Game review 88: Ice Cool 2
Is this sequel just the same as the base game? It looks it… though that's not the whole story
There’ll always be a chilly vibe to a game set in a penguin school formed of ice in the middle of a wintry wasteland. So, gloomy late January seems a rather apt time to give it a once-over.
Having played and reviewed the original Ice Cool from Brain Games, the Kinderspiel des Jahres winner in 2017, we know the template forms the basis for one of the best family-friendly games around: flicking a bunch of rogue feathered school kids around the corridors of their frozen learning establishment, avoiding the beady eye of the truant officer – whose aim is to bash into the kids to enforce detention. Not sure if that fulfils the health and safety mandate of a modern school, but that’s where we are.
What’s there to say about it? Well, in its base form, absolutely nothing more than the original.
The sequel has the same rules, dimensions, etc as Ice Cool, just different artwork, which carries the same wonderful detail contained in the original. The pieces are plastic rather than wood, a curious choice in terms of environmentalism, but it’s perhaps an easier material to flick.
So, what’s the point? Can you get déjà vu navigating a fictional Antarctic school for flightless birds? Have we just been conned into getting the same game? Well, if that was that, then yes. But thankfully, where this edition will come into its own is by combining it with the original set – creating an entirely different game.
Ice Cool 2 does cause the school setting to double in size – with new class and staff rooms, with their own quirky art work, added to the mix. It also means that anywhere up to eight players can now join the fun, turning it into a party game for those who can handle the chaos.
But the main selling point is that the expanded board now complements a new race mode. In this instance, the school’s teachers must have given up any semblance of discipline, as there are no monitors ruining everybody else’s fun. Instead, players gang up into teams of two, taking it in turns for their pieces to navigate the eight-room track to reach a final room. The direction of travel is up to each team, as is whether to use such conventional methods as doorways, or to ‘jump’ over the walls, but they must go through their feeding gates, symbolised by their six corresponding-coloured fish pieces hanging over doorways, on the way.
This is my preferred way to play Ice Cool. It’s a blast, an A-to-B-via-E-and-X race game without the formulaic dice-rolling. E enjoys it too, but then, flicking penguins pieces is an enticing prospect for her regardless of the mode, whether this or the standard cat-and-mouse (or penguin-and-penguin) version.
However, is this a vital purchase? No. Huge fun can still be had with just the base game. The race version only really truly comes to life with multiple players. At double the cost, if you’re just playing Ice Cool between you and a couple of others, there’s no need to shell out.
Game facts and stats
Age
6+
Year first published
2018
Publisher
Brain Games
Designer
Brian Gomez
Illustrator
Reinis Pētersons
Player count
2–4 (up to 8, if base game is included)
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“It’s a bit similar but the other pieces are actually different colours.”
Is it tricky?
“A bit.”
112/10
My review
Set-up time
Two or three minutes, but maybe add a couple extra if playing with all 8 boards including the base game
Price
Don’t pay anything more than £20-£25.
Practicality
When assembled with Ice Cool, you’ll need a huge surface area that your dining table may not be able to meet. Thankfully, as the game can be played straight out of the box and packed away easily, space when not in use isn’t a major issue. Obviously though, to make full use of this edition, you’re going to need to buy the original as well.
Fun for parents?
Great for playing with kids. This sequel comes alive in a group setting. Unless you’ve got that in mind for it, it’s probably Ok to go without.
