A Goofy Movie Game review — Great artwork and nostalgia aren’t enough to save the rather simple gameplay

A Goofy Movie is an iconic animated classic released in 1995, which unfortunately has never been given the credit it’s due by Disney despite many of us who grew up with the movie still belting out the undeniably catchy “I 2 I” in our everyday lives on a weekly basis. That said, the movie has remained relevant due to its near cult status among children of the early 90’s, culminating in a new board game that hopes to capture the magic of the movie in tabletop form.

Unfortunately, while decently fun for a round or two, Funko Games A Goofy Movie Game never quite feels like anything more than a quick cash-in on a popular movie. Granted, I may not be the intended audience, as the game quite clearly feels geared towards a younger audience, but I still should be a bit more entertained while playing.

That’s not to say there isn’t some merit to the game. The game board and components all capture the aesthetic of the film and feel decently well-made for the price range. The back of the board can be used as a poster for Powerline, while the front of the board features the iconic road map from the movie. There are six figurines included: Max, Roxanne, P.J., and Bobby are playable while Powerline and Goofy only move based on die rolls. The scrapbook cards, character decks, and bonus tokens are all well-made, colorful, and feature artwork from the film.

Players begin on the right side of the map and must work their way to LA for the Powerline concert, meanwhile Powerline has his own route he must traverse to reach the concert, while Goofy hangs out near the scrapbook cards and moves based on dice rolls, allowing players to pull a card from the space he is currently residing in when the dice lands on his face. After each player chooses their character, they then take the appropriate character deck which will determine how each turn plays out. Each character deck card is either blue, red, orange, or green in color, has a number in the top left corner, and states how many spaces a player can move.

The scrapbook cards are then separated by color and placed in their designated spots at the top of the board and the bonus tokens are placed in the appropriate spots on the road map. Upon the start of each turn, each player chooses one card from their character deck and places it face down in front of them. All players then flip their cards over at the same time. If two or more players have a card with matching colors, then the highest number of that color wins and gets to draw the top scrapbook card from the matching-colored deck at the top of the board. If a player is the only one with their color, then they will draw the appropriate colored scrapbook card.  After removal, scrapbook cards must be immediately replaced with a new card from the top of the scrapbook card deck. Scrapbook cards each feature a symbol on the bottom that awards points during the end game, and which can be worth bonus points based on bonus token criteria being met.

Next, players will look at the instructions at the bottom of their cards and move the appropriate number of spaces on the board. The board contains colored pins, which allow the player to collect scrapbook cards of the appropriate color, die spaces, which allow players to roll the die, and bonus spaces, which award bonus points at the end of the game for matching specific sets of criteria. For the most part, players are free to move in whatever direction they please, which adds a bit of strategy to the proceedings. The only real goal is to make it to the concert before Powerline, but even if Powerline does reach the venue first, everybody simply proceeds to the endgame. I’d assume that most players will head toward the nearest bonus tokens and then attempt to match up scrapbook cards accordingly, and since there are only six bonus tokens available, players may find themselves in a race to secure as many as possible. Bonus tokens award additional points for specific scrapbook card symbols in a player’s hand.

When a die space is landed on, that player must roll the die and see whether they land on a Powerline symbol or a Goofy symbol. When a Powerline symbol is rolled, then the Powerline figure moves one step closer to LA. When Goofy is rolled then he moves to the next colored scrapbook card space on the board. Play then moves on to the next player.

Once a player reaches LA, they choose a seat in the venue which awards points. The first player to reach the venue will receive the highest point boost, with each player who arrives after receiving a slightly lower point boost. Players will then remain in the venue and play as normal, aside from moving their figures, until Powerline reaches the venue. Once Powerline is at the venue each player totals up their cards, awarding additional points for meeting the criteria of each bonus token in their hand, and then the player with the highest point count wins.

The game is fast-paced and simple to pick up and play by nearly anybody. While mildly fun, there is just not enough strategy to make A Goofy Movie an essential party game or really, a game worth playing more than a few times. Sure, players can fight over bonus tokens and attempt to match up scrapbook cards with their collected tokens, but in the end, the game is over so quickly it feels like it barely had a chance to start. Most playthroughs last only 15 minutes, especially once players are comfortable with the movement and card functions and feel as if there is not enough time to properly strategize or do anything aside from heading directly toward the end goal.

Still, A Goofy Movie is worth playing once or twice just for the nostalgia it invokes, though I doubt if most players will leave the game in their regular rotation after the nostalgia has worn off.

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