Bubble Stories, the review: a narrative game for the little ones

Bubble Stories, the review

Bubble Stories, by Blue Orange Games and published in Italy by Ghenos Games / dV Games, is a narrative card board game, expressly designed for the youngest audience. In Bubble Stories, one to two players (but in reality there is no real number limit) aged four and up will be able to work together to achieve the objectives of the adventure they are embarking on, progressing in history from paper to paper. br>
Bubble Stories can be played perfectly even alone or with the presence of an adult to guide, at least in the first games and with the little ones, thanks to a very simple tutorial and a instruction leaflet without text, in addition to the normal rules. This leaflet takes the little ones by the hand through a series of sequential images and guides them through the deck of tutorial cards.

Bubble Stories, aim of the game

In Bubble Stories players will have to achieve and / or find the objectives indicated by the relative card. These can be characters or objects and will be shown on the Objective card by images contained within a star. During the game adventure, however, young players will be able to run into some Blind Alley cards that will slow down their progression in the story. In addition to achieving the indicated objectives, therefore, the other aim of the game will be to find as few Dead End cards as possible.

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Bubble Stories, setting up a game

Setting up a game of Bubble Stories is a very simple affair that takes just a couple of minutes. After choosing which deck to play with among the four available (green, orange, purple and blue), the little players must place the starting card, marked by the checkered back, on the left of the playing surface and face down. Then, they will have to place the Objective card on the right of the playing surface, marked by the back with the stars.

Finally, they will have to place all the remaining cards of the deck face down, in the playing area between the card start and goal card. These will have drawn on the back of the color of the deck, a bubble containing an image, each different from the others, and will represent the various choices available to the players.

The adventure tutorial

Bubble Stories, the game

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In the tutorial adventure (green deck), to give an example that does not compromise the fun of discovering what is hidden in the other three adventures, the goal will be to find a teddy bear and a blue satchel and the starting place will be the child's room. There, indicated on the card with transparent bubbles, it will be possible to visit the bed or open the door of the room.

The players, therefore, will have to choose which area to visit and then take and consult the relative card, on the back of which is shown the image of the chosen area. This card can show a star and an image of one of the objectives, which indicates that part of the objective has been completed, an image on a red background to indicate a dead end, or another place or character with which you will be able to interact. Making a choice does not preclude being able to go back and visit another area, indeed it will often be necessary to do so.

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The other three adventures, of course, will be longer and more complex, presenting, with each new card, new options to explore or characters to talk to. The characters, for their part, will be able to interact with the players in two ways: either by directing them directly to a new card, or by directing them to two different places depending on whether or not they have found a card with a star.

Three decks, three adventures

Inside the Bubble Stories package, as we have already said, in addition to the pack of green cards, there are three other decks of three different colors, which present three exciting adventures:

Hide and Seek in the School: The orange deck takes players to school, where they will have to play hide and seek with friends. The aim will be to find the three friends hidden in the various places of the courtyard and in the various school buildings. Funfair: The purple deck invites players to have a fun day at the funfair. There they will have to win four fantastic soft toys, playing at the various stands present in that joyful place. Pirate Island: The adventure of the blue back deck will see players carefully explore each area of ​​the island, in search of the fantastic treasure of the pirate captain. Furthermore, to successfully complete the objective, the three cards with the star must be found in a particular order.

From an editorial standpoint

Editorially speaking, Bubble Stories is a more than good game. The package in which the game is contained is made up of a sturdy box with a magnetic side and the cards that compose it are more than sufficiently resistant, suitable to be handled even by the terrible hands of the little ones. Even the leaflets of the regulation, both the real one and the version without text, are made in the best way.

The regulation, for its part, is really very simple and is written in a more than clear and understandable way . The version without text, although well done, is in our opinion not so immediate for the little ones, who will still need the help and indications of an adult to be able to start taking their first steps in the game.

The purely graphic and artistic side is valuable, with simple and colorful designs that lend themselves well to being appreciated by the public to whom the product is aimed.

Conclusions

In the light of what emerged from our test with a five-year-old child, Bubble Stories proved to be a game that was able to excite and entertain, relying on fantasy and imagination, thanks also to the situations presented in the various stories, ranging from everyday life to a game at school with friends to the pure adventure represented by the pirate island. Much also depends on the narrative skills of the adult who leads the game and who tells the story by offering the child the various possible choices. If left on their own, the risk of little players getting bored quickly is quite high.

What the game really shows is longevity. The adventures, after all, are not particularly long and can be solved in no more than fifteen minutes each. This, coupled with the fact that there are only three, means that after an afternoon of playing Bubble Stories it becomes practically unusable a second time. Yes, it is true that it is possible to replay the adventures trying to run into fewer dead ends than the previous time, but this only applies to the little ones, as the older ones will have no problem remembering where they are and avoiding them all in one fell swoop. . For the little ones, however, it will be a great way to exercise decision-making, attention span and memory.

A product aimed at…

From all that we have exhibited, it is particularly clear that Bubble Stories is a title that is aimed purely at a very young audience. In our opinion, the range of young players that will be most involved is the one that goes from 4 to 6 years at the most, with the latter ending it quite quickly. For an older audience, however, it could represent a fun pastime to spend a couple of hours on a rainy afternoon and a little more.

However, it offers a valid way to involve adults and children to spend some fun time together . It is also an excellent way to introduce younger children to the world of board games and storytelling.