Banana Boy VS Uni-Cone: Memory, Matches, and Combinations

What’s on the other side of that duck banana? Where did you last see the robot — was it behind the cone or the hot dog?

Banana Boy VS Uni-Cone is a light memory-matching game for 2-6 players, published by Ex First Games.

Gameplay

The 32 cards are shuffled and spread out on the table. Each card is double-sided, with a different illustration on each side. Illustrations fit into one of four categories: things, vehicles, food, and alive. On a player’s turn, he chooses two cards to flip. In order to help remember which cards he selected, he announces the objects currently face-up on those cards before flipping them, such as ‘Unicorn Rocket’. He then flips the cards. If the two flipped cards now show the same images, the player gets to keep both cards. If the two cards are not the same image but belong to the same type, he gets to keep one of the two cards. Kept cards go into a player’s score pile. If the cards are not the same type, he does not get to keep either card. Cards are not flipped back after a player’s turn. It is now the next player’s turn.

At any time, a player may reserve one of the cards still in the center of the table by placing his finger on it. This must be one of the cards he flips over when it next becomes his turn. A player may only reserve one card at a time.

The game ends once there are six or fewer cards on the table. The player with the most cards in his score pile wins the game.

Review

Banana Boy VS Uni-Cone is an enjoyable adaptation of the flip-and-match game mechanic. It’s a nice, simple concept that makes it easy to teach and great for a quick game or for families to enjoy. The concept of flipping cards and trying to make matches is one that almost everyone will already be familiar with, but there’s just enough extra ideas mixed in here to make it feel fresh and entertaining.

The fact that cards remain flipped over, and that all images are so varied, makes the memory element quite enjoyable. It can be hard to keep track of where the rocket is or to remember what was on the other side of that duck. Announcing the names of each card before you flip them does help with that, but it’s also good fun to announce the strange combinations resulting from it.

We liked the mechanic of being able to reserve a card. It allows you to both block a player and have some level of involvement on an opponent’s turn.

This is a simple game and matching cards is going to be too simplistic for some groups, but we found it to be an enjoyable party game with quite nice components. It comes in a small package that doesn’t take up much space, so it wouldn’t be hard to find room for it in your collection. The cards are a nice quality, the artwork is fun, and the concept enjoyable.

Pros: Fun illustrations, the combinations on the cards are amusing, reserving a card is a fun mechanic, good for families

Cons: Will be too simplistic for some groups

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