Shiba Inu House Card Game Overview

By now you know that Nicole and I are not huge fans of games that have a speed element. Not because they’re not fun, it’s because our mental reflexes just aren’t what they used to be. Our girls, on the other hand, love them. Doesn’t matter the theme or style, they know it’s an insta-win against their parents. So it’s a big plus when a game supports both low and high counts of players (guilty admission – we even search for 2-player-only games so they can compete head-to-head).
As much as we shy away from speed games, this time we’re making an exception. The artwork and theme of Shiba Inu House was just too inviting. An unofficial followup to Renegade Game Studios‘ Kitty Paw, Shiba Inu House has a similar play style that will appeal to kids of all ages.
Supporting up to five players, each person receives a matching set of nine cards. There are also three stacks of challenge cards, numbered and separated by difficulty. At the beginning of each round everyone will draw one card from the lowest-numbered available stack and keep it face-down in front of them. Once everyone is ready, all cards are flipped over and the race begins.
Using this revealed dog house as a key, you rush to arrange your nine double-sided cards to match the picture on the challenge card. You may turn and flip your cards as necessary until you line them up in such a way that they match the doghouse(s) on the challenge card. As soon as you finish, grab the lowest-numbered scoring card from the pool (1 = 1st to finish, 2 = 2nd to finish, and so on).
After everyone is finished building their Shiba Inu House, the plans are checked for accuracy. If correct, you receive the number of points on the back of the scoring card you grabbed. If incorrect, you receive no points for the round. Your set of nine cards is recollected and a new challenge card is drawn. After eight rounds the person with the highest number of points is the winner!
Shiba Inu House is accurately recommended for ages 6+ and is certainly a lesson in spatial awareness for all ages. The cartoon artwork will appeal to all ages (but we have to wonder a little about the cartoon depiction of a rectum – I guess it will bring lots of giggles to a younger crowd). We hope this line is continued with other breeds since it would certainly appeal to actual dog owners. “Havanese Hotel” anyone? “Rottweiler Retreat”?
Copies of Shiba Inu House are available on Amazon right now for around $16 shipped or at your local game store. If you’re thinking of picking up a copy at Gen Con this week, make sure you hit their booth early. They completely sold out of their inventory at the Origins Game Fair and I would expect the same to happen at Gen Con!
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Which breed version would you like them to create of Shiba Inu House?
Shiba Inu House game card artwork looks so cute.My daughter will love playing too!.Checking it out on Amazon.
I love discovering new board games and this one looks ace for the whole family, lots of fun for a night in
Laura x
I am the same way when it comes to fast paced games. My brain is too foggy to keep up! This looks adorable!
My kiddos would love to play Shiba Inu House with me! The dogs would be a huge hit. Sounds super fun for family time!
This looks so interesting, not to mention adorable! My son would love all of the colors. Definitely something I’ll be looking into! Thanks for the great tip!
This looks like a fun game! Will keep a look out for it with Christmas on the way.
This looks like a really fun game for kiddies. I know two little girls who would love it! x
Love the nice design of this game! And it seems like a really fun game 🙂
First time I hear about this board game. It is excellent for family time. Get our heads off the phones and actually interact with each other.
The Shiba Inu House game would be a great game for my niece’s kids to play. I think they would enjoy competing against each other. It seems like it gets the mind going too. Thanks for sharing this awesome game.