Living Unabridged

A game based on a book sounds like a good fit for our family. The funny thing is, I've never even read The Little Prince, which this game is based on. It's one of those things I've always meant to read, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. Maybe as a read aloud one of these days? Meanwhile, my kids love the game.

Family Game Night #11: The Little Prince - Make Me a Planet

Once again I've asked my husband to explain this one:

Unfortunately, I am not familiar with The Little Prince, a novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupery. Perhaps I might rectify that one day. In the meantime, I will still enjoy playing The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet, a game designed by Antoine Bauza and Bruno Cathala.

This tile-laying, set-collection game is about building a planet (for the prince, I assume). To do that you will be selecting sixteen tiles over the course of the game. Four of these tiles will make the center, eight will be the edges, and the four corners will determine how you score points in the game. Each tile features a variety of creatures and objects (goats, boxes, roses, and the hated baobab trees to name a few). If you have the King, you would score 14 points for exactly one rose and 7 points for exactly two. Any more or less and you get 0. Tricky. There are eleven different scoring tiles in all.

The most interesting part of the game is how these tiles are chosen. The starting player chooses a stack of tiles (edges, for example) and flips over tiles equal to the number of players. After taking one of the tiles, he then chooses who will go next. Once that person has taken a tile, they would choose the next player to go. The last player chosen is stuck with the last tile but gets to be the starting player in the next round. I have found this dynamic to really make the game exciting, as it introduces a fun social element to an otherwise ho hum exercise. It’s always fun to watch the players pleading to go next so they won’t have to take a bad tile. Other times they want to be last because all the tiles work for them and they would then get to go first in the next round.

At the end of the game, you score points for each of your four corner tiles based on how many of the needed items you have. The back of the box features a scoring track, and the game includes some small tokens to help you add this up. Of course, the highest score wins. This game works well with a variety of ages and skill levels. Since there is a fair amount of luck, even the younger players have a good shot. At a playing time of just under 30 minutes, The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet is sure to be a hit at your house.

This lovely game is a little harder to find than some we've recommended, but the French version is still available on Amazon: The Little Prince: Make Me a Planetfor less than $20. If you'd like more information about this game, don't miss The Little Prince website.

Summary of The Little Prince: Make Me a Planet

Number of Players: 2-5

Recommended Ages: 8 and up, but we've played with children as young as 5

Reading Required: no, but younger children may need help with scoring at the end

Do you have a favorite game based on a book?
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