Chicken Vs Hotdog review: The bonkers flip ‘em and stick ‘em family game

Overall ranking: 4.5/5

Price on writing: £25 | Buy now from Amazon

What we like

• Easy to set up

• Suitable for the whole family

• Great fun to play

• A great game to take on holiday

• Great for parties

What we don’t like

• Flipping can take a bit of practice

• Chicken and hotdog can get damaged with overuse

Key specs

No. of players: 2-10 | Ages: 8+ | Difficulty: Easy | Game duration: 20 minutes | Set up time: Less than 5 minutes

Our verdict

Simple, silly but oh so entertaining, Chicken Vs Hotdog is great for family gatherings, it can be slipped into your suitcase to take away and some hotdog trick shots after a few glasses of wine are an absolute hoot.

The game is easy to understand, so even children under the recommended age of eight can get involved, and there is very little setting up involved. It may take a while to discover the knack of flipping a rubber chicken in the air and getting it to stick the landing, but once you’ve mastered the art, it’s a thoroughly addictive family game. 

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How we tested

We took Chicken Vs Hotdog to my sister-in-law’s house for a family gathering. The game was tested by four adults, all aged in their 40s and 50s, and four kids and teens, aged five, six, 17 and 19.

What’s in the box?

• 1 rubber chicken

• 1 rubber hotdog

• 24 Challenge Cards

• 24 Bidding Cards

• 12 Character Cards

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Is Chicken Vs Hotdog easy to set up?

Chicken Vs Hotdog takes mere minutes to set up.  Place the Challenge Cards on the table, choose your sling ‘em of choice - team chicken or team hotdog - then deal the corresponding Character Cards to build your hero, with the grey side facing up. Finally take the set of Bidding Cards, shuffle them and draw four at random, keeping them hidden from the opposing player(s). 

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How do you play Chicken Vs Hotdog?

The concept is simple - it’s basically the bottle flipping challenge, but with two goofy cartoon characters instead of bottles. 

Turn over a Challenge Card to reveal which challenge the teams have to undertake, with options including an eyes-closed flip, underleg flip and over-the-shoulder flip, among others. The team then picks one of the four Bidding Cards to show how much (or how little!) they want to attempt the challenge. The winner gets to attempt the challenge, with the goal to land the sling ‘em upright on its sucker. If both teams bid the same, it’s Flipperama Time when both teams start flipping with the team reaching the required number of flips the fastest gaining the point. Every time a team wins a point, one of the Character Cards is flipped over. The winner is the first to six.

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Is Chicken Vs Hotdog a good family game?

Yes! We loved Chicken Vs Hotdog. It felt impossible to play at first, but once everyone had done a few practice throws and got the hang of it, it was great fun.

The game is recommended for ages 8-plus but my 6-year-old got the hang of it very quickly and thoroughly enjoyed the flipping. My five-year-old on the other hand struggled to get the flipping action right and wandered off to do something else, so it really does depend on the child.

Although it is a family game, there were a few giggles from the so-called adults at the hotdog, which is probably one design tweak away from being something you’d find at a hen night. Once they had composed themselves, they threw themselves into proceedings wholeheartedly. The joy on the face of a 50-year-old with a dodgy knee, who just managed to lift her leg high enough to flip and land a trick shot in one with a rubber chicken, is truly a sight to behold.

We noticed that the blue started to rub off the chicken’s plumage in a couple of places after an afternoon of use, which was a bit of a surprise as Big Potato Games are good quality. Unfortunately the hotdog came to a bit of a sad demise after a group of over-excited six-year-olds got hold of him and a tug-of-war ensued. This was down to sheer abuse, but demonstrates why the game is best for kids aged eight-years-old and up. Thankfully, spare hotdogs are available from the Big Potato Games website, so all is not lost.

Overall, I highly recommend Chicken Vs Hotdog for family fun, with or without the kids. It is flipping fantastic.

Looking for some more family board game fun? Check out our review of the udderly-addictive Herd Mentality.

About the author

Laura Cooke is a Content Editor at Mumsnet, with a special focus on child’s play, outdoor play and toddler play content.

Laura started writing Swears By articles for Mumsnet in 2021, writing buyers guides and product reviews to help Mumsnetters make informed choices when it comes to parting with their pennies.

Laura is also a freelance journalist and has written articles for publications including the Daily Mirror, the i, Metro, Stylist and Happiful magazine.

About Mumsnet Reviews

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