Wonder Book: the board game that will amaze your children


Once an idyllic paradise, the fate of the kingdom of Oniria now hangs by a thread. Save it, by borrowing the Book of Wonders, the only existing portal to get there. It is the epic of wonder bookour board game of the week.

Ken, Lara, Tina and Sid, four preteens, find themselves projected into a parallel world, the kingdom of Oniria. The latter is in danger. The dragon of darkness, king of the lower world, has banished his brother, the dragon of light, king of the upper world. What will happen to its inhabitants if the balance is not restored? Obviously, you are the only ones who can save the kingdom from chaos.

Source: dvGames

wonder book is a cooperative game where each player embodies one of these children, through an adventure in six chapters. Each character has its own miniature (in chibi and kawaii) and specific skills (the batter, the healer, etc.). Each chapter is represented by a deck of about forty cards. But the main element of the game is a book.

The first chapter, which serves as an introduction to the universe, the scenario, but above all the rules, is played on the back cover of the book, like a game board. We read the cards one after the other. Some tell the story, others explain where to place the different elements on the board, etc. Until you get to an objective card, which details what players need to do to progress.

wonder book
Source: dvGames

In turn, they have three actions, to move, use a skill, attack a monster, interact with a card, etc. Then it’s the turn of the enemies, the villains Wyrms, to act. Beasts and villains, they are content to approach the heroes to hit them. The number of appearances of new Wyrms and actions they have is defined by a deck of cards.

The towers follow one another thus, the heroes act, then the enemies. If you accomplish an objective, you read the rest of the adventure. Choices are sometimes offered (morals from time to time: do we want to help the dragon out of pure goodness of soul or to derive some benefit from it?), which lead to different storyline branches. When a hero loses their last life point, they get them all back, but we return an hourglass token. The game ends in victory if the last objective is achieved, or in defeat if there are no more hourglasses left.

wonder book
Source: dvGames

But it’s the second chapter that really marks the beginning of the game, and introduces the great originality of wonder book : his pop-up book. Indeed, from now on, the games are played inside the book, which reveals a large tree in relief when you open it. We also see elements that we can pull, open, but all of this is only to be manipulated when the scenario asks us to.

The parties follow one another as well, following the story through the six chapters. If we lose, we start again, if we win, we move on to the next one.

Why play wonder book ?

The pop-up book is obviously the center of attention, and is really very successful. The tree in the second chapter is already impressive, but far from the effect wow when we tackle the sixth (which we don’t reveal to you in a photo so as not to spoil the surprise). It is the work of an Italian specialist in the genre, and it shows. The rest of the material does not have to be ashamed, in particular the very pretty figurines. Even if, let’s face it, their base is too wide to be able to accommodate several of them on the squares of the board (small wooden cubes would have been more practical, but obviously less attractive).

But what about the mechanics, the story? It depends.

wonder book
Source: dvGames

It depends… who you’re playing with. Mechanically, the game is very simple, very family-friendly. You never need to go back to the rulebook, everything is clear, limpid, and the games flowing. The scenario, very childish, may however leave you hungry. We can’t recommend it if you only plan to play it with adults. With children on the other hand (between 8 and 12 years old), they will be amazed. Everything is done to hang them: heroes of their age, beautiful material, a story to follow, and, of course, the pages of the book in relief.

wonder book
Source: dvGames

The pop-up still adds a significant impact on the price of the game, which rises to 60 euros (like all books of the genre, much more expensive than a classic book). Once you have reached the end of the six chapters, you can start the game again, making other choices, leading to a different conclusion. But the element of surprise has passed. It’s up to you to see if it’s worth the effort to play it with your children. In our opinion, yes, clearly, if your budget allows it.

wonder book is therefore a very nice family game, original, with action, a story to follow, a lot of chance, and magnificent material. If we have some reservations about playing it between adults, because of its overly simplistic scenario, it is on the other hand a very nice gift idea to play it as a family with your children.

  • wonder bookis a game by Martino Chiacchiera and Michele Piccolini
  • Illustrated by Miguel Coimbra
  • Published by dV Games
  • For 1 to 4 players from 10 years old
  • For games of about 90 minutes
  • Priced at €62.95 at Philibert

The verdict

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