Designed by: Scott Huntington,Shaun Graham
Hammer Time is a kid’s game from kid’s game specialists HABA that adults can enjoy too, where players take turns wielding a hammer to collect gems. But don’t get greedy!
The box is flipped over so the base provides a platform, and a bag of gems are unloaded onto it. Each player has four carts they need to fill with specific-coloured gems, and take turns with the hammer knocking the box in order to send gems tumbling. As soon as you knock off at least one gem, you must stop. If you knock off more than eight, you’re bust and get nothing! The gems that fit your cart can be placed in it, and any others go back on top of the box (-clear gems are wild, so can be considered any colour).
As soon as you fill a cart, all the gems in it go back on the box and you flip that cart over, revealing the next one. As soon as any player fills their fourth cart, complete that round (so everyone has the same number of turns) and the game ends: if you’ve filled all your carts, you (might) win! There’s a tie-breaker, which relates to the objective cards…
There’s always an objective card on your turn, which if you complete will reward you with a wild gem. It might be knocking off 1,2 or 3 gems, 6,7 or 8 gems, an odd number of gems, an even number, or two black gems. If you complete an objective you flip the card over to represent a wild gem and can use it to help fill your cart. If there’s a tie at the end of the game, the player with the most wilds (if you have any!) will win the game. If not, you share the victory!
Hammer Time has an ‘advanced’ game that’s actually very simple: on your turn you roll a die which determines how you must hold the hammer: weaker hand, no thumbs, head resting on the table, even eyes closed!
There's no direct interaction at all.
It's pretty speedy!
The challenge is more a dexterity one than anything. Where are the gems you need? Can you knock off several without going over the eight-gem limit? Do you want to go for multiple taps or give it a bit of a thud?
The variation in Hammer Time is confined to the fall of the gems and the order of your carts. But as the former is controlled - hopefully - by your hammer expertise, it's always a stupidly fun undertaking.
2-4
Players
4+
Years
15-30
Mins
Sam says
Every Christmas the high streets are awash with abysmal board games (as well as some good stuff!) in the form of TV tie-ins or rushed-out party games based on puns or lame scatology. But HABA put out great kids games all the time. They tend to have simple, silly premises, but well-executed and not overpriced. I've played Rhino Hero many times and enjoyed it, as well as the highly combative Valley of the Vikings or slightly gentler Dragon's Breath. They're always excellent starting points for children, whilst being genuinely enjoyable experiences for adults too. Hammer Time is happily no exception: it's almost as silly as Valley of the Vikings, but for those who want that silliness with less spiciness to it, this is a great pick.