Review | Chicken Backgammon Review!

In backgammon Chicken! We are farmers and want nothing more than for our chickens to thrive and reproduce, if not for the foxes that could destroy our beautiful chicken farm. In other words, a “push your luck” dice game which means chickens and cowards in English-speaking countries and is entertaining but of very high quality.

Bjorn Schwarzmüller

Game description

Chicken! It is a push-your-luck dice game by Scott Almis (Tiny Epic, Claims, or Beer & Bread series).

The goal is to get 25 points first in several rounds.

The dice show high-scoring chickens, but also eggs, empty sides, and foxes. Each time it's my turn, I can roll the dice up to two times. Starting out with four dice, an additional dice is added for each egg rolled (maximum of 8 additional dice). Eventually, the chickens are worth one point on the path, but if I roll three foxes, I will be destroyed, that is. I go zero points from the round. However, the next player gets all the dice in the pool at that time and must then decide whether to reset themselves on the four dice previously made for a minus point or roll all the dice that have already been added by others.

Worth noting – added dice get more and more points, and unfortunately the fox is also often present on the dice. A chick!?

Author: Scott Almis Illustrations: Carpenter Collection

Publisher: Keymaster Games ■ Release year: 2023

2-8 players

From 8 years

About 10-20 minutes

Game rules (External link to Keymaster)

Gaming feeling

You learned, understood and played fast – that's how it is Chicken! The game is just as well suited for regular players at the beginning or end of a game evening as is the classic beginner's round of a long dice evening.

During rounds of the game, it was not uncommon to directly demand revenge. Like any dice game, it is full of luck, but it is also played quickly and most players will accept the risks of risking everything in order to achieve victory in the end.

The game components are of very high quality for such a small game. The game comes in a very sturdy tube box perfect as a dice cup. The game board is made of cloth with great appearance. The wooden game pieces and custom dice contribute well to the value.

What's a bit annoying: Always take or add dice from the dice pool in the correct order. A fox is also represented a maximum of two times on the six sides of the highest die, while a chicken is sometimes represented three times. So the risk of not getting any points is there, but it is not so high that you think for a long time about not taking the full risk.

The game offers some nice socializing times, but it won't be a favorite in the long run.

summary

A nice, high-quality game with good, short rules for a few entertaining rounds of play without much thought.

• Great article
• Played fast
• Provides emotions

• On larger tours it may take a long time
• Constantly adding and removing dice
• The risk of rolling three foxes seems very low

From my point of view as a player: The game is designed for players who like to play dice, or who are used to playing Mäxchen or something similar on pub evenings. A group of repeat players or experts will only pick it up as a starter and not as a long-term favorite. I like it because the well thought out, high quality materials look great. In new rounds I like to introduce it in a fun way, but in regular rounds it ends up not being asked for anymore.