Thrift Treasure: Sumoku
I got hooked on Sudoku puzzles when they became all the rage a decade or so ago. From time to time I still play a couple of free apps on my iPad to keep myself sharp. No easy puzzles for me, I go straight to the hard or ‘impossible’ ones. Our latest Thrift Treasure is a relatively recent game; issued in 2010 by a small game company called Blue Orange Games. You may remember them as being the U.S. distributor for a game we mentioned from ChiTag: Spot It. Sumoku follows the sudoku style.
We were fortunate to find a still-sealed copy of Sumoku at our local Goodwill for $1.88. The unique packaging drew our attention, and since it was sealed we knew we weren’t going to have any missing pieces. Considering there are 96 numbered tiles and a custom die, we didn’t want to be caught short.
Each player starts with 8 number tiles. The first person rolls the die and the resulting number (3, 4 or 5) becomes the multiple for that entire game. Your goal? To make rows and columns “crossword-style” that add up to a multiple of the rolled number.
Each person then tries to add to the board with their own tiles. BUT, the trick is you cannot have more than one of a color in any row or column. You can have multiples of the same number, but not colors. Finish off a series of 6 colors and you get an extra turn.
Play continues until all tiles are gone and no more tiles can be played. Then it is time to tally up the score.
Rated for kids 9+, it actually could be played by someone a little younger as long as they have a good grasp on their addition skills. There are custom rules depending on the number of players you have (up to 8 players) as well as at least four other additional rulesets depending on your situation. There’s one for speed play to make the game quicker (our regular game took about 45 minutes) and another set of rules for team play.
In a move that I wish all game manufacturers and distributors would do, Blue Orange Games publishes their games rules online in .pdf form in case you want to learn more before purchasing or happen to lose your copy!
Have a homeschooled child you need a gift or learning tool for? This game is perfectly suited for them. A bit of strategy mixed with mathematical and spatial skills gives you a new game to teach with while still challenging for adults.
Learn more about Blue Orange Games from their website or by following them on Facebook or Twitter. Want to pick up a copy for yourself? Grab one on Amazon for under $15! Don’t want to worry about losing tiles? Download it from the App Store!
This sounds like a lot of fun! It would be perfect for a family game night at our house.
This game is virtually identical to Qwirkle!
You’re right, they are VERY similar! We haven’t tried Qwirkle yet, but great catch!
Looks like a fun family game night game. I will have to look into getting it for us to play.
That sounds like a perfect game night game! My kids would probably love it, too!
This sounds so fun! I love Scrabble and this is like a number version of it, which is so cool.
My oldest would love this game, I need to pick it up for camping. We’ve been playing a lot of games out there and are looking for some new ones to try!
Oh man, this is one game I would lose every time! Numbers and I are not good friends–give me Scrabble any day. Good for you and your family, though, and great find!
Looks like a great game. I’ll have to keep it in mind for when the kids are older 🙂
I never was able to get into Sudoku. This game looks neat!
Cool game i love playing games with my kids.
Looks like brilliant fun!
Thanks for posting this. I have a birthday coming up from a certain young person and this seems just perfect for them.
Thanks for posting this. I have a birthday coming up from a certain young person and this seems just perfect for them.
I had never heard of this game, but it certainly looks like fun – and a bit of a challenge! I don’t usually play games like this, but my hubby enjoys them – I’ll have to ask him if he’s ever tried it! My adult daughters and their families enjoy games, too, so I think I’ll ask them about this as well. Thanks for sharing!
Sounds like a great game – how fortunate you were to find a still-sealed box for such a low price! Enjoy playing with your family! 🙂
Wonderful way to multi-task without even knowing it — spending time with your family and helping kids (and adults :)) with math skills.
Now this looks awesome!
You always find the best games at your thrift shop. I went and checked ours out… NOTHING!!
That looks like a fun game! My Hubby and oldest son love Sudoku still. I’ll have to check this out for them 🙂
I remember trying Sudoku when it was all the rage. I wasn’t very good at it lol. I wonder if I would do better with this one though?
I think that my kids would have a great time with this game ! I’m all for any game that makes learning (or practicing) fun!
I am not very good with Suduko–and yes I have tried and tried and tried! This game would probably drive me right up the wall!! I am very good with numbers but I do have double vision so that may have something to do with it.
This game looks great for reinforcing math skills. I can think of a ton of math lesson plans to align with this game.
That looks like a fun game. I bet my brothers would enjoy it. My brothers tend to be more into games than I am 🙂
That looks like a great game! The kids will be learning at the same time. Perfect for family time or when the weather is really bad.
I’m a Sudoku fan so this sounds good to me. I like that the instructions are in pdf also!
How fun..I love Sumoko… always fun… what a great find.. Thanks for sharing, love your thrift game finds, soo cool and always stuff that is fun for the entire family. Great review