The neighborhood I live in here in Chicago, well let’s just say it’s “up and coming” and it’s been “up and coming” for pretty much the entire 7 years that I’ve lived here.  During those years, it’s definitely been getting better and this year huge strides have been made with great new bars, restaurants and shops going in nearby including an upscale toy store!  The owner of the new toy store *Play, asked for my help picking out games for their target age group (8 and under).  Trying to pick out stuff that is fun and unique, one of the games I suggested was Chicken Cha Cha Cha – another game in the “Chicken Family of Zoch” which includes the previously reviewed Pickomino (see here).

Now, Chicken Cha Cha Cha isn’t the easiest game to find (it’s being re-released in October), and with a $30+ price tag it makes it even harder to cough up the money to buy it before trying it but I really thought it was a great purchase.  The game’s been around since 1998 and it was invented by Klaus Zoch (hence the “Chicken Family of Zoch”).  Unlike Pickomino, Chicken Cha Cha Cha is aimed at a younger crowd – 4 and up.  The game is simple, each player gets a beautiful wooden chicken with one tail feather that is placed on an egg shaped tile that is one of 24 laid out in a circle.  (Eggs, laid…get it?)  Inside the circle there are 12 octagonal tiles scattered about face down.  On your turn, you look at the egg space in front of you and try to flip over the tile in the middle that has the matching image.  Obviously in the beginning it’s all guessing, but as you get going it’s a great memory game!  If you flip a matching tile, you “cha cha” your chicken one space forward and your turn continues until you don’t flip over a matching tile.

The point of the game is to collect all of your opponents tail feathers.  To do that, you must catch up to, and then jump over another player.  After which you collect ALL of their tail feathers.  If the game has just started, they may only have their own feather but as things get going they could have collected a tail feather or two already.

Chicken Cha Cha Cha is definitely a fun twist on classic memory with exciting head-to-head play.  And while the $30 or more price tag is really steep for a kid’s game, it’s one that adults can definitely enjoy – even without the kids!  I also have to say that this game is amazingly well made.  The tiles are really thick and durable and the wooden chickens are something you won’t find in games at Target or Wal-Mart for sure

Chicken Cha Cha Cha Stats:

$30-$45 at Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com,  FunAgainGames.com
2-4 players
15-20 minutes
Ages 4 and up