As a child of the 80’s, I remember seeing Gremlins when it opened in movie theaters in 1984. And I loved it!

I totally wanted a cute, furry Gizmo of my own.

And of course, I’d take better care of it than Billy did. No way would they trick me into feeding them after midnight. Right?

I also remember watching Gremlins with my kids when they were old enough for me to enrich their lives with classic 80’s culture. And that’s when I realized, Gremlins really isn’t a kids movie!

Those Gremlins are pretty nasty creatures. But the excruciating deaths by kitchen appliances is quite an eye-opening scene (when I’m now seeing it through the eyes of my kids).

How irresponsible of a parent could I be?

Good thing they weren’t scarred for life. (At least they seem pretty normal to me.)

But I digress…let’s talk game instead!

With the Christmas holiday upon us, it’s time we slap some Gremlins around in this new game by Funko — Gremlins: Holiday Havoc.

And when I say “slap”, I really do mean “slap”. Because this quick card game is all about the slapping.

 

How to play Gremlins: Holiday Havoc

Just as in the movie, Gremlins are wrecking havoc all across Kingston Falls. And players are trying to slap and capture the most Gremlins before the game ends.

Gremlins: Holiday Havoc is a super simple game to play.

The Gremlins 60-card deck is shuffled and dealt evening to all players. Each player places their cards in a face-down pile next to their Location card and the game begins.

Starting with the first player and going clockwise, each player flips the top card from their pile onto their Location.

After flipping a card, a few things can happen:

• If the flipped card matches another face-up Gremlin card at another location, the first 2 players to slap a matching Gremlin take all the cards at that location.
• If the flipped card matches the top card at that location, the first player to slap that location stack takes all the cards at that location.
• If it’s a Gizmo card, the first player to slap any other location stack takes all the cards at that location. The Gizmo card and all cards under it are removed from the game.
• If it’s a Water Fountain card, the player must immediately flip 3 cards from the top of their deck. While flipping, cards can still be slapped.
• If the Sunrise card is revealed, the first player to slap that location stack takes all the cards in that stack (including the Sunrise card).

When players take a stack of cards, they add them to the bottom of their deck (face-down).

The second time the Sunrise card is revealed and slapped, the game ends.

Each player counts the cards in their deck and the player with the most cards wins!

 

Can the whole family enjoy Gremlins: Holiday Havoc?

Anyone who can spot matching cards and slap, can play and enjoy Gremlins: Holiday Havoc.

There’s nothing to read and not really much to remember — besides which pile you’re supposed to slap when different cards are revealed.

However, the rules don’t mention anything about penalties for incorrectly slapping piles, so there’s really nothing to worry about there.

Slap away!

The game is a rapid fire game with a lot of quick action. So keep your hands at the ready to slap.

Because of the action, there isn’t any downtime at all. Everyone’s engaged the whole time because they’re anxiously awaiting a chance to slap cards.

Yet players still need to watch carefully because the background colors may trick you. Both the Green and the Blue backgrounds have 2 different Gremlins poses. For example, the Gremlin caroling and the Gremlin with a doll have blue backgrounds.

But once again, because there aren’t any penalties for slapping incorrectly…no harm, no foul.

Just slap on.

Which brings us to our final points — slapping games aren’t everyone’s cup of tea.

And that’s the camp we fall into. We’re not fans of card slapping games.

We know many people who get a kick out of such games. And little kids may especially be drawn to card slapping games because they’re so simple. Plus, Gremlins is a matching game and kids like to show they’re the quickest to spot matches.

However, the artwork on the cards is pretty spot-on with the movies — in that the Gremlins are ugly creatures.

Which leaves us scratching our heads on who the target audience is…

Is it for little kids that like to match and slap but would be turned off by the ugly Gremlins?

Or is it for nostalgic adults who get a kick out of Gremlins but are turned off by slapping games?

After playing, pondering, and reviewing the game, we’re still not sure.

But hopefully we’ve given you enough to go on to judge for yourself. If your family and friends like Gremlins and slapping, then this card game is right up your alley.

And for those on the fence wondering if your crew might like it, you can get a copy for less than $10.

We’d like to thank Funko for a review copy of Gremlins: Holiday Havoc.