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When has being straight edge ever been fun?

USAopoly turns game night on its side with the new block stacking game, Wonky.

Wonky includes a deck of cards and nine blocks of three different sizes in three different colors. Each block features three flat sides and three slightly curved sides. Each player must select a card from his or her hand to play on each turn. Cards will either indicate a block to stack, such as “small blue” or “medium green,” or an action, such as “pass” or “reverse play.” Every card features a symbol and a written instruction on what to do, so whether players respond better to illustrations or to words, they’ll understand what to do.

If a player knocks down the tower on his or her turn, he or she must draw three cards and play one card to begin a new tower. The player who runs out of cards first is the winner.

Depending on how many people are playing, Wonky takes about 30 minutes to complete, and the constant suspense makes the time fly. Unlike other stacking games like Jenga, even if you topple the tower, game play keeps going—which is easily one of the stand-out features of this fresh addition to family game night. Wonky also ditches traditional boards and pawns and instead gives kids a totally unique play experience with the brightly colored, oddly shaped blocks.

Designed for kids ages 8 and up, Wonky involves more strategy and concentration than meets the eye. Players may choose to begin a tower with a solid foundation, or they can build on a small, curved surface, making their opponent’s next move much more difficult.

Built on a simple premise, the game takes minutes to learn, and players will be pros after just one round—which is when they can start strategizing how to knock down the competition. Underneath all of the fun, kids will also learn some basic STEM concepts, including angles, physics, and basic problem solving.

Wonky challenges players to decide if they want to live life on the edge and build on crazy curves, or topple your competition with some flat out smart moves. Either way, steady hands are necessary.

About the author

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva

Marissa Silva is editor-in-chief of the Pop Insider and the Toy Insider, the leading consumer holiday gift guide and toy review and news website. As a professional toy reviewer and an industry expert, she consistently reports on toy, entertainment, and pop culture trends and hot products. In addition to digital content management, Marissa contributes feature-length articles to the Pop Insider and leading toy industry trade magazine The Toy Book, providing retailers, manufacturers, and licensors with information on the latest in toy news. Marissa has been featured on the TODAY Show, Good Morning America, Fox and Friends, ABC World News Now, MSNBC, CBS, NY1, WPIX, and more. A board game fanatic and professional toy reviewer, she spends most of her free time shopping for superhero T-shirts, crushing at Mario Kart, and anxiously awaiting her Hogwarts acceptance letter. You can follow her on Twitter and Instagram @thattoygirl.

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