instead of the RRP of £25.99. Click here to order >> www.board-game.co.uk/product/maki-stack/
The game is designed for 2, 4 or 6 players aged 7 years and up.
I would like to say a big thank you to Asmodee for kindly gifting us this copy of Maki Stack to review on my blog as part of their Asmodee UK Blogger Board Game Club. If you would like to purchase the game please click here to be taken to the Zatu Games website to buy your copy or alternatively do a quick google search to find a different retailer (please note that none of the links in this review are affiliate links).
