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Final Fantasy is a beloved video game series and outside of the iconic Moogles that you either adore or hate there is a beloved yellow bird known as a Chocobo. Square Enix have crafted three Chocobo board games. Chocobo Crystal Hunt, Chocobo Crystal Hunt Monsters expansion and finally Chocobo Party Up.
Setting up the Forest
Depending on the group size you’ll use one side of a double sided cardboard punch out. For this review we will look at the larger group size but setup is relatively to create the game board layout. In the centre you should have the fountain, surrounded by the white tiles that make up the forest, and in each corner put a nest of each colour.
Next take the small tokens with Chocobo tracks on them and place one of these on each of the track icons on the game board. These reference cards are double sided and come in different languages so everyone can play.
Saving our Pals
When leaving the safety of your Chocobo nest you roll the cute little yellow dice to see what action you can take on this turn. You then decide if you want to play a Friend Card doing its effect, discard two to summon your Fat Chocobo - set aside ready, or you can decide to do nothing.
After this you then move the number you rolled. This . Fat Chocobos cannot move the turn they are summoned, they cannot move in a pair and can only move one step per turn.
Chocobo Pals, when out on the board, can move with the player after they move off the tile with the Chocobo Pal on. So if you find a Chocobo Pal in the fountain, they will appear on the same tile as you. When you move away as a free action without taking up your other movement actions they can follow, but if another player runs through your space they can also take the Chocobo with them
Each space has a limit of four pieces that can be on it, for example a Fat Chocobo (that counts as two) can be on a space with another Chocobo from the same Colour and a Chocobo Pal. . (Fat Chocobos can Kick as well)
How do you save your Chocobo Pals? I hear you cry well, let me tell you. When you move over a Track Token or onto the Fountain space you can do a Cry which lets you draw a Friend Card and place a Chocobo Pal onto the board in that space (Removing the Token from the board). There are some limits to this, if you roll a four on the dice you can only Cry out at the Fountain in the centre of the board. (You also get Bonus Cool Points if you yell Kwek?! When crying out… Well you don’t but it's fun)
Final Fantasy is a beloved video game series and outside of the iconic Moogles that you either adore or hate there is a beloved yellow bird known as a Chocobo. Square Enix have crafted three Chocobo board games. Chocobo Crystal Hunt, Chocobo Crystal Hunt Monsters expansion and finally Chocobo Party Up. Unlike the card game where you gather a crystal of each element, this game is all about saving your Chocobo pals and bringing them back to your nest while also stopping the other players from doing the same.
What's On The Cards?
Your hand limit for Friend Cards is three, if you have over that discard down to three. Each Card does a specific effect which we will go into now:
Shirma - Adds a plus one to your dice roll for the turn she is played in.
Moogle - Allows you to replace Track Tokens back onto the board.
Golem - Allows you to move non-Fat Chocobos on a chosen space to the adjacent spaces.
Croma - Allows you to move a Chocobo Pal to an Adjacent Space
Typhon - Cause a Player to move a Chocobo of their colour to their Territory Board (Non-Fat Chocobos only)
Once you get Six Chocobo Pals back to your Territory Board you are the winner of Party UP!
Thoughts From the Nest
Chocobo Party Up! Is a delightful game that's simple and fun to play. The artwork is lovely and all the components are of high quality. Setup doesn’t take long and the rules are quick to go over and diving into gameplay is fast.
I love the reference cards as it saves time flicking through the rulebook. Both the rulebook and reference cards come in multiple languages which I think is great. Everyone can read the rules and know the game if you’re playing in a group with others who speak a different language.
If you’re looking for a casual game with the flavour of Final Fantasy, adorable artwork and meeples, Chocobo Party UP! is a must have.
