How hard can it be to pull a little egg out of a bowl?

In Gulo Gulo, it’s much harder than you think.

Especially when the bowl is packed with different-sized eggs, you’re only allowed to use one hand, and setting off the alarm can ruin your turn.

That’s the basic premise behind this children’s dexterity game originally released more than 20 years ago.

The game has been out of print for a number of years, but thanks to Pandasaurus Games, Gulo Gulo is back with a new edition!

Although the game is primarily designed for kids, it’s quite the challenge for adults as well (mainly because of our bigger fingers).

 

How to play Gulo Gulo

First of all, if you’re wondering what a Gulo is, it’s another term for wolverine. Now we have that out of the way, let’s get to the game.

The goal of Gulo Gulo is to rescue Gulo Junior from the vultures’ nest.

Players begin by creating a path of face-down tiles leading toward the nest, putting all the eggs into the nest, and sticking the alarm pole into the pile of eggs.

On a player’s turn, they move their wolverine along the path to an available tile. They can move it to an already revealed color tile or a face-down tile. If they choose a face-down tile, it must be the first face-down tile they get to. Flip it over and see what color it is.

The color of the tile chosen to land on determines which colored egg they must remove from the nest. The differently colored eggs are in different sizes.

Using only one hand, they attempt to remove the matching egg without disturbing the other eggs or knocking over the alarm pole.

If they successfully remove the egg, their turn ends and their wolverine remains on the new tile.

If they remove the wrong egg or knock over the alarm pole, they must move their wolverine backward to the first tile of that color.

As the game progresses, the number of eggs in the nest decreases, making it increasingly difficult to retrieve eggs without causing the alarm pole to fall out of the nest.

The first player to successfully reach Gulo Junior and retrieve the purple egg wins the game.

 

Can the whole family enjoy Gulo Gulo?

Absolutely.

Gulo Gulo is a simple game to play and presents a fun dexterity challenge for everyone.

And it’s particularly fun for kids because they have an advantage over adults.

Small fingers are much better suited for reaching into a bowl packed with little eggs. Adult-sized fingers aren’t necessarily helpful when you’re trying to squeeze your fingers between a bunch of eggs without knocking over the alarm.

And that’s where Gulo Gulo shines.

The game creates tension without needing complicated strategy. Everyone around the table watches as the active player reaches into the nest and tries to retrieve the correct egg.

You know exactly what they need to do. You also know exactly what can go wrong.

When they succeed, there’s a little sense of accomplishment.

When they fail, there’s usually plenty of moans.

That makes Gulo Gulo a particularly good game for families because the entertainment doesn’t come just from winning. The fun is in playing.

 

What we like about Gulo Gulo

It’s incredibly easy to learn and set up. You can set up the game in just a couple of minutes, making it an excellent choice when you want something the whole family can jump into quickly.

The dexterity challenge is genuinely fun. Since the nest has a rounded bottom, the eggs slide around very easily while you attempt to grab an egg. Reaching into the nest sounds simple until you’re actually trying to pull out one particular egg without knocking the alarm pole out.

Kids have an advantage. This is one of those rare games where being younger (and having smaller hands) can actually give kids an edge over adults.

Everyone stays involved. Turns are quick, and you’re naturally interested in watching other players attempt the challenge.

 

The one drawback

The only frustration we have is that the alarm pole falls out of the nest fairly often.

Which means you’ll be resetting all the eggs in the nest frequently.

When an egg is successfully removed, it’s added to the bag. But when the alarm pole falls out of the nest, all the eggs are removed from the bag and placed back in the nest. Then the alarm pole is added back amongst the eggs and play continues.

But of course, the whole point of the game revolves around not knocking the alarm pole out, so this should be expected.

 

How does Gulo Gulo score on our “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

Since we don’t have young kids in our family currently, we don’t anticipate Gulo Gulo hitting the table very frequently.

However, we do have grandkids on the way. So Gulo Gulo will be waiting for them to take it on in a few years.

It’s always fun when a classic game comes back into print, especially one that’s been difficult to find for years.

Gulo Gulo has been around since 2003, but the new edition shows that its core idea still works.

It’s a light, accessible family game that delivers something a lot of games don’t: the fun of watching someone else try not to mess up.

And sometimes, that’s all you need for a good time around the table.

 

The Board Game Family would like to thank Pandasaurus Games for the review copy of Gulo Gulo.

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