Parachute Panda First Impressions
Parachute Panda has your panda fall out of a plane with a parachute.
Can you keep them in the air longer than everyone else?
Out-maneuve your fellow pandas in a race to not get to the bottom first — because the “bottom” is the Earth thanks to all of you falling out of a plane!
Parachute Panda Game Overview
Quick Rules Summary
Players have a Panda that has been pushed out of a plane with a parachute.
Players take turns playing cards to keep their panda in the air for as long as possible while forcing other players’ pandas to drop faster.
When a player plays a card, players can play cards in hand out of turn to counter and reverse any effects.
How do you win?
When a player’s panda hits the bottom of the board they are eliminated. The last player left is the winner.
Main Mechanisms
Take that as the main mechanism. You’re mostly either making someone drop or stopping someone from rising. You also need to manage your hand a little bit.
Theme
I do like the theme and think it is a really fun idea. A crocodile pushes Pands out of a plane and are floating down to more crocodiles, very fun.
Setup
Shuffle the cards, put Pandas on the board and you’re good to go.
Components & Artwork
The wooden Pands, and Pianos you can drop on people are nice and thick.
The artwork is a lot of fun but I didn’t really need to play with oversized cards.
Ease of Teaching
It’s very easy to teach. The cards have very little text and are quite straightforward. Players just need to know when they can and can’t play the different coloured cards.
Similar Games
I can’t think of any similar board games.
On the Playstation 2 I had Buzz! Junior: Jungle Party that had a mini-game where 4 monkies parachuted out of a plane and one was holding an anvil. While you held the anvil you scored points and you could pass it to the other players when you wanted. The round would end randomly and the player holding it would score 0 because their parachute wouldn’t open.
This game was so much fun and I hoped this game would be the card game version of that, but it isn’t.
Parachute Panda Review
Positives
A fun and unique theme, dropping a piano on an opponent and watching them sink is really good fun.
A very cute-looking game with nice Panda pieces.
There is a bit of strategy as you draw cards at the end of your turn you need to be careful which cards you play on other player’s turns.
Negatives
Very dull take-that gameplay.
It has one of those ‘swap places’ cards that doesn’t fit in with the rest of the cartoony but thematic gameplay elements.
Summary
A good idea that is ruined by a lack of imagination in the design.
Jesta ThaRogue
