Tabletop Game Review: The Game of Dash

The Game of Dash is a fast-moving matching game in which players work to be the first to complete a sequence. Its tagline “color-speed-chance” defines the game well: Players use their utmost dexterity to flip over differently colored discs, hoping that the one they pick will be the one they need.

Players will pick up the straightforward rules of The Game of Dash in minutes. For each round, players take nine green-backed discs in hand and, at the shout of “Go!”, put them into a three-by-three grid. They then flip over discs one at a time or in combination, searching to find the right disc to match the next required color in a sequence. The first player to complete the sequence wins the round and flips a “DASH” disc. Rounds continue until someone flips all four of their DASH discs to win the game.

While speed and chance are major components, there is also room for strategy thanks to the game’s unique mechanic of having variables in the sequences. The eight round cards set up very different scenarios. Some are exact, such as making a line of red-blue-purple-yellow. Others make use of variable colors, with a round being a blue, red, or green followed by a pink, yellow, or green followed by purple, red, or green. Players then will not be looking out for a single color, but a potential range of them. With the multiple-disc rounds, it can be good practice at keeping many things in mind.

A key point of strategy is recognizing that there are three greens and two reds to each player’s set of discs, meaning greens are the easiest to find. Depending only on searching for greens, however, may end up with a player accidentally skipping over a disc that could have been used to help complete the sequence. For any players who may have trouble distinguishing between colors, adding a few symbols to the discs with a pen will certainly resolve the issue.

Memory, too, is an important component. As players complete one color in the sequence, they must then begin searching for the next color. If they have already turned up one and can remember where it was, they will be all the speedier in finding it and moving on.

The Game of Dash is a matching game for ages five and up. Each game bag has enough components for two to six players, but with the nature of the game being individual players racing against everyone, it is expandable simply by adding more player packs. This makes it a fun activity for classrooms or clubs in which big groups can play with everyone taking a part. Its strong educational components of pattern-recognition and manual dexterity make it great practice for young and old alike.