Swift and Skilled!

Did you know that some hummingbird’s can reach speeds up to 30 mph, with wings that beat 53 times per second? Did you know their hearts can beat more than 1,200 times per minute, and they can take 250 breathes per minute at rest?* Like a hummingbird, you’ll need to be pretty swift if you want to do well in this game! You’ll need to move quickly, but time your moves wisely, so you don’t end up out of sync with your point scoring opportunities. Collect as much nectar as you can in order to win!

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What Is It?

🎯The Goal is to have the most points
⚙️Worker Placement – Each turn, players can claim a flower by placing or moving one of their hummingbirds
⚙️Real Time / Timing – Instead of placing, players can lift one of their hummingbirds to see if the timer has run out. If it has, they’ll earn nectar (points), if not, they’ll take their bird back and lose points. The game ends when one of the stacks of nectar runs out.

Who Is It For?

👥2 to 4 Players – Works at any count, but I do think a full 4 is the most exciting
👥Ages 10 & Up – Very small/approachable ruleset, just need to be able to think and play quickly!
👥Fans of fast-paced games, who aren’t prone to overthinking; and those who like fun “toy-like” components

PROS

🟢Aesthetics – Great table presence
🟢Components are excellent; magnets work well
🟢Rules are short and sweet and well written
🟢Everyone is very actively involved the whole game, which makes for an exciting experience
🟢Unique gameplay
🟢Doesn’t overstay its’ welcome

CONS

🔴Never my favorite thing to lose points. Usually you aren’t losing many, but still, not the most fun
🔴Can feel a bit chaotic at times, like you don’t have a moment to think about your moves, but you tend to get used to it
🔴Because it’s so quick moving, it’s easy to make a mistake (i.e. realizing you have to move a bird because you know the timers aren’t ready)
🔴The stand pieces were a bit stiff, so it was hard to put together at first

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Final Thoughts

This was actually more fun than I expected! I am very hit and miss these days with speed or real-time games, but this just worked. It was chaotic and fast, but definitely fun. It doesn’t feel great to miss-time a timer, especially if it’s only by a little bit, which opens it up to the next player to swoop in, but the nature of the game is to judge the timers just right. It’s definitely tricky, which also made it feel like a super unique experience. It’s a bit of a gimmick for sure, but I think the kind of adds to the appeal too!

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Additional Information:
My Final Rating – 7/10

Designer – Jason Tremblay
Artist – Jess Franks
Publisher – The Op Games
MSRP – $30.00
Website
*Hummingbird Info