Sometimes the best part of building something is waiting for it to come tumbling down.
Tower Crash, part of the Twist Time line of indoor/outdoor games from Blip Toys, builds both a tower and suspense as players carefully construct the tallest tower they can before it crashes down.
Play starts off with three levels, as players set up by putting one of the purple discs down first and adding eight pillars, two of each color. Repeat this two more times and then cap it off with another purple disc.
Then, players take turns rolling the die to see which color pillar he or she must relocate. If a player rolls a “wild,” that player gets to pick any color he or she wants to move, which can be a tad relieving if certain colors all seem to be in danger of starting an avalanche.
As the levels are filled with the moved pillars, kids should continue to add the purple discs to start new levels. The taller the colorful steeple, the wobblier it becomes with each turn. I even got nervous of my die roll going rogue and bouncing into my fragile structure.
If somehow players manage to use all eight discs and the tower still hasn’t fallen, it’s time to start pulling pillars out one by one until it does. If a player pulls a pillar that causes the fall, the player preceding him or her is the winner, and I think shouldn’t have to help clean up the pieces and store back in the included drawstring bag.
Tower Crash is made for indoor or outdoor play. If played inside, make certain there’s nothing breakable nearby for the tower to catch when it inevitably falls. If kids take it outside, be sure they play on a flat surface so they don’t start out with the Leaning Tower of Pisa in plastic form. There would be no hope for anyone in that situation.
I also suggest playing outside with nothing more than a light breeze, unless the whole crew is up for an added challenge of playing against the elements. If building in the wind isn’t quite the challenge you’re looking for, add some other creative twists to the game, like challenging players to move a pillar once they’ve touched it, or starting off with a higher tower by using less than eight pillars on each disc.
