Strong Stuff! (2002)

About this game

Bruno the Bear is ravenously hungry, so hungry that he's prone to grabbing honey jars recklessly and taking off for the woods. But will you be able to help him carry his ever-growing pile of honey jars without knocking them over? Strong Stuff! – previously published by Goldsieber with slightly different rules as Bärenstark – is a dexterity game in which players move Bruno, represented by a wooden bear, across a series of meadow tokens. Each turn, the active player rolls the die then either moves Bruno a number of spaces equal to the number of dots on the die or leaves him in place; when moving Bruno, a player cannot touch the tray he holds or any honey jars already balanced on his head. In either case, the player ends his turn by stacking a new honey jar on the highest jar on Bruno's tray. The honey jars come in six sizes, making stacking tricky; should any jar fall while a player moves Bruno, that player loses one of two honey drops he was given at the start of the game. Once a player loses both honey drops, the game ends and whoever has the most honey drops in hand wins. The HABA edition of Strong Stuff! includes a special die for experienced players in which you're challenged to spin Bruno in place or move him only with your right or left hand. (Note: The HABA edition is for 2-6 players, while Goldsieber's Bärenstark was labeled for 2-4 players.)

Does it fit your group?

• Group size. Works with 2 to 6.
• Rules load. At 1.0/5 this is a light game — explain it in a few minutes, good for a table that has not played much.
• Age. The publisher suggests 5 and up. That rates the rules rather than the artwork, so judge the box yourself for younger players.