Stats:
No. of players: 2-4
Amount of time to play: 20 minutes
Age requirements: 7+
Set-up time: minimal

Bears Rules Description:
Bears! is a dice game that plays fast. You are innocently camping when a bunch of bears raid the camp. Do you run from camp, shoot the bears or sleep and hope to survive?

You start Bears! with five black dice showing a gun, a running camper and a sleeping camper. In the center of the table are five white dice per player with tents and bears.

One player rolls the white dice, then all players roll their dice. You must match your dice to tents and bears. Guns match with bears and campers with tents. You can reroll your dice as often as you like.

After there are only one type of die in the center (bears or tents), you must stop pairing your dice. You then score your dice. For each bear you shot you get a point and running from your tent gets you two points. Your score for sleeping through the chaos will depend on what type of die was left in the center. If there were bears left you lose two points. If there were tents left you get five points. The first player to 100 points wins.

A Quick Bears Review:
Bears! is quick to play, easy to learn and a great family game. Young kids can understand and play Bears! while adults will enjoy the fun too. The gameplay is fairly simple but chaotic. You have to try to determine what will remain in the camp if you want to score well. If you pay too much attention to what everyone else pairs you won’t pair your own dice.

The components for Bears! are excellent. The art is great and fit the theme wonderfully. The rules are easy to understand and there are player aids to help you remember how to score you pairings.

You might have a hard time catching up to someone that gains a large lead, but other than that the gameplay is solid.

Given its quick playing time, ease of play and variety of ages that can enjoy it, Bears! makes a great family game.

Score and synopsis: (Click here for an explanation of these review categories.)
Strategy 2 out of 6
Luck 4 out of 6
Player Interaction 5 out of 6
Replay Value 4 out of 6
Complexity 2 out of 6
Fun 4 out of 6
Overall 4 out of 6