We Adore The Muppet Christmas Carol Spirit of Giving
“This game is fun,” my 7-year-old daughter said. “We should play it on Christmas!” And thus ends my review of The Muppet Christmas Carol: Spirit of Giving Game. What more needs to be said? Mission accomplished. November’s Game of the Month was decided in that moment.
Funko has a magnificent line of Christmas-themed card games at this point. They choose a beloved Christmas film, craft a simple-to-learn family card game around it, and package it into a very cute box complete with a festive Christmas bow. So far, family favorites have included Elf, Frosty the Snowman, and The Nightmare Before Christmas. They’re perfect little stocking-stuffers - and they just keep making more.
I suppose Funko is no stranger to the concept of being attractive to a collector’s mentality either, and I know I can’t resist a single one of these cute little Christmas boxes - even if they aren’t even based off of a favorite movie. It’s a real Pokemon gotta catch ‘em all situation. But, believe it or not, this year they’ve released a game based on my very favorite Christmas movie of all time. It’s the one movie I insist on watching every single year - The Muppet Christmas Carol.
I haven’t been this excited about the property since Luke Flowers illustrated his masterpiece as a passion project. And, best of all, it’s a great game! My wife, my son, and my daughter all love playing it - and that’s by no means a given with games these days. In fact, it’s something not to be taken for granted!
The game is subtitled The Spirit of Giving, and it’s built around the concept that helping others can be an important part of winning. That’s a cute concept considering the lessons learned by Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. But it’s easier said than done building a strategic game around helping others.
How to Play The Muppet Christmas Carol Spirit of Giving
The Muppet Christmas Carol is a set-making game, but you aren’t merely trying to complete a set of 3 cards for yourself. You can also complete the 3-card sets of your opponents. Completing your own set (3 of the same color or 3 of the same character) allows you to draw a random present worth a random number of points.
However, if you complete the set of your opponent, you get to draw 2 presents, and you get to look at their value this time. After this, you can keep the present worth the most points for yourself, and give the other one to the person whose set you finished. This is the clever way that giving is rewarded. It’s certainly the best way to ensure you score the highest points possible, but you still have to be strategic and discerning about who you choose to help.
Both my 11-year-old and 7-year-old picked up on the rules very quickly, and as the game unfolded they began to enjoy it more and more. And the reason for this is that as the game goes along, you are given more and more options on your turn.
In the beginning of the game, you only have access to the Scrooge card, and this corresponds to a certain move. Choosing the Scrooge card allows you to draw from the draw pile, and swap that card with a card in front of any player. But as the draw pile begins to deplete, the cards of the 3 spirits (Past, Present, and Yet to Come) are revealed - and each one provides you with a new move option on your turn.
The “Past” card allows you to draw your card from the discard pile, the “Present” card allows you to swap any two cards in front of players, and the “Yet to Come” card lets you peek at an upside down card in front of someone as a bonus action. I really like the way these rules are gradually introduced, because I think it was a great way for my kids to learn on our first playthrough. By the time the Spirit of Yet to Come came out, my son was visibly excited to learn what his power was.
The game ends when all of the presents have been taken, or when the draw pile runs out. And whoever has the most points from the presents wins the game. It’s a quick game too, especially after everyone is familiar with the rules. You can easily finish in about 15 minutes, and I think that’s great for this type of family card game. It’s nice for all of these Christmas card games to be bite-sized, allowing for multiple rounds or switching to new games several times.
Of course when you’re excited about a game based on a beloved property like this, you’re also hoping the presentation is spot on - and I have absolutely no complaints about the art in this one. Unfortunately I can’t figure out who the artist is who should be getting credit for the cards and box art - but they’ve definitely captured the Muppet Christmas love in a special way.
I’m quite pleased now that we’ve officially completed the trifecta for The Muppet Christmas Carol - the movie, the picture book, and the family game. It has the makings of a yearly Muppet Christmas Carol challenge - and I’m pretty sure we’re up to the task! Do you think you can complete the trifecta challenge?
Are you excited about Funko’s newest Christmas game? What’s your favorite holiday game? Let us know in the comments!
