Haba Crafty Badger
Approx. price: £12.99
Age range: 4+
Website: www.haba.co.uk
Packing up to go on holiday is a time-consuming process even when it all goes smoothly. Making sure you have enough shorts, socks, caps and t-shirts isn’t easy, especially when four of you are packing at the same time.
Imagine how much more difficult it would be, then, if a crafty badger was running around getting in the way. This is the simple premise of Haba’s classic game, Crafty Badger.
Two to four players must pack up their clothes (represented by round card counters) into the four colourful tin suitcases provided.
Simply roll the die to see which suitcase you can pack an item into and then pass the die to the next person. It couldn’t be simpler.
Look more closely and you’ll see that as well as the four coloured suitcases, the crafty badger is also represented on the die. If you roll his smiling face you have to take all the clothes out of the suitcase he is guarding and add them to your pile. The cheeky critter then runs to the next suitcase to cause more mayhem.
Being crafty, the badger can also help out when it suits him – he can let you pack more quickly, but more often than not he’s emptying suitcases rather than helping to pack them.
The game usually takes less than 10 minutes and is easy for youngsters to pick up. Because the game relies on chance, younger players can compete with older siblings and grown-ups.
Our two testers, aged five and seven, had no trouble getting to grips with the rules and were soon hooting with delight as the crafty badger scampered from one suitcase to the next in search of mischief.
This is a good introduction to games for youngsters and makes for an entertaining family game. Enlivened by the wonderful artwork of Gabie Hilgert, it can be wholeheartedly recommended.
Durability: 4/5
Longevity: 4/5
Value: 4/5
Score: 83%
Conclusion: A really lovely little game that is both charming and easy to pick up.
