Game Review: Boochie

By W. Eric Martin
May 21, 2008

Publisher: Gamewright
Designer: Forrest-Pruzan Creative
Players: 2-4
Ages: 8+
Playing Time: 15 minutes
Rules Language: English
Price: $35

Version played: Published copy
Times played: Seven, with a mix of 2-4 players

If you’re of a certain age, the name Boochie will undoubtedly bring to mind Poochie the dog, one outrageous dude who was introduced and killed in a single episode of the Simpsons.

If you’re of another certain age, Boochie will undoubtedly bring to mind bocce, the lawn bowling game that my wife’s Italian relatives talk about but never actually play. That’s the comparison you should have in mind, as Boochie is all about throwing things toward other things and not about rap-spouting, shark-jumping dogs.

As in bocce, Boochie has a target ball – the boochie, which is an orange foam dodecahedron with different scoring conditions on each face – that you throw some distance away from all the players. Each player in turn throws either a colored plastic ring or a colored bean ball toward the boochie, then they take turns throwing their remaining object. Whoever ends up closest to the boochie scores two points, with second-closest scoring one point. You can also score by ringing the boochie or another player’s bean ball. Whoever scores 11 points first wins.

The best part of the game, along with the most frustrating part, are the scoring devices, which strap on to your wrist. As you score, you rotate a dial to track your points – and each point value sets conditions for how you have to throw your ring and ball in the next round: Now you have to do a hook shot, now you yell and toss, now you throw underneath one leg, now you lie on your stomach, and so on. The higher your point total, the more difficult the challenge. “How am I supposed to roll the ball off my head?” That’s for you to figure out. Each of the four scoring devices has different conditions so to one player ten points means that you throw only one object, while another player at 10 has to put his forehead on the ground.

Note that Gamewright apparently owns a share of a plastic bag manufacturer because every single item comes sealed in its own bag, with a group of bagged items sometimes sealed inside another bag. While the set-up time for your second game and on consists only of “open the carrying case,” that first game will require lots of time and tearing open.

While the recommended age is 8 and up, I played with my four-year-old niece – giving her additional balls and rings to even the odds – and she did fine. She couldn’t throw as far or as accurately as the teenagers in later games, but you can adjust the throwing distance from the target as you wish. The scoring condition on the boochie, which you can’t read during the round after the boochie is thrown, tends to give an edge to younger and less accurate players, awarding points to whoever is second farthest away or the players whose rings are farthest apart.

Boochie has been a hit with players young and old, and you can teach someone how to play in thirty seconds or less. One final drawback: Be sure to dress for the occasion if playing after a rainy day because you’re sure to place knees, butt, elbow or head on the ground at some point during play. How many other games carry that kind of warning?

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