Scatter Brain: Brain-Bending Fun in a Flash

Roll the dice and race to make matches between the results and the number cards on the table in this real-time dice and math game.

Published by Blue Orange Games, Scatter Bain is designed for 2-8 players, ages 7 and up.

Gameplay

Each round starts with 10 number cards being dealt face up on the table. Then one player shakes the four dice in the brain dice shaker before placing the shaker upside down on the table. The shaker is then lifted to reveal the dice.

Players race to make matches between the dice and the cards. A player can grab a number card if it matches one of the dice, or if two or more of the dice can be combined to match the number on the card. If a player grabs a card that is not a match, then he must return the card and will sit out the next round.

Once no more matches can be made, a new round begins, with 10 new cards being added to the table and the dice being rerolled.

Rounds continue until all the cards have been claimed, and the player who claimed the most cards wins the game.

Review

Scatter Brain is a very simple speed game that makes for a nice filler. It’s accessible for groups that don’t play a lot of games. This could be a good one to take on family vacations or when visiting people. It’s easy and fast to set up and to pack away. Teaching takes a minute. This is a very approachable game.

It also looks nice. The components are pretty simple (dice and cards), but the brain dice shaker definitely is eye-catching and is an enjoyable way to roll the dice. Like all games with unusual packaging, it might be challenging to fit it neatly on your shelves, but its fun to look at and was surprisingly easy to repack so that it continued to look nice.

There is a little ambiguity with the rules, however. If a round ends because no more matches can be made, do you pick up the cards remaining on the table and shuffle them back into the deck? Do you deal out new cards until there are 10? Or do you simply always add 10 new cards to the table regardless of how many are already there? For a game this simple, the rules should not be ambiguous. We chose to play it so that 10 new cards are always added, as we enjoyed being familiar with which numbers were sticking around between rounds, and it was fun when a number finally got matched that had been hanging around for a while.

Scatter Brain is one of those games that has a nice, simple, core concept and doesn’t overcomplicate things. If you don’t like speed games, this one won’t change your mind, but we found it to be a pleasant, light game that was fun to dip into.

Pros: Nice presentation, approachable gameplay

Cons: Some rules ambiguity

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.