Three, two, one, start. And the hedgehogs roll forward, thistle to thistle, but their heads do not become tangled even at the highest speed. However, it is not easy to keep track, avoid the fox and still collect the most goodies for the winter.
The hedgehog race, none of which is called Sonic, was named Speedy Roll and was created by designer Urtis Šulinskas. The game was created in Russia by Lifestyle Boardgames Ltd. in 2019 and a year later it gained the attention of Piatnik, which also brings it in Czech.
On the lid we see not only a grate hedgehog, but a fox is also waiting behind him. Inside the box, there is a set of seven elongated game boards, from which he creates a game plan, which he sets aside. At the bottom of the box, players will also find hedgehog figurines, which they place in the starting positions after each chooses one color of the hedgehog for himself. He then randomly distributes eighteen forest chips in the middle of the table with Velcro up.
Players take turns. The active participant is always identified by the ball, which takes it and tries to roll it over all the chips so that some stick to it. Whether it’s a mushroom, an apple or a leaf, it’s all good news. For each token that the player removes from the ball on the turn, he can move the hedgehog piece. But a hedgehog can only move if the player spends the corresponding image printed on it for the next square. No field can be skipped.
But the player must not be too greedy when rolling. He must choose the right direction so that no more than four chips are caught on the ball. In this case, the hedgehog will not carry the load and would rather not move at all. At the end of the round, it is necessary to check whether more than four chips of the same type have already been collected. In this case, the players take all the chips, shuffle them again and place them on the table again.
Everyone races with their hedgehog and tries to find the best possible way forward. There are many more different corridors on the tiles and it is up to the player how well he will use his chips. The one who enters the target house with his piece first becomes the winner.
Speedy Roll is a wonderfully simple game that puts forward a combination of dexterity, a good eye and the search for the most suitable path. The player must therefore be able to combine his accumulated icons and move his hedgehog as far forward as possible.
An accurate hand when rolling is as important as the ability to properly estimate the path that the ball should cross the table. Between tokens, you can identify by shape whether it is a leaf, a sponge or an apple. And because players are always clear on how their character can get more forward, not planning a trip is absolutely essential to success.
There are a lot of game plans, so the individual routes may be different for each game. But the sheer random placement of chips makes sure that you never feel like it’s the same as last time. It does not matter how many players participate in the game.
In the variant we describe, however, a fox figurine remained in the box. Why? Because in addition to the competition variant, there is also the opportunity to share one hedgehog, who will run away from the hungry fox with a load. Players communicate and try to come up with the most suitable path together.
The box recommends the game from the age of four, which is perhaps quite surprising and unexpected at first glance. But the rules themselves are so magically simple that it’s true. Kids have no problem learning how to turn pictures into motion. And the content has cute graphics, which further brings the fun closer to the little ones. They learn it with their parents in a cooperative version, and then they can move smoothly to the competing one.
And once children start believing, they can increase in difficulty. The fox has its entire starting plate, on which players can move it forward at the start and thus increase the difficulty of cooperative efforts. But whether they play together or against each other, they can make it even more difficult to roll the ball. Suddenly they need to throw with their elbow on the table, eyes closed or drop the ball from a height. There is a lot of variants and thanks to that the novelty is great for older players or parents.
Speedy Roll is a game that children will love. It has an elegant combination of activity and play that will not let little players sleep. Above all, the games are beautifully dynamic, they end quickly (within twenty minutes) and there is a desire to have another repetition. Speedy Roll is surprisingly variable in its category of games for the little ones and deservedly collects all its awards.
| Designer | Urtis Šulinskas | |
| Artist | Irina Pechenkina | |
| Publisher | Lifestyle Boardgames Ltd, Brain Games, Dal Tenda, Gigamic, Hobby Japan, Maldito Games, Piatnik, Siam Board Games, Swan Panasia Co., Ltd. | |
| Year Published | 2019 | |
| # of Players | 1 - 4 | |
| User Suggested # of Players | Best with 4 players Recommended with 1, 2 players (3 voters) | |
| Playing Time | 25 | |
| Mfg Suggested Ages | 4 and up | |
| User Suggested Ages | 3 and up (3 voters) | |
| Language Dependence | No necessary in-game text (1 voters) | |
| Category | Action / Dexterity, Animals, Children's Game | |
| Mechanic | Cooperative Game, Modular Board, Point to Point Movement, Race, Roll / Spin and Move | |
| Family | Animals: Hedgehogs / Porcupines, Players: Games with Solitaire Rules | |
| Primary Name | Hedgehog Roll | |
| Alternate Names | Erizos, ¡A rodar!, Roulapik, Speedy Roll, Перекати-ёжик, เม่นม้วนผจญภัย, スピーディーロール, 翻滾刺蝟 |
Infos courtesy of boardgamegeek.com. More Infos.
