In the end, it was the simplest plastic toy that entertained us for the longest on Christmas Day and in the post-Christmas chaos, bringing joy to all of us from ages 8 to 72. Bluey: The Keepy Uppy Game was an instant hit this week, and instant hilarity ensued when we started playing.
We are long-time fans of the Heeler family in this house, and Keepy Uppy, which is episode three of season one, is a fan favorite of ours. In the episode in question, the Heeler girls delight in their love of balloons with a rousing game of Keepy Uppy. This is a game in which you bat a balloon around trying to keep it up off the ground. In the episode, Bandit gets a little too rowdy and the balloon, their last balloon as it turns out, ends up getting popped. In the Keepy Uppy Game from Moose Toys, you are in charge of keeping a motorized balloon from “popping.”
and character logo and © Ludo Studio. Licensed by BBC Studios Distribution Ltd.The setup is simple, and my 8-year-old had ripped through the packaging and had it mostly set up before I was barely a few sentences into the rule leaflet, which is small and basic. There are a few stickers to be placed on the “pop” tokens and on the character pieces. The balloon itself is held onto the arm by a very tight clip, and the “uppy” part of the game needs to be put together before being attached to the base, but it is very easy to assemble and put away again.
The base of the game contains a motorized arm represented by Bandit, that propels the very heavy balloon in a circle. Depending on what each player does, the balloon will spin, lift, or flip completely over. Around the circle are the “uppy” arms. You can play as either Chilli, Bluey, or Bingo. The “uppy” arms are operated by a simple tap. As the balloon approaches your character, you tap your piece and your character lifts up to knock the balloon over your “pop” tokens. Each of you has three “pop” tokens that sit inside your hedge to protect, and once all three tokens have been “popped” you are out of the game. The player with any remaining “pop” tokens is the winner. If you lose any of these tokens, like we have already done, they can be replaced with generic tokens from any other game.
The game only requires a delicate touch, but much fun was had by all my kids in trying to hit it the hardest and pop someone’s “pop” tokens in unexpected ways. There was much flipping and flailing, but as it turns out everyone came to the same conclusion; if you get too violent with it, everyone loses, or the game becomes less fun. After a couple of exceptionally rowdy games, everyone settled down into gentle play, which proved to be just as exciting and much more fun. Even our fourteen-year-old grew tired of shenanigans. Though every time we play, there is at least one aggressive round, it is the gentle play that wins out every time.
It really is ridiculous how well put together and thought out this game is. It is one of the most all-round enjoyable games we have brought into our house in a long time. I remember as a child in England the year that my friends and I all got Screwball Scramble on Christmas morning. This was a plastic game for one player, in which you propelled a marble around a maze before the timer went off. In the tradition of games like Screwball Scramble and Perfection, this simple plastic game has already kept us entertained for hours and promises to continue to do so. It is a great gift for Bluey fans of any age. It is also great for the tired parent who wants some gameplay at the end of the day with the little ones—no brain power required!
It can be played by two or three players, and my only regret is that there aren’t more arms so that we can play together. This may be the first toy of this kind that has ever generated fan support for an expansion pack. With a bigger base so that you can add more players, Snickers, PomPom, and Lucky’s Dad should definitely be able to get in on this game. This game was purchased by Amazon as an impulse buy to add one more box to a kids’ Christmas pile, and this GeekMom has no regrets.
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