Binca's Count Your Chickens, the box our link goes toPhoto: Binca Games
What's in the boxPhoto: Binca Games
Fence in chickens, avoid foxesPhoto: Binca Games
How the tiles scorePhoto: Binca Games
The box back says Made in IndiaPhoto: Binca Games
Video

Family game

Count Your Chickens

Place fences to scoop up chickens, but keep the foxes out

2–4players · best with 2-4
20–30 minplaying time
7+recommended age
Learning curve
Very easy1 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Mostly skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
High
Set-up
About 2 min
Reading
None

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Children from about 7 who enjoy dots and boxes and are ready for a game with a twist

Think twice if Your children are under 6; the box says 7 and up

How we rate it

Learning curve. One move a turn, placing a stick, and a single rule for who takes a closed tile. Thinking ahead takes practice, but the rules are as quick to learn as Connect 4, so it sits at 1 on our scale.

Luck & skill. Once the tiles are on the board, nothing is hidden and there are no dice; the only luck is where the tiles happen to lie.

Interaction. Every stick on a shared edge counts for two tiles, so players are always racing for and spoiling the same tiles.

Set-up. Fill the board with the 36 tiles face up and hand each player a colour of fence sticks.

Reading. Tiles and sticks are pictures and colours; only the rules are in English.

Learning curve: 1 = UNO or Connect 4; 3 = Catan; 5 = a heavy strategy game. These describe the experience, not an overall score.

Is Count Your Chickens right for you?

Great if

  • Children from about 7 who enjoy dots and boxes and are ready for a game with a twist
  • Family evenings where grandparents, parents and children can all play on equal terms
  • Practising planning ahead, spatial thinking and adding up a score
  • A birthday or Rakhi gift that isn't a screen

Skip it if

  • Your children are under 6; the box says 7 and up
  • You want a big group game; it takes 2 to 4 players
  • Someone at home hates slow, thinking turns; each move is a small puzzle

How Count Your Chickens plays

Lay the double-sided board on the table and fill it with the 36 square box tiles, face up, so everyone can see which tiles hold chickens and which hold foxes. Each player takes a set of fence sticks in their own colour; the box has four sets of 42.

  • Time to teach: about 5 minutes.
  • Reading and language: The tiles show chickens and foxes and the fences are plain coloured sticks, so nobody reads during play. Only the rules on the box and in the manual are in English, and the game is easy to explain in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam or any language at home.
Fence in chickens, avoid foxes · Photo: Binca Games

Bincas' Count your Chickens - How to play| English | Family / Friends / Kids / Group fun game · Shanat's RealmO'Games

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A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Fence

    Place one of your coloured sticks on any empty side of a chicken or fox tile.

  2. 2
    Scoop

    When a tile is fully fenced, whoever has the most sticks around it takes it; a tie goes to the player who closed it.

  3. 3
    Win

    When every tile is taken, add up your chickens, subtract your foxes, and the highest score wins.

Read the official rulesCount Your Chickens: Binca's product page (rules printed on the box back) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Count Your Chickens goes

On your turn, place one of your fence sticks on any empty side of a tile. Bit by bit, players build fences around the tiles they want, and every stick on a shared edge counts for the tiles on both sides of it.

When the last side of a tile is filled, the tile is closed. Whoever has the most sticks around it takes the tile, which Binca calls scooping 'em up; if players tie, the tile goes to the player who placed the closing stick. That is the twist on dots and boxes: closing a box doesn't win it unless you also have the most fences round it.

The game ends when every tile has been closed and taken. Everyone adds up the value of the chicken tiles they won, and foxes count against you, so fencing in a fox along with your chickens can cost you. The highest total wins.

For parents: a seven-year-old can usually play on their own after one game; adults may only need to help with adding up the score at the end. The game builds planning, spatial thinking and counting. A tip to share: before you place a stick, check which tiles it touches, because you may be setting up a tile for someone else.

