I find there’s something satisfying about 3D puzzle games. Mentally rotating objects and building things makes a change from the decidedly 2D world of most boardgames. N was given Triple Triumph for his 5th birthday. It’s made by the makers of Cranium, but there’s really no similarity. It’s a simple game of stacking bi-coloured pyramids. But this simplicity is appealing as there’s no complex rules or set up, making it a great family game for playing across multiple generations with younger kids.

How it plays.

The game consists of a collection of four sided plastic pyramids with each side being various combinations of either green or purple. Each player draws and starts with three pyramids. In turn they place as many of their pieces on the plastic playing board making sure that only sides of the same colour are touching each other.

Pyramids can be stacked side by side, upside down into the space left when 4 pyramids are placed together, and on top of upside down pyramids as long as touching colours match.

For every pyramid put down, points are scored for every side that is in contact with another pyramid. Placing an upturned pyramid on top of four will score four. Placing a pyramid on top of an upturned one only scores one point but you get to pull another pyramid from the bag and place it that go to score more points if you can. A scoring track is built into the game base so you can move little pegs and keep track of each person’s score as you play.

Triple Triumph is for 2 to 4 players and takes about 10 minutes to play plus or minus a few depending on the number of players and how long people think out their turns. The components are pretty sturdy so should outlast handling by kids for many years.

What we like:

I love games that encourage the development of STEM skills such as mental object rotation. Tripple Triumph takes this concept of positioning pieces found in games such as Blockus/Tetris, and makes it 3D by encouraging players to build upwards.

I can’t help thinking that if this was made of wood, I’d expect to see it in an old holiday cottage, among the likes of solitaire or mancala because although it doesn’t have the strategic weight of such games, it’s simplicity feels ‘classic’. As much as I love thematic games that take you to another world, I also like to have a few simpler, abstract games in the family collection that require no reading or elaborate set up and can appeal across multiple generations. Just the other day, I came home to find N had chosen to play a quick game of Triple Triumph with his Nanna.

Officially it is ages 6+, but if the kids are familiar with building blocks and 3D activities, there should be no problem playing the game with ages 5+, and you could certainly try with slightly younger kids with a little adult assistance. At 5 years, N really enjoys playing Triple Triumph. He can spot moves and identify what would give him the best points but occasionally has to lay a piece to visually check all sides do match.

Triple Triumph is a simple, unassuming little abstract game, but I can see us keeping it in the game rotation for a few more years. There’s not much to it in terms of strategic play instead everyone is really just trying to figure out where to put their pieces for maximum score. Nonetheless, it’s a nice little introduction to abstract games for playing with younger kids.