Race for Candy in Real-Time Card and Dice Game Piñata Blast

Hit that piñata and race to match your cards with the dice, without collecting any of the candy that’s gone bad!

Published by Ravensburger and designed for 3-6 players, Piñata Blast is a real-time card and dice game that is all about speed and making matches.

Gameplay

The deck of cards is shuffled and each player is dealt seven cards. Each card will be one of six different types of candy and also lists how many points it is worth, 1-4. The same candy can be worth a different amount of points, depending on which card you have.

Each round, a player rolls all seven dice, and then everyone simultaneously tries to grab them. To grab a die, you must play one of your cards face-up on the table, and then take a die that shows that candy type and place it on your card. If you don’t manage to grab the die you need, you put the card back in your hand.

One die is green and whichever type of candy it rolls is the rotten candy for the round. You may not grab that type of candy. If you accidentally do, you must discard the card that you played.

Once all dice are claimed or no one can collect anymore, all cards that you managed to match with a die are added to your score pile. If everyone still has at least one card, you start another round (you do not draw more cards).

The game ends when at least one player has no more cards in their hand. You count up the points on all the cards in your score pile, and the player with the most points wins.

Review

Piñata Blast is fast and fun and a good fit for families. The rules are very straightforward and come with some suggestions for making them even simpler if necessary for younger children.

The rotten candy is a nice addition, and the challenge of the game is trying to read the dice results quickly, while balancing that against which of your cards are worth the most points and therefore are the ones you should prioritize first. In addition, you are also dealing with the fact that other players might be grabbing the dice you need to complete your high scorers. Since the game ends whenever anyone is out of cards, you never know if you’ll have another round to complete that four-point card or not.

If you have a lot of real-time games, you’ve probably played something pretty similar, but this game is nicely packaged, coming in a small box that is easy to travel with. The components are solid, and the artwork is very bright, colorful, and cheery, giving the game a good sense of fun.

Games are very fast, it doesn’t take too long for someone to run out of cards, and it’s very easy to simply have another go at it. It might not have too much to offer an adult game group, but it’s one of those nice, straightforward games that are great for a casual, family setting.

Pros: Bright and colorful components, simplicity of the rules, speed of the game

Cons: Doesn’t add a whole lot of new elements to the real-time genre

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.