Game Review—Kanoodle

by Julia DeKorte | 28 Dec 2023

Book Reviews

Kanoodle

 

Gameplay

Kanoodle is a 3D brain teaser puzzle game that’s played independently. The game pieces, called Noodles, are colorful bead-like circles that are connected to make up different shapes. There are twelve different noodles, each a different color and shape. The game begins with one noodle in a specific place on the puzzle, and the object of the game is to use the remaining noodles to fill in every remaining space on the board.

 

The game does come with different levels of puzzles. First of all, there’s 3D and 2D puzzles—with 2D the player must cover each space of the board and each noodle lays flat. With the 3D puzzles, the player must stack the noodles on top of one another. For each of the 3D and 2D options, there’s different levels that increase in difficulty. However, even after all the levels are completed, the game can still be played by simply playing any noodle in any spot and trying to fill in the rest of the pieces. The fun never ends!

 

History

Kanoodle was created in 2018 by Educational Insights.*

 

Variations

Described above is the original game, but there are many other variations as well. For example, The Kanoodle Pyramid features an oversized, pyramid-shaped, multi-player tabletop board. Kanoodle Head-To-Head is a puzzle challenge for two. Kanoodle Duplexity introduces a magnetic feature, and Kanoodle Extreme incorporates sliding puzzles. Other variations include Kanoodle Genius, Kanoodle Flip, Kanoodle Cosmic, Kanoodle Gravity, Kanoodle Fusion, and Kanoodle Jr.

 

Reception & Awards

Educational Insights came out with the game in 2018, and found a lot of fame on TikTok, a video-based social media platform. Creators posted videos of themselves solving Kanoodle puzzles, and users went wild over the game, and people of all ages started playing it. A tactile brain teaser is great for children, but adults can have a lot of fun with it, too. In fact, Kanoodle Pyramid was a finalist for Toy of the Year in 2023 in the “Grown-Up Toy” category.

 

You can read more about Kanoodle on its product page and Educational Insights by visiting their POP Profile.

 

*Hey you! If you have any information about the invention and development of Kanoodle, please reach out to me at judekorte@gmail.com. I would love to expand on the history of this toy!

kanoodle educational insights brain teasers puzzles 3D puzzles brain games

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