Who doesn’t like robots, especially mini robots that move around a colorful game board . . .

Ricochet Robots is a puzzle-style board game in which robots are moved around the board to select locations in as few moves as possible. Robots in this game have strict limited movements. This game was designed by Alex Randolph and was first published in Germany in 1999 as Rasende Roboter. Rio Grande games then published an English version: Ricochet Robots. What else . . . oh, it just so happens to be one of my favorite games of all time.

Ricochet Robots is always a spot of contention at game nights when it’s brought to the table. It’s inevitable that half the group loves the game and is excited to play it, while the other half is less than thrilled that people want to play it again. I am in the first category, in that I never get sick of Ricochet Robots. I love playing it. I’ve been playing it over a decade now. I still have fun playing in groups or with my husband at home. Our copy is so well loved, it’s on the brink of breaking down each time we play. The images on the discs are faded, but that doesn’t deter our enthusiasm.

I have a pretty good idea why some people don’t like Ricochet Robots. I know from (fellow host) Damon’s perspective, he thinks Ricochet Robots is not so much a board game as it is a series of puzzles to solve over rounds. Others think they have a severe disadvantage when playing the game as people who have played before can solve the problems faster and tend to win more easily. I don’t disagree that this game is weighted on the side of the players who play more often. My argument against it is . . . isn’t that typical of any game you play?

Finally, after speaking with several friends of mine who don’t care for this game, a clear picture formed as to why . . . Most of them state their memory as the problem. In Ricochet Robots, you memorize a solution path. Sometimes, as you may or may not know, the paths can get up as high as the 20’s or 30’s before someone can reach a solution. Some people just don’t have the patience to keep at it when the goal is this high. Others can become annoyed having to repeat the path over and over in their head before the timer runs out. Sometimes it’s just annoying that a solution is not clear. Sometimes, it takes minutes to even see a solution. This can get on people’s nerves too.

I’ll admit, there have been times we’ve played where a solution has taken us several minutes to find, but that only adds to the reasons I love the game, not the opposite. I think this is because I like to push my brain to think outside the box. I like to try and be smarter today then I was the day before. Problem solving is another way of helping me get there.

Another reason I love this game is that it has a ton of player interaction. Because you are trying to get a shorter solution than other players, the competitive stakes go up, as do the nerves. Once a person calls out a solution, this adds even more urgency and tension to the game because now you have a set amount of time to come up with a better solution than they did. It’s the kind of gut-wrenching, higher-pulse, grab-onto-the-edge-of-your-seat-tension that I love. Ricochet Robots gives me this tension every time I play. Who doesn’t love that in a game?

The last reason to check out this amazing robot game is because everyone at game night can play it. You can have as many people as you want standing around the board coming up with a solution. This means nobody gets left out and everyone can participate in the fun. Not to mention, the game doesn’t break if somebody decides they want to stop playing and join another game or vice versa.

If you are looking for a game that challenges the way your brain thinks, improves your memory, has a ton of player interaction, can play a lot of people, and still takes less than an hour to play, I would suggest giving Ricochet Robots a try. You can still buy Ricochet Robots on Amazon. Out of the $40 it cost us initially, we’ve well gotten our money’s worth out of this game.

Final side note, Z-MAN games published Micro Robots. Mirco Robots was made after Ricochet Robots and was the game’s main inspiration. The interesting thing about this game is that you can play a variant of Ricochet Robots with the clear robot included in Micro Robots (it’s the exact same size and shape). Do note however, this Micro Robots game came to me with misprinted pieces so I have still not been able to play Micro Robots properly. It is still fun to play the variant in ricochet robots however.