Dingo Bingo!

Dingo's Dream (or Dingo Bingo, as I like to call it) is a fun and simple tile placement game that can be adjusted in difficulty according to your desires. I am a bit late to play this little gem, but I finally had the chance to try it out at the new venue of The Dice Saloon in Brighton and bought it after one game. In this 2 - 4 player game Dingo and his pals have managed to get lost on walkabout, which is pretty easy to do in the outback so I don't judge them. As a player, you must visit the animals dreams and guide them back home from the fragmented dreamscape clues in their minds.

Players choose one of the four different animals, then they each set up 5x5 grids of their chosen tiles with the animal side down, but keeping the tile with their animals name to one side as this is used on the first turn. A Dream Card is revealed, and the aim of this game is to have your tiles animal side face-up and matching the Dream Card layout. One player is the Dingo Bingo dealer, turning the Walkabout cards to reveal the next tile to flip. The cards are identified by five different colours and five different landscapes, whichever tile corresponds with the card revealed by the dealer is then flipped over to reveal the animal side, then players slide the extra tile in their hand into the grid, pushing out a tile to use in their next turn and keeping the grid 5x5.

The introduction of hazard tokens stirs things up a little. Amongst the Dream Cards you will find a Hazard Card, with symbols showing various ways to set up hazards on the Dream Card. Using this as a guide, you can choose a layout and place the four brown tokens on one of the Dream Cards. In order to win this time, you must have none of your animal tiles on the hazard spaces on completion of your dreamscape. This also means that it is possible for both players to lose, so if that happens then you just play again. Interestingly, if there is a draw then there is no tie-breaker, everyone could be a winner in these dreams! Spiritual fulfilment and rites of passage will be celebrated.

Dingo's Dreams is compact, easy to set up and understand, quick to play and a great introduction to board gaming. The beautiful illustrations by Ryan Lakat really set the tone for this game, and after many plays I can happily say that this is a great and easy family game, and the advanced options can shake it up a bit. There are strategy and puzzle-solving aspects. Even though the tiles are randomly placed in the beginning, it is then your job to shift them around with each new clue called out. I first came across bingo elements in a modern game with Rise of Augustus, and even though I find normal bingo quite boring, I am just drawn to these kind of games. Beating your opponent to the finish and yelling your animal's name in victory is very satisfying, and the theme of sifting through the lost animal's deep dreams to help them find their way home tugs on my heartstrings, so give this game a go and see if you can get your critter back!    


Marisa