Skillmatics Board Game - Sinking Stones, Fun Strategy Game, Gifts & Family Friendly Games for Ages 6 and Up

Great, simple, inexpensive game. My 4 year old loves to play and it is fun for my 8 year old and me. Some strategy, some luck and some meanness. Is easier to learn if players can read. But the 4 year old played enough times that he has the cards memorized from the pictures. Highly recommend.

Our family has enjoyed games when we gather for generations from card games and board games to lawn games and quiz games. We enjoy games. That means, like a lot of other game-playing families, we want to have a range of games available for a family "game night" or sometimes "game afternoon." When we gather and play, we typically like to play at least several games, so the quick playtime of this game is ideal for us, although the limit of 5 players means that bigger groups can't play unless we form teams. In recent years, we've moved more toward "cooperative" games and games that can have a whole bunch of people, or teams, enjoy the fun. Although this game looks simple, there's a lot of potential strategy involved. Younger kids could play as part of a team. We involved a preschool grandchild and she enjoyed it. She can't read the cards and keep them straight, but she sure has a sharp eye for visual strategy. We did not have any quality issues with the game we received. Gamers we know enjoy games with sturdy, well-made boxes and quality pieces and cards. This certain ticks all those boxes for us. Some other reviewers have complained about the price. For us, we're used to paying this much for a quality set like this. So that's not an issue for us. We also like the replayability of this game. We've played a number of quiz-based games or strategy games over the years that get tiring pretty quickly. We've "used" the cards or there are just a couple of basic strategies that win every time. In this case, the replay value seems to be quite high. Would this be our first choice as a gift for a gamer? No. It's a fun, well-made game and we're happy we have it in our game cupboard now, but it's not so wonderful that we would give it 5 stars and make it a first-choice for birthdays or holidays.

This has become a family favorite for our young girls (ages 6-8).

This game is very simple to play but has a good amount of scheming and strategy so we've found that it's a lot of fun for kids as well as parents. I also really like that none of the game pieces or board feel cheap and the tiles are real wood!

I got this game for family game night. It’s such a fun game and easy for all the members in our family to play! Kids are 6 years old and 4 years old and both love this game! The rules are easy enough for both and we have a blast playing! Would definitely recommend!

Sinking Stones is SO fun! My son loves it and we’ve been playing as a family on repeat. It’s so different from the other games we have, so it was a fresh new option for our family game nights. Not to mention the quality is top notch. Really love the fact that it makes you strategize - yet is easy to play right out of the box!

The box, board, cards, and playing pieces are of a nice quality, and should hold up to a lot of use. We acquired the game to accommodate a broad range of ages (6 yrs old – 73 yrs old), and that is a difficult feat for a game to meet = a game that is simple enough for a youngster to play and interesting enough for an adult to maintain involvement. The nice part is that the game is easy to set up (16 wooden tiles blue side down, two cards to each player, and put your game piece of a wooden tile), and the game rules are quite easy. After that there is some “luck of the draw” and a little bit of strategy. Younger players will probably have the most fun with it.

This is a perfect game for those that enjoy games that don't last too long, and are very easy to learn! Explained the rules in less than 5 minutes and finished a game in 10. Definitely get it if you and your friends love games with Elimination/Last Player Standing objectives.

Excellent game, easy to get started at any age, but layers of strategy make it a good game for all ages. Sturdy pieces and attractive board.

Very exciting, easy to understand.

I bought this to play with my Grandson but to be honest, we didn't understand it too well. I gave it to the charity shop.

Here we have an interesting and fun board game that is easy to learn, can be set up and played in a few minutes and provides a lot of enjoyment for the family. The game itself comes in an attractively designed box and inside you receive the following parts and pieces: 1x game playing board 20x wooden ‘stones’ 50x assorted game cards 5x game pieces The rules are simple enough, first set up and lay out the wooden stones onto the board to create any pattern you like. The only rule here is that at least one side of each stone must be touching one side of another stone (so no isolated stones). Two cards are initially dealt to each player with the remainder of the deck placed face down creating a draw pile. Each player must put their game piece on any stone as a starting position. The game begins by each player taking turns to pick up a card from the draw pile, then by using a maximum of two of their cards, they move their playing piece to another adjacent stone. The original stone ‘sink’s’ after you step off of it. To highlight this you simply turn the stone over as the reverse of the block is painted blue to represent it now being underwater. If you unable to move, your stone sinks with your playing piece on it and you’re out of the game. Play continues until just one person is left standing on a stone. That player is crowned the winner! The cards add a little variety and strategy, although the game still relies heavily on luck. The cards allow you to hop across the board, add another stone, change places with another player and so on. It’s all good fun and rounds can last anywhere from a few minutes to 10 minutes depending on the number of players, cards played and an element of luck and/or strategy. My children thoroughly enjoyed playing it although I would say it’s more aimed at a younger audience. I can’t see too many adults getting together to play a few rounds to be fair. Quality wise, the board and cards are well printed and coloured and the card is fairly thick so it all seems good. The wooden blocks though are a little rough and the blue paintwork could be a little better. We had a few chips and splashes on our set. It certainly doesn’t affect gameplay at all but given the game is priced pretty high (£22.99 at time or review) I would have expected a sightly better quality finish. Not a deal breaker though and we still had plenty of enjoyment as a family whilst playing this game. I would be happy to recommend this game to anyone and I will be looking to invest in a few other games by this manufacturer based on experience playing with this one. One star off only for the lower quality finish of the stones, otherwise it’s all good.

A board game for 2 to 5 players, that can last about 15mins. You get a gaming board, 20 wooden stepping stones, 50 game cards and 5 gaming figures. The object of the game is to hop off stones before they sink, by using power cards to leap, swap spots, or grab a float. The game is fast moving and the rules can be learnt in 5 minutes. A single wrong move can change your fate in the game. The last person standing wins. First lay out 16 stones, with at least one side touching another stone. Then deal out 2 cards each, then stack the rest face down into a draw pile. Then each player must put their game piece on any stone of their choice. When the game starts, you must pick up a card from the draw pile, then using up to two of your cards, move your piece to another stone, the stone sinks after you step off of it. If you cannot move, your stone sinks with you on it and you’re out of the game, either way turn the stone over so the blue side is up, showing that the stone has sunk. The winner is the last person standing on a stone. My young grandchildren picked it up in no time, and there was a different outcome with every game. There is a bit of strategy, a bit of deviousness and a lot of luck involved. A great simple family game, that can be used on any occasion, or a great gift idea.