We all know avid hockey players and fans are called rink rats, so it’s not a surprise someone would use that to name a game.
In this case Rink Ratz is a card game with a Saskatchewan connection.
“Rink Ratz is the first game designed by The East-West Game Company,” details their very good website at www.rinkratzhockey.com. “We are four educators from Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia with backgrounds in music, physical education, psychology, guidance and early childhood literacy. Our collective philosophy on game design is to create a game that families and friends can play together. A game should be easy to learn but also incorporate components of literacy, numeracy, patterns, strategy and also work areas of the brain involving memory. Rink Ratz does all of this and more. It is a fun and easy way to gather the family together around a table without video games or mobile devices. We must warn you, Rink Ratz is addictive and will create a high level of competitiveness in your home. Have fun with Rink Ratz and watch out for the Breakaway card. It can be a back-breaker late in the third period.”
Deb MacLean is half of the Saskatchewan connection with husband Dave. She says both couples have long liked card games.
“Both families, the Logans (Paul and Sue) and MacLeans, have played many different games,” she said via email. “When we get together with friends, it’s not long before a deck of cards or a board game comes out.”
In the case of Rink Ratz MacLean said it grew out of a visit west by the Logans.
“When the Logans came out to Saskatchewan a few summers ago, Paul introduced me to a card game he played as kid,” she said. “It was a basic hockey game played with an ordinary deck of cards. After playing for a while, both of us thought we could create our own hockey card game with a more sophisticated deck including breakaways, power plays, miraculous saves, etc.”
The Logans and MacLeans met initially in Lashburn, SK., where they were connected as educators, before the Logans moved east, and the MacLeans to Saskatoon.
And from there grew the current game.
“It took about six-to-eight months to develop Rink Ratz,” said MacLean. “We revised the rules over and over again as we tested the game continuously. We had other people play the game and received valuable feedback from them. Then we had to find a suitable manufacturer to take our concept and create what we have today.”
Of course there were challenges, in particular the one of distance between design partners.
“The Logans live in Nova Scotia and we live in Saskatchewan so communication of ideas was a challenge,” said MacLean.
“Also, the rules were rewritten at least a hundred times and became a tedious process as we reached the end. “Also, our graphic designer lived in Australia.”
So onto the game itself.
According the website, “Rink Ratz is an authentic hockey experience in a unique card game format. It is easy to learn, challenging to play and entertaining for all ages. The unique game mechanics create an innovative and strategic game with 3 levels of play: Rookie, Junior and Pro. Rink Ratz is a fast-paced game with breakaways, power plays, miraculous saves and much more. Rink Ratz is very portable and can be played anywhere. Once you learn to play Rink Ratz you will be able to play a game in under 20-minutes or a seven game ‘Family Championship’ series in under two-hours …
“Rink Ratz Hockey is a fast-paced card game that is easy to learn and fun to play. Strategy and chance combine to make Rink Ratz Hockey an exciting and challenging card game experience. The game is played with 2 or 4 players, aged eight to adult. A complete game can be played in 20-to-25-minutes.”
The game actually offers some true versatility in play with three levels; rookie, junior, and pro. Having game options is always a bonus with a game.
As for rules, I’ll not dwell on those as they are in the website, along with a link for videos of game play, which again is a great feature of a website these days, a chance to see the game played.
MacLean said she thinks the most compelling aspect of the game is how it represents real hockey so well.
“It’s a game that truly recreates the game of hockey,” she offered. “The more the game is played the more one appreciates the different strategies that are involved in the game. Rink Ratz has a nice balance of luck and strategy that keeps all levels of players interested in playing the game. Every game played is unique. It’s very unpredictable.”
As a result the designers are very happy with the completed game.
“Rink Ratz is packaged in an attractive manner with colourful graphics,” said MacLean. “The repeatability of the game ensures that each game is exciting.
“The two or four player format is a nice wrinkle.
“Also, three levels of play incorporated into one game allows both younger and more experienced players to enjoy the game.”
And those buying the game seem just as happy.
“The response has been fantastic across Canada,” said MacLean. “We are in our second printing with over 5,000 sold. People tell us that it is a great game to play with family and friends.”
