In Hens from Little Rocket Games, players become poultry breeders trying to create the most beautiful and harmonious backyard. This is one of the titles by Italian designer, illustrator, and publisher Giampaolo Razzino, which made its way to us during this year’s Planszówki w Spodku convention—and it immediately caught attention, because honestly, who doesn’t love chickens? 😀 Let’s take a closer look!
Gameplay
Inside the box you’ll find 72 chicken cards (8 breeds in different colors), 4 rooster tokens, 6 goal cards, and, of course, the rulebook.
Each player builds their own chicken coop using 12 cards arranged in a 3×4 or 4×3 grid.
At the start of each turn, you hold 4 chicken cards in your hand. Then, you go through three simple steps:
- Draw two cards—you can take them from the deck or from the face-up discard piles of other players, in any combination.
- Play one card into your coop. The card must be placed adjacent to another and follow two simple rules:
- same color → any number,
- different color → number exactly 1 higher or lower.
- Discard one card onto your personal discard pile.
If you can’t (or don’t want to) play a card legally, you can place it face down instead—it still fills a space in your coop but will cost you 1 point at the end of the game.
After six rounds (halfway through the game), each player places a rooster token on one of their cards. This marks the group of chickens that will be scored separately at the end of the game.
When all coops are complete, it’s time for scoring:
- Largest group of chickens of the same color → 1 egg = 1 point.
- Rooster group → also 1 egg = 1 point, as long as it’s not the same group scored above.
- Medals → every 3 medals earn 2 points.
- Face-down cards (coops) → each is worth -1 point.
- Goal cards → can add or subtract points depending on how well you meet their specific conditions.
Review
Hens is an abstract set collection and tile placement card game with a bit of hand management and open drafting. The blend of mechanics works so well that it even gives off a faint Reiner Knizia vibe—though the interaction here is much more relaxed.
The rules are simple, but in practice every card placement demands spatial planning and thinking several moves ahead. It pays to keep track of which cards are still in play, to see if your chosen strategy can realistically work out, and to watch your opponents—the card you need might be heading straight into their coop! There’s also a nice touch of indirect interaction when taking cards from others’ discard piles, but the most crucial part is observing what the others are doing so you don’t accidentally give them the perfect card they need for free.
A clever twist comes from choosing the rooster group halfway through the game. You can’t let that group end up being your largest one by the end—otherwise, you lose valuable points. This forces players to develop two parallel groups while also keeping their goal card in mind.
Big kudos for the production quality—from the very first look, you can tell the game was made with care. The illustrations are full of charm and personality, and the chickens themselves are delightful. Add in the simple rules and quick setup, and you’ve got a great family game or a light filler between heavier titles. It scales well at all player counts, with no clear weak spots.
Summary
Hens is a quick, light, and charming logic game. The rules are easy to grasp, but good scoring requires careful observation of opponents, smart card placement, and flexibility in reacting to the evolving board. A bit of luck doesn’t hurt either—especially when you’re hoping to draw that one missing chicken.
