Forever Home Board Game Review

Written By Alexandra Sonechkina

Following the release of Dog Park, a relaxing, yet competitive, game about walking dogs, designer duo Lottie and Jack Hazell continue the dog-friendly theme with their latest game for all the family, Forever Home. Apart from obviously heavily featuring the goodest boys and girls, both games share a few similarities.

Forever Home vs Dog Park

Both, for example, have elements of set collection and reward players for majorities in different categories. In Dog Park, players are gathering different dogs for a walk, in Forever Home, the theme is more poignant, you gain points for re-homing dogs with new families in city, suburb, countryside or foster homes. The objectives – collecting sets of dog breeds for each area - are dealt randomly, so they will change slightly each game, however, the general goal – earn the most points - remains the same. Yet before players can send dogs to their new home, they will need to give them some training, which in game translates to arranging the dog tiles in a certain pattern on the player’s squared board. The patterns are determined by the cards, which when scored will also earn points as well as specify exactly how many dogs from the scoring pattern can be rehomed.

How to play Forever Home

Forever Home is simple to play. On a turn, a player can do two of the three of the actions: pick up and place a dog, take a card or move an already placed dog tile one space on their boards. The patterns are not complicated, the trickiest part is drawing the dogs you need out of the bag. More advanced players can try positioning dog tiles in such a way that the same dogs can be used in multiple combinations, yet while certainly helpful, elaborate sequencing of tiles and scoring cards is not required to win the game. Any decision within the game is always a bit of a gamble. As the pattern cards and dog tiles are drawn randomly, there is no guarantee you will get exactly what you need when you need it. Gambling to complete a long set or a large pattern can pay off, but going for smaller, more reliable patterns is also always an option. Forever Home is not a game for planning turns ahead, it is about making the best decision possible on your turn and taking risks occasionally.

Forever Home Game Review

Forever Home moves away from the watercolour art style of Dog Park into more conventionally cartoon-like illustrations. Yet it remains a very pretty game, where the functionality of the tiles and boards mixes with the playful depiction of dogs on the cards. The theme, while successfully tying elements of the gameplay together, is still surface level. The actions you do feel more like mechanisms of the gameplay rather than the actual experience of rehoming dogs. However, here I will put all the cards on the table, as a parent of an adopted pup myself, even the words ‘forever home’ hit an emotional note. Having been to the kennels and gone through an adoption process, even the simple act of moving a dog tile to a place where it finds a new home touches the heartstrings. This, of course, is not an experience every player will have. For some Forever Home might just be a family game with easy to learn rules, a light competitive spirit and cute art. Yet, if the theme resonates, Forever Home has the potential to become a very special game. 

Should you play Forever Home?

Yes. 

Forever Home is the game you take off the game shelf when the whole family assembles. It is easy to learn, has a likeable theme and adorable illustrations and its gameplay doesn’t outstay its welcome.

If you are a dog lover, you probably already have Dog Park. And if you have Dog Park, then Forever Home is a no-brainer.

What's on the box?

Designer: Lottie Hazell, Jack Hazell

Publisher: Birdwood Games

Time: 20-45 minutes

Players: 1-5

Ages: 9+

Price: £33

What’s in the box?

• Shelter Commendation Board
• 5 Player Boards
• 13 Home Cards
• 50 Training Cards
• 16 Solo Trainer Challenge Card
• Solo Round Tracker Cube
• Cloth Bag
• 98 Dog Tokens
• 7 Screen Printed Wooden Dog Meeples
• Scorepad
• Rulebook