Game review 56: Send It!
Like the idea of mountain biking without the mountains? Play the game of the sport, without worrying about a trip to the hospital.
Not a bad goalkeeper I was, in my youth. Quite happy to fling myself around between the sticks.
Part of the reason why I liked it so much was It also meant I didn’t really have to exert much energy like the other goons running around in front of me.
Same with table tennis, for which I won the sixth form common room tournament.
So, your writer here is a pretty gold-standard athlete, I’m sure we can agree.
Sports that require me to stand about in a 6ftx3ft region, lazily use some reflexes, and occasionally purposefully fall over, are my sort of jam.
What generally isn’t are those that require me to head straight up an ACTUAL MOUNTAIN, have incredible balance, and plummet over death-defying jumps and obstacles.
I can barely cycle in a straight line for 50 metres, without having to worry about all that.
But I do like the idea of mountain biking – particularly the imagination and sadism of course designers in creating nasty big pointy rocky barriers – and that other people are daft enough to risk broken bones and hurtle over boulders and ravines for my viewing pleasure.
Not only that, but I can now also play the game of the sport, without worrying about a trip to the hospital.
Part of me does initially hope that Send It! will involve a monstrous 3D board – some kind of Fireball Island bicycle circuit – flicking your doomed, tiny rider over precipices and around crumbling boulders in the hope for victory.
Unfortunately, Send It! is not that game. Instead, it’s created by actual mountain bikers who know their onions about the sport and know what it means to take on its myriad dangers.
The result is a fairly easy-to-grasp gateway game, in which players attempt to complete the course, while accruing the necessary skills and experience needed to do so.
This means that it works surprisingly well in a family setting. It’s filled with simple but essential choices that my daughter picks up with ease and is soon absorbed in building up her rider to gain maximum powers become some sort of Super Cyclist - at the cost of pretty much forgetting about the race to the finish entirely.
In fact, in playing the game over a few days, it grabs her attention far more than mountain biking on the TV has, for which she barely glances at except to declare “that’s not very nice, is it” when an unfortunate chap mistimes a jump and plunges head first over his handlebars and eats dirt on the track below. So, kudos there.
And yes, while the thrills and spills of the real sport are somewhat understandably lacking, what we have here is a solid tabletop adaptation that’ll be a lightweight addition in a collection for a game night to introduce sporty, non-gamer friends to the hobby.
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“I like that it is all on bikes. I love that we can turn things over on the board.”
Is it tricky?
“Kind of. It’s not very easy to learn. Do you know why? Because people can turn big tiles over so no one can go that way.”
Marks out of 10?
“565. Two thumbs up!”
My review
Advised age range
The box says 14+ but, like Formula D, this is a really easy-to-learn-and-explain game that can be enjoyed even from a young age, even if they have no understanding of the sport.
Set-up time
Four to five minutes.
Cost
The Kickstarter version of the game clocked in at $59.
Practicality
A standard-size box, whose contents are easy to set up and put away.
Fun for parents
It’s right in the sweet spot as a game that the kids can enjoy while still involving some strategy and decision-making. It won’t be one for those who like their tabletop playthings complex – who as such won’t get in the saddle for the more roll-and-move elements – but this is a good gateway game, with decent strategy, and one to play for some quiet time after a morning on the bike.