What's in the box

What's in the box · Photo: Binca Games
  • 1Double-sided game board
  • 36Box tiles
    chickens and foxes
  • 168Coloured fence sticks
    4 sets of 42, one colour per player
  • 1Instruction manual

Box: 28.4 × 28.3 × 5.3 cm, 0.88 kg. Handy to know for gifting and travel.

Contents are from Binca's product page for the game: 1 double-sided game board, 36 box tiles, 4 sets of 42 coloured fence sticks and an instruction manual. Binca's contents picture shows the same parts, and the rules are also printed on the box back. There is only one edition that we know of.

Where to buy

Check price on Amazon.in
How to make sure you get a genuine copyEditions and the details worth checking.

About the editions

Count Your Chickens is published by Binca Games, a games company based in Mumbai, and its box says Made in India, so there is no imported version to look for. Our Amazon.in link goes to Binca's box in its brand store, with the board, the 36 tiles and four sets of fence sticks described on Binca's own page.

Before you choose

  • The box front says Count Your Chickens with the Binca name and 'a wily strategy game for the whole family'
  • The box gives ages 7 and up, 2 to 4 players and 30 minutes
  • Contents: a double-sided board, 36 box tiles and four sets of 42 coloured fence sticks
  • The listing should name Binca as the brand

What reviewers and players say

We found no written reviews, parent blogs or forum threads about Binca's Count Your Chickens. The only independent coverage is a pair of how-to-play videos, in English and Malayalam, from a Bengaluru game host's channel, which calls it a clever, family-friendly strategy game. On paper it is dots and boxes with a smart twist: a fenced tile goes to whoever built most of its fence, and foxes cost points. That suits families with children from 7 who like quiet thinking games more than fast, noisy ones.

What people love

  • A familiar dots-and-boxes start that children pick up in minutes
  • The most-sticks rule makes every fence count, not only the last one
  • Foxes that cost points add a choice to every move
  • Children and adults can play on equal terms, with no reading

Common complaints

  • Little independent feedback so far, so it is hard to say how well it lasts
  • Turns can slow down while players work out which tiles a stick touches
  • The instruction manual is not online; the box back is the only rules source we could read
4 research sources

Summarised in our own words from the sources above. We don't use Amazon reviews or ratings.

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Place fences to scoop up chickens, but keep the foxes out

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Age7+6+5+7+
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Questions people ask about Count Your Chickens

How do you play Count Your Chickens by Binca?

Players take turns placing one fence stick on any empty side of a tile. When a tile is fully fenced, whoever has the most sticks around it takes it, and a tie goes to the player who closed it. When every tile is taken, add up your chickens, take off your foxes, and the highest score wins.

What age is Count Your Chickens for?

The box says 7 and up. Younger children can join in with help, but the game is about planning where to put fences. If there are toddlers at home, count the sticks and tiles back into the box after a game.

Is Count Your Chickens like dots and boxes?

It starts the same way, by adding one side at a time to squares, but closing a tile doesn't win it by itself: the tile goes to whoever has the most sticks around it. The tiles are also worth different points, and foxes cost you, so you choose carefully which tiles to chase.

How many people can play Count Your Chickens?

Two to four. Each player has a set of 42 sticks in their own colour, and a game takes about 30 minutes.

Is Count Your Chickens an Indian game?

It is published by Binca Games, a games company in Mumbai that also makes Qwicket and Fletter, and the box back says Made in India. The box credits the design to Reiner Knizia.

Game facts

Designed by
Reiner Knizia
Publisher
Binca Games (Binca Games Pvt Ltd, Mumbai, India)
In India
Binca Games, a Mumbai games company that makes and sells Count Your Chickens
First published
2023
Players
2–4
Barcode
8908005491989
Language
No reading – The tiles show chickens and foxes and the fences are plain coloured sticks, so nobody reads during play. Only the rules on the box and in the manual are in English, and the game is easy to explain in Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam or any language at home.
Box size and weight
28.4 × 28.3 × 5.3 cm, 0.88 kg
Sources & photo creditsThe references behind this guide.

Facts on this page come from the publisher, the Indian maker or distributor, and the sources below. Photos are credited under each one.