Kites Review

“Let’s go fly a kite, up to the highest height!” Mary Poppins, anyone? Anyway. I have many a fond memory of flying kites with my siblings growing up. Although I don’t do it much anymore, it’s still a fun and relaxing activity when the breeze is just right. And that brings us to today’s review – Kites. A game about flying multiple kites at once? Sign me up!

Kites is a cooperative real-time game in which players are working together to keep their 5 kites in the air simultaneously. By playing cards and flipping sand timers, players are attempting to get through every card in the deck without letting any sand timers run out. Strategize wisely because each sand timer lasts for a different amount of time! Work together and keep those kites flying! To setup for the game, place all 6 sand timers in the center of the table, on their sides with all the sand on one side of each timer. Shuffle the deck of Kite cards and deal a number to each player, dependent on the player count. Place the remaining cards in a draw deck in reach of all players, and randomly choose a starting player. The game is now ready to begin! Pictured below is the setup for a 3-player game.

Once the game begins, there is no stopping or pausing, so make sure everyone is totally ready before you start. To start the game, stand up the White sand timer (with the sand on top) and players may now look at their cards. Players will now take turns in order playing a card from their hand to a discard pile in front of them, and flipping (or standing up, at the start of the game) the corresponding sand timer. Draw a new card from the Draw deck, and play moves on to the next player. Sounds simple enough, but it is a lot trickier than you think! Once a sand timer has been set upright, the players cannot let it run out of sand, or else they lose the game. And since every sand timer lasts for a different amount of time, strategy is key!

Some cards allow you to flip more than 1 sand timer, and any card showing a single symbol can be used to flip the White sand timer. Communication between players is allowed and encouraged, as you need to work together to keep all timers going. Sometimes telling your neighbor that you can flip Purple on your turn can help them decide to flip Orange now. The game goes on as described above, until the Draw deck is empty. Now it’s a race for all players to finish playing the rest of the cards still in their hands. But there’s a catch – once the Draw deck runs out, the White sand timer can no longer be flipped. So get those last cards flying to finish up before any sand timer, especially the White one, runs out!

If all players manage to play all of their cards without any sand timers running out, everyone wins! Conversely, if any sand timer runs out of sand before all cards are played, the game results in a loss. The rulebook does provide a little ‘scoring’ section for the end of the game, in which players count up any remaining cards in their hands and the Draw deck and compare them to a chart that tells you how well you did overall. I usually don’t really look at that chart – to me, if any sand timer runs out we simply lose the game, and if we manage to get rid of all cards before timers run out, we win.

Real-time games always stress me out, and Kites is no different. That doesn’t mean I don’t like it though. The sand timers are obviously the most unique part of this game, and that is what makes the gameplay so engaging. Each sand timer lasts for a different length of time, spanning from a mere 30 seconds all the way up to 90 seconds. That variability really drives the group strategy, as you need to be flipping certain sand timers way more often than some others. One thing that really has helped in all of my plays is lining up the sand timers by time length. It helps make it a little bit easier to see which ones are running out faster than others, and it helps players determine as a group what needs to be flipped and when. In terms of actually winning the game, I think I’m at about a 65% win-rate. This game can be tough, if the initial shuffle of the Draw deck just isn’t giving you any particularly useful cards. On the flip-side though, the times that you do win feel so satisfying because it’s usually down to the very last seconds on some of these sand timers.

There aren’t a lot of components in this game. It’s really just cards and sand timers. The cards have such cute kite art, and the colors match really well to the sand timers. The sand timers themselves seem high quality and are just plain fun to hold and play with. This game is mostly based on colors, but each different color on the cards and the sand timers has a corresponding shape/symbol, so even our color-blind friends would be able to play this game! All in all, nicely produced game.

Is Kites my favorite real-time game? I don’t think so. But it’s pretty high on the list. It is super simple to teach and play, and it keeps all players engaged the whole time. It is totally cooperative, and each play is fun and energetic. Since it has such a small table presence and is so quick to play, it’s definitely one I can see myself bringing out in a pinch when I just need something to tide the group over between larger games. It could also be a great way to introduce newer gamers to the hobby. The game does include some additional Challenge cards that can be added in to up the ante a bit, but aren’t necessary to play with every time. Overall, Kites is a neat little game that gets your heart racing and the teamwork flowing. Pick up a copy if you’re wanting something fun and frantic! Purple Phoenix Games gives this one a high-flying 8 / 12.