Our family is wild about Doubles Wild! This fast-moving marbles and dice game has been quite the hit with everyone from age seven to thirty-seven in our house. It’s easy enough for the 7-year-old to do without help but fast-paced enough that the adults don’t get bored. And the fact that it reinforces the math skill of coordinate graphing just makes it a dream game!

Made from a nice, sturdy square of wood, Doubles Wild is a game that can’t be easily destroyed by my not-so-careful children when they shove it into the game closet with full force. All of the game-play takes place right on the board, so no game pieces must be kept from rolling off the table, which is another plus. The only exception is the dice that each person rolls during a turn.

So, how do you play? Each player has a compartment of marbles in front of him. Two blue dice and two red dice are rolled on a player’s turn. The player tallies the blue dice and finds that number on the blue section of a coordinate grid in the middle of the board. Then he tallies the red dice and finds that number on the red section of the coordinate grid. One of that player’s marbles is then placed on the board where the blue and red numbers meet.

The goal is to make rows of three or more marbles to earn points. As points are earned, there is a little metal marker that you move to keep track of your score. As you can imagine, fun battles take place over occupied spots on the grid. Since luck comes into play far more than skill, younger ones can win just as easily as older players.

The directions are very clear and had us playing within five minutes of opening the box. Each time we’ve played, whether with two, three, or four players, the game has lasted 20-30 minutes. Even though the box suggests an age range of eight to adult, I believe children as young as six can play with a little help.

The game has earned several awards, including the Mensa Select, Parent’s Choice, and Major Fun Awards. All awards are well-deserved, in my opinion! There are only two minor gripes I have. The first is that all of our games have been low-scoring. We are considering using more marbles than recommended so the scores can be a bit higher. The second is the top of the game box. It’s made of a flimsy clear plastic, which is meant to showcase the game but isn’t very good for durability. We have already taped the corners more than once. Other than those two issues, we give the game an A+ and will enjoy many more family game nights playing Doubles Wild.

Product review by Cindy West, The Old Schoolhouse® Magazine, LLC, March 2008