FTW Staff Picks - Chicken Cha Cha Cha

Memory and matching are very common mechanics used in many Children's games. It practices important and fundamental skills in early childhood development. Finding games that create an engaging experience to wrap it in isn't always the easiest of tasks. Chicken Cha Cha manages to not only be intriguing as a children's learning exercise, but a competitive one for adults.

Each player controls a Chicken with a single tailfeather. The Chickens cha-cha along a dancefloor of egg-shaped tiles with images on them. Each image matches an octagonal-tile in the center of the circle. In order to move, players need to find the octagonal-tile that matches the egg-shaped one in front of their Chicken. If successful, they can attempt to find the next tile in sequence to continue moving. Their turn ends if no match is found. The goal is to jump ahead of Chickens to collect their tailfeathers. The player who collects all of the tailfeathers wins the game.

Chicken Cha Cha Cha is as much about rhythm and momentum as it is about memory. There's just enough tiles to make things challenging for any age group. Stringing together chains of correct matches feels rewarding. There's also an unnerving risk to stealing tailfeathers without claiming victory. It puts you in a very vulnerable position.

Chicken Cha Cha Cha is not quite as technically impressive as something like The Magic Labyrinth, but it's every bit as exciting. One misstep can seal your fate. And in any game where the stakes feel elevated, it only serves to further enhance each victory.