I’m a gamer, always have been. Problem is for a large number of years that’s really just consisted of the video variety. That’s a huge mistake on my part, to not enjoy the video game’s analog brethren… the board game. There’s actually a vibrant and intense board game world out there that’s been pushed to the sidelines by game players such as ourselves for too long. In this column I’ll be diving into this world, looking at games that hopefully you’d like to try out for yourself.

We’ve taken a bit of a break the last few weeks from the old Analog Games but we’re back with a game that scratches not only the analog game itch but the dexterity one as well! When one thinks about board games, the idea that you’d need some sort of hand-eye coordination to win is something of a strange idea. I mean, take a look at the games we’ve looked at so far here at Analog Games Corner; you need a grasp of the rules, general strategy and an idea on how the game’s engine operates in order to claim victory. Well there’s a small (though still substantial) group of board games known as “dexterity” games that rely much less on rules and game systems and more on physical ability.

Now obviously physical ability doesn’t mean running a 100yard dash or some nonsense… I’m talking about flicking! In the case of Bisikle, that means flicking a most interesting ball around a track simulating a bike race.

Bisikle is quite simply a bicycle racing game. The point of the game is to simply win the race by getting your cyclist around the track first (or complete however many laps you want). Everyone takes turns flicking something the game calls a “Z-Ball” around the track and placing their little cyclist wherever the ball stops. It’s quite simple rules wise and won’t scare any non-gamers away from the table.

Bisikle is based on a game that was typically played on the beaches of France by creating a “track” in the sand and then flicking marbles around said track to see who could do it the fastest. The sand allows players to spin and change direction and even stop the marble on inclines and declines. Replicating this indoors away from the beach would mean more than just selling some track pieces and a few marbles. Hence what they call the “Z-ball”. Simply put, it’s a hollow marble sized ball that has a smaller ball inside of it with backwards dimples (think opposite of golf ball). In between those two layers are small ball bearings. The ball bearings keep it weighted at the bottom which allows it to both stop and sit still (even on inclines and declines) but if flicked with some spin will make the ball change direction while it’s in motion.

The “Z-Ball” really is something neat to watch move and once you get a chance to flick it a few times you start to see the possibilities for controlling it’s motion. Of course, it’s another thing altogether to actually control it but that will come from lots and lots of practice. It’s sort of like a really good billiards player, they can have crazy control over the pool balls… there’s definitely a similar idea here. This possibility of control puts this game above something like Pitchcar for me.

The game comes with 16 total track pieces (totaling 13ft!), with a variety of turn and straight pieces that snap together however you’d like. There’s also some railings to keep the ball on the track around bends or wherever you want as well as some risers if you want the track to rise and fall a bit. You even get a ramp! All told you get a ton of pieces for the money and the included pieces give you tons of options for building different tracks. Of course there’s expansion packs with more pieces if you want to get into the realm of “epic” tracks!

One of the more popular dexterity games out there is Pitchcar, which I mentioned last year during my holidays buyers guide and involves contructing a track out of particle board and flicking discs that represent cars around the track. It’s a fun game to be sure but suffers from 2 sorta-big problems. It’s expensive and the track pieces often require some modification to line up exactly (if they don’t the discs go flying when you hit the seams). Bisikle faces both of these problems head on and solves them both. The pieces snap together and come apart easily and lie perfectly flat. Even putting the risers underneath don’t create gaps at the seams that will mess you up. Pitchcar often requires some glue or cutting to get everything perfect, but this plays great right out of the box.

I was amazed at how much you got in the box for the price of the game. 13 feet of track, railings, a ramp, risers, the ball, 4 cyclists and more. You can really play as many people as you want even though the game comes with 4 cyclists (heck, the cyclists are really just markers since you flick the ball…. you could use a penny to mark your spot). The quality of the components is quite frankly fantastic and will definitely put up with quite a bit of abuse. This is one you could bring along to any group of people, kids or adults. If you are looking for a racing dexterity game then I’m confident in telling you Bisikle is the game you want in your collection.

Bisikle was published by CEPIA games in 2009. You can buy it at these at Funagaingames.com or at your Friendly Local Game Store.