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Grab your surfboard, slap on some sunscreen, and get ready to ride the wildest waves with a bunch of radical dinosaurs. In Surfosaurus MAX, it’s all about choosing the right waves, or rather the right cards, to rack up the highest scores. But be careful, as your dino rivals are trying to do the same, and they might just ride your wave to victory.
👥 2-6 players, ages 8+
⌛ Playing time: 20 minutes
📝 Designer: Ikhwan Kwon
🎨 Artwork: Lisa Goldstein & Matthias Mödl
🏢 Publisher: Bandjo (Dutch/French version, review copy provided by Geronimo Games)
Gameplay Overview
Each player starts with a surfboard and a hand of seven dino cards. On your turn, you’ll pick one of your cards and lay it above your board, hoping to set yourself up for the best scoring combo. Then, you draw a new card to keep your hand at seven.
Once everyone has played two or three cards, depending on the player count, it’s time to see who’s riding the biggest wave. Winning combos include the highest total value, consecutive numbers, same color sets, same-number pairs, and the legendary Surfosaurus MAX, which is a straight flush, dino-style. Only the best possible combination scores points, so even if you almost had a great combo, it might not count if someone else surfed a bigger wave.
Players with unique cards in the winning combo score full points, marked with a whole coconut. But if multiple players contributed the same card, like tying numbers in a straight, they split the score, earning half a coconut each. Sharing is caring, but not in competitive dino surfing.
After five, six, or eight rounds, depending on the number of players, the dino with the most coconuts wins and is crowned the best surfer of the pack.
Our Thoughts
Surfosaurus MAX is quick, easy, and full of fun little twists. It plays in fifteen to twenty minutes, making it a great filler game that’s light on rules but big on laughs.
One of the coolest parts is messing with your opponents. You can subtly, or not-so-subtly, try to convince them to play certain cards. Maybe even trick them into helping you score big. But don’t get too greedy. Some cards have higher coconut values than others, meaning it might be smarter to deny an opponent points rather than helping them complete a high-scoring combo.
In our house, Surfosaurus MAX is a hit. It’s the perfect mix of strategy, luck, and a little bit of friendly trickery. The card shapes and hilarious artwork of surfing dinos bring even more fun to the table, because honestly, who doesn’t love a T-Rex on a surfboard?
If you love games that are easy to learn, fun to play, and full of little moments of tactical chaos, Surfosaurus MAX is a fantastic pick. It’s got just the right amount of player interaction and strategic decision-making to keep things interesting without ever feeling overwhelming.
📝 We received a review copy of the game from Geronimo Games.
