Get on Board:
Maki Stack

Oddly enough there’s a surprising number of board games on the theme of sushi. One of the most fun and certainly the most frantic of the bunch is Maki Stack.

Made by the family fun games designers at Blue Orange Games, Maki Stack is a game of teamwork and speed. Where other sushi-based games have used pieces of the Japanese food to gain points, Maki Stack takes the actual shape and physicality of sushi and creates a frenzied, tower-building game. There are five wooden pieces to pile on top of each other, each shaped differently. “Only five pieces to stack?” you ask. It’s not that easy!

 First one to complete the tower of sticky rice yells “maki stack” to secure a point

Players work in pairs. A pile of face-down cards is placed in the middle. The cards are coloured either red for “blindfolded” or yellow for “fingers”. If the top card is red, a player from each team readies themselves by placing a blindfold over their eyes. The card is turned over and reveals the way the sushi should be stacked. The player without the blindfold must describe how to make the appropriate stack to the blinded player as they race against the other team. First one to complete the tower of sticky rice yells “maki stack” to secure a point. A yellow card requires both players’ effort but only one finger can be used each. Working your way through the deck of cards, the first team to reach six points is declared the winner.

Maki Stack is a brilliant family game that has all members screaming out in delight and panic as pieces topple over and teams are millimetres from winning. The minimum recommended age is seven but a pre-schooler could happily play if teamed up with an adult. Maki Stack does require four players, however, so it’s not the most flexible game, although pairs could take it in turns at a bigger gathering. It’s basic but fun, and makes a nice change from Buckeroo.