When you mix pinball with foosball on game night, things turn a little bonkers.
Bonk, from Buffalo Games, is a tabletop ricochet game that demands a little teamwork and a lot of multitasking. Gameplay is simple: each corner starts with three metal balls that roll down a chute. Everyone is aiming at a wooden ball in the center and trying to get it to touch the nose of the goal on the opposite side. Each chute is surrounded by bumpers that slope toward the goal. The first side to reach five goals wins.
To start, everyone must be empty-handed. Gameplay is initiated when teammates high-five and say “Bonk!” and then the madness ensues. Each round goes pretty quickly, unless there are some skilled players who are elite defense(wo)men. The game is definitely most fun when there are four players because it’s difficult to keep track of two chutes at once. If you have a teammate, you can come with strategies, like one player plays offense while the other stays on defense. Also, try not to focus on the starting high five too much. If you and your teammate didn’t connect well enough, there’s always next round to improve. Don’t let a lackluster hand slap distract you from the real task at hand.
Be mindful of how quickly you use the metal balls. Once they make their way down the shoot, there’s no telling where they’ll end up— and you don’t reset them at the start of each round, unless you literally have none—then the other team is forced to give you one. If you shoot the majority of your balls rapid-fire style, you will start the next round with basically nothing, and that’s not the way you set out for world domination.
If your opponents are convinced that the table you’re playing on isn’t level or the lighting is harsher facing east (not calling out any Toy Insider sore losers), you can switch sides mid-game to try to even the competition out. The board itself has a peak in the center where the wooden ball starts, and slightly slopes toward both goals.
This Target-exclusive game would be a perfect edition to any game room or play room at home. Bonk has a simple design featuring a wooden board with the black chutes and bumpers, so it fits in easily, similar to Buffalo Games’ Klask. And the game is fun for both kids, or adults in a party setting.
