Disclosure: Meeple Mountain received a free copy of this product in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. This review is not intended to be an endorsement.
Here’s my early assessment of the Chris Couch Games catalog: comfy.
Jingle Bell Roll is the second game I’ve reviewed from Chris Couch, after my foray into the garden with Garden Club a few weeks ago. Jingle Bell Roll is holiday Yahtzee, both in terms of feel and in terms of its ruleset, as players try to score the most points across five rounds by using sets of gingerbread cookies, milk, gifts, bells, holiday wishlists and stockings to put together winning rolls.
Designed by Marcus Ross—a co-designer of the 2023 Ravensburger title The Lord of the Rings Adventure Book Game—Jingle Bell Roll is so cozy that the word “cozy” is used in the BGG description of the game. Across plays with my family and with my “review crew”, Jingle Bell Roll announces itself as a light, friendly filler right away.
Each player is given a cute, well-illustrated character card with a once-per-round power. When one player scores gift rolls, other players get bonus action cards. Players who roll exactly two Santa’s List faces can score seven points…because “he’s making a list, and checking it twice”, as the song goes. There are so many ways to generate rerolls in this game that it’s surprising how often players CANNOT do exactly what they want on their turn.
Jingle Bell Roll even has an instant win mechanic tied into the rules: if a player rolls seven bells on their turn, they instantly win the game, regardless of their score. (We got as close as six on a single turn.)
The Christmas dice used here are cute. Turns are fast and breezy, as players roll the seven Christmas dice and can reroll anything except bells to score. The character bonuses are situationally useful, but none are gamebreaking. Jingle Bell Roll accommodates 2-6 players without any changes to its rules based on the player count.
Jingle Bell Roll never elicited “wow” moments from players, be it from review crew members or with my family. But everyone thought it was solid; a peaceful way to spend 20-30 minutes, even if you get blown off the table by someone who rolls decidedly better (luckier?) than you did.
That leaves it in a great place. If you are looking for a holiday-themed game to share with friends and your “muggle” gamers, Jingle Bell Roll fits, especially for any family familiar with the Yahtzee dice mechanic. And the production—the art, the storage solution, the rules, the tidy playspace—is top notch. Chris Couch Games is on the rise, people!
