Tapple is what happens when you combine a traditional trivia game with a traditional children’s game and make it into a party game that could very well become your new family tradition.
There are 36 category cards which come tucked into a sweet little compartment on the bottom of the game. On each side of each category card are two categories (e.g.: things at a party, cartoons, song titles, movies). The yellow/orange side of the category cards are more challenging. Remember this.
The designers suggest that you can play with up to 8 people. We tried it with 10, and the fun we had was sweet enough to be an ice cream topping.
When a round begins, somebody selects a category from a category card and reads it aloud. If you’re playing with a group small enough, you all gather round the Tapple machine. In larger groups, you simply pass the Tapple machine from player to player.
The person who selected the category taps the center button, starting the ten-second timer. The next player taps a letter lever, gives a new example of something that fits the category that starts with the letter tapped, and, if the timer has not gone off yet, taps the timer to reset it for the next player. Etc., and so forth, until the timer goes off or someone makes a mistake.
The designers recommend that if someone makes a mistake, that person is eliminated, and the next player resumes the round. The rounds are short enough so that the players who can’t play are still amused by the fervent frolic of the remaining few.
The game is most fun when someone gets stumped, naturally. There is a rule for what happens if all the letters get used (select a new category, each player has to find two matches per turn), but generally it’s an indication that you should be using the harder categories.
Tapple is fast and fun. The Tapple machine is cleverly designed and wonderfully functional. A lever allows you to reset all the letter tabs instantly. The timer is unmistakably loud. You can turn the game off with a switch to conserve batteries. If you have a place to keep the rules, you can throw the box away entirely.
The designers acknowledge that Tapple is based on a traditional German/Dutch game called Pim Pam Pet, but the execution makes the game so playable that it becomes a new game in its own right.
Tapple, recommended for ages 8 and above, comes to us from USAopoly.
