Toc Toc Woodman - Tips & Strategies

Sometimes it’s better to setup your opponent to get the negative points from the core. It can be tough to do but getting a core to balance on the edge just waiting to fall off from their hit can cost them some much needed points.

It’s a risky move but the lower their score is, the easier it is for you to win with little effort towards the end of the game.

Originally, I saw a demo of the game by the creator of the game. In that version of the game the bark is 1 point and the ring is -5. You can play till all bark has been collected or all rings get knocked off. This is slightly longer but a little more skill is involved.

I really enjoy the quick playtime (under 10 minutes) and fast pace of the game, as well as the regular requests to play again following the first few games.

What I don’t like: how long the tree can take to set back up between plays.

Here are a couple of ways I’ve found to keep the action going by speeding up the rebuild of the tree:

Two hands = Two pieces of bark

Basic, but effective. Instead of fitting one piece of bark at a time, fit two pieces in at once, one with each hand. I find it works best to place the pieces on opposite sides, keeping the core from moving too much while fitting the pieces.

Get the kids involved (or any other players) involved

Don’t stick one person with all of the building (you’re not Johnny Appleseed after all…) Younger players can easily be roped into assembling pieces. Even if older players aren’t volunteering, I’ve found the simple act of pushing a pile of pieces towards them while you’re assembling will do the trick (or, you could of course just ask them to help).

Game ends with pieces ready to go

The most effective method, have people assemble their collected pieces as they collect them. Not only will this make the next setup incredibly quick, but it makes scoring faster as well. With a quick glance, you can see how many fully filled cores each player has, with extra bark off to the side.

Summary

For a 10 minute game, every minute spent setting up for another play feels longer than for games with greater play times. Having a tree set up in under 1 minute will keep the gaming going.