Battle Sheep

Players: 2-4
Ages: 5 and up
Purchase: Buy on Amazon - affiliate link
Math Ideas: logical deduction, spatial reasoning
Questions to Ask
   Where do you want to go next? Where do I want to go next?
   How can you block me?

A few weeks ago I got a recommendation for a game from a Twitter buddy of mine named Paul. So I googled around for a bit...

Spatial reasoning? Check

Multiple strategies that can lead to victory? Check

Easy enough to teach my almost-5-year-old daughter? Check

A game board made from interlocking hexagons that change every time you play? Check.

This game and I were meant to be. It's called Battle Sheep.

How to Play

Battle Sheep can be played with two, three or four players. Each player gets 16 circular sheep tiles, as well as four board pieces, each of which has four connected hexagons.

To set up the board, players take turns adding their board pieces to the game board, connecting them in any configuration they want. This can lead to weird winding boards, or even boards with holes in the middle! I loved the variety that this element of the game provides.

Then each player takes their stack of tiles and places the whole thing on one of the hexagons along the perimeter of the game board. Your table will look pretty strange at this point, with these huge towers spread out on this bizarre playing surface.

The goal of the game is to place all 16 of your tiles on different hexagons, and to prevent your opponents from doing the same. 

The way you move tiles is by taking an existing stack of tiles and removing some from the top of the stack. You can take a single tile, a group, or all but one tile from a tower.

Then you slide them in a line of hexagons until you reach a place where you can slide no further. Place them down in that spot. In the image at left, you have three possible hexagons where you can slide your tiles. Also, you can't hop over your own tiles or your opponents, meaning that it's possible to block your opponents (or accidentally block yourself!).

That's it! If you ever get to a point where you are unable to move, your opponents continue to play until everyone has made all legal moves. Then you count the number of hexagons you've each claimed. Whoever gets closest to 16 is the winner.

If you want to see the pieces in motion, check out this quick how-to video below!

Where's the Math?

I loved Battle Sheep because it reminded me of my all-time favorite game, Blokus. Just like that game, Battle Sheep is simple enough to teach to a kindergartner, but contains mathematical ideas that are challenging enough for any adult to grapple with.

As with most of my favorite math games, Battle Sheep makes great use of your child's spatial reasoning skills. In order to evaluate a move, your child needs to figure out where they can move on this turn, but also decide how many tiles to transfer to the new spot. They must predict where they'll go on subsequent moves, as well as how their opponents might try to block their efforts.

Importantly, players need to avoid getting big towers trapped without anywhere to move. So there will be a tension between playing offense and defending their own towers from getting cornered. And all these decisions will require your child to really analyze how the hexagonal tiles fit together.

The best part about this game is the way the board changes. This means that your child is forced to making new decisions from the very start of each game! With that said, they'll be able to develop some general principles of gameplay that transfer from board to board.

(I can tell I'm in love with this game because this newsletter is getting long! That's what happens when I keep typing "And ANOTHER reason why this game is awesome is...")

Questions to Ask

In Battle Sheep, the best questions are the tried-and-true questions:

  • Where do you want to move next turn? What about the turn after that?

These questions get your kids planning out their moves ahead of time. This sort of anticipation really stimulates their visual imagination, since they can't physically move the pieces yet.

  • Where do you think I want to move? How can you stop me?

Lots of young kids will play a game like Battle Sheep as a sort of dual-solitaire, not really paying attention to the moves of their opponents. By drawing their attention to your moves, you can get them thinking even more deeply on each move of the game.

Of course, some questions are specific to Battle Sheep, such as

  • Can we make the weirdest board possible?

This is an activity that I guarantee your kids will love. Weird is, of course, a subjective term, but I have faith that your kids will come up with some truly bizarre game boards. And then you're sure to play a very weird version of Battle Sheep!

Anyway, I am guilty of being one of those guys who has a million games that are "one of my favorites." But Battle sheep really, truly, is one of my new favorites!

Click here to buy Battle Sheep on Amazon (affiliate link)