Mattel's Travel Kerplunk (item GKF43), the game our link goes to; Mattel's only photo of it is smallPhoto: Mattel
Mattel's full-size Kerplunk (item 37092), a different, bigger game, for comparisonPhoto: Mattel
Video

Family game

Travel Kerplunk

Kerplunk's stick-pulling, marble-dropping suspense in a small take-along tower

2–4players · best with 2-3
5–15 minplaying time
5+recommended age
Learning curve
Very easy1 / 5
EasyDemanding
Luck & skill
Luck and skill
LuckSkill
Interaction
Medium
Set-up
About 2 min
Reading
None

The quick verdict

Full verdict ↓

Great for Train and car journeys, holiday homes and waiting rooms, where the tall full-size tube would be awkward to carry

Think twice if Toddlers share the house: the marbles are small, and Mattel's sheet says the game is not for children under 3

How we rate it

Learning curve. One rule: pull a stick without dropping marbles. It sits at 1 on our scale with UNO, Connect 4 and Jenga.

Luck & skill. A steady hand and a good eye for which sticks hold the marbles matter most, but how the marbles settle after each pull adds luck, and a pull can drop a clump you couldn't see.

Interaction. Every stick you take changes the tower for the next player, so leaving them a risky pull is the main tactic.

Set-up. The first time, an adult assembles the tower and cuts the sticks off their frame. After that, push the 30 sticks through and drop in the marbles: a couple of minutes.

Reading. Nothing to read during play; only the instruction sheet has words.

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

Is Travel Kerplunk right for you?

Great if

  • Train and car journeys, holiday homes and waiting rooms, where the tall full-size tube would be awkward to carry
  • A child from 5 with a parent, grandparent or older cousin: there is one rule, and a steady hand matters more than age
  • A small birthday or return gift for a child who enjoys a game with suspense in it
  • A short game before bedtime, since every piece packs back into the base

Skip it if

  • Toddlers share the house: the marbles are small, and Mattel's sheet says the game is not for children under 3
  • You want the full Kerplunk drama for four at a party: the full-size tube is taller, holds more marbles and gives each player a tray
  • You need a game for more than four players

How Travel Kerplunk plays

Set-up: the first time, an adult snaps the three side pieces of the tower together, puts on the lid, seats the tower in the game base and cuts the 30 sticks off their plastic frame with safety scissors, as Mattel's sheet says. Before each game, push all the sticks through the holes on every level of the tower, mixing the three colours, then drop the 24 marbles in at the top and put back any that fall straight through.

  • Time to teach: about 2 minutes.
  • Reading and language: Nothing to read while playing: you pull sticks and watch the marbles. Only the instruction sheet has words, and one round shown is enough to teach it in any home language.

KerPlunk from Mattel · TTPM Toy Reviews

If this creator doesn’t allow embedded playback, watch on YouTube ↗.

A turn, step by step

  1. 1
    Pull

    Pull out one stick of your choice, always from the highest level that still has sticks.

  2. 2
    Keep

    Any marbles that fall during your turn are yours; set them in front of you.

  3. 3
    Win

    When every marble has fallen, the player holding the fewest marbles wins.

Read the official rules (PDF)Travel Kerplunk instructions (Mattel, item GKF43) · English
The full explanation: how a game of Travel Kerplunk goes

A turn: the youngest player starts. On your turn, pull out one stick of your choice, but Mattel's travel rules say you must always take sticks from the highest level first. Any marbles that fall while you pull are yours to keep.

Winning: keep taking turns until every marble has fallen out of the tower. The player holding the fewest marbles wins. Afterwards everything goes back into the base, which doubles as the storage unit.

How it differs from the full-size game: Mattel's full-size Kerplunk (item 37092) has a tall clear tube standing in a base with four numbered trays, 32 marbles and 30 sticks, five of them spares. You turn the tube so the opening is over your tray, and you must pull the first stick you touch. Travel Kerplunk (item GKF43) has a smaller tower in a base that is also its storage box, 24 marbles and 30 sticks in three colours. Its sheet doesn't mention trays or turning the tower: you simply keep the marbles that drop on your turn. The 'highest level first' rule appears only in the travel sheet.

Tip: before you pull, look at which sticks the marbles are really resting on; a stick with nothing on it can usually slide out cleanly. Pull slowly and straight. On a train, play on a flat seat or table, and count the 24 marbles back into the base as soon as the game ends.

What's in the box

  • 1Game base / storage unit
    catches falling marbles and holds every piece after the game
  • 1Tower
    in four parts: three side pieces that snap together and a lid
  • 24Marbles
  • 30Sticks
    in three colours, joined to a plastic frame until an adult cuts them off

From the contents list on Mattel's instruction sheet for item GKF43 (©2019). The listing details say only '1 game, travel version'. Mattel's full-size Kerplunk sheet (item 37092) lists a two-part tube with a connector, a base with four numbered compartments, 32 marbles and 30 sticks, five of them spares.

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

Travel Kerplunk is Mattel's own travel box, item GKF43, sold through Mattel's store on Amazon.in, and our Amazon.in link goes to it. The listing names a toy factory in Harohalli, Karnataka as the maker, but Mattel's instruction sheet doesn't say where the game is made and we haven't seen the back of the box sold here, so we don't call it made in India.

Before you choose

  • The listing should name Mattel and Kerplunk, and sell through Mattel's store on Amazon.in
  • Mattel's instruction sheet for this box is headed 'Don't let the Marbles fall!' and carries the code GKF43
  • Inside: one game base that doubles as storage, a tower in four parts (three sides and a lid), 24 marbles and 30 sticks in three colours, still joined to a plastic frame
  • Unbranded stick-and-marble tower games are different products, even when a listing borrows the Kerplunk name

What reviewers and players say

We found no reviews of the travel box itself, so this rests on what reviewers say about Kerplunk. A UK reviewer found the heart of the game in the tension of choosing which stick to pull, and in waiting to see whether the others slip up, and expected families to keep coming back to it; a game takes about a quarter of an hour. The same review calls the pieces a little fiddly and says there is little to do between your own turns. Mattel's travel box keeps the game but adds its own 'highest level first' rule, which we haven't seen reviewed.

What people love

  • The suspense of every pull, and the clatter when marbles drop
  • One rule, so a 5-year-old and a grandparent can play together
  • Quick games that people want to play again
  • On the travel box, every piece packs into the base afterwards

Common complaints

  • Fiddly pieces: sticks to thread through and marbles to round up
  • Little to do while the others take their turns
  • Small marbles are easy to lose on a journey
Based on 5 reviews and discussions

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

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Age5+5+5+6+
RulesEasyEasyEasyEasy
Indian editionImportedAvailable–Available
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Questions people ask about Travel Kerplunk

What is the difference between Travel Kerplunk and Kerplunk?

The idea is the same: pull sticks without letting marbles fall, and the fewest marbles wins. Travel Kerplunk has a smaller tower in a base that doubles as storage, 24 marbles and 30 sticks, and its rules make you take sticks from the highest level first. The full-size game has a tall tube, 32 marbles and a base with four numbered trays.

How many players can play Travel Kerplunk?

Mattel's instruction sheet marks it for 2 to 4 players aged 5 and up. The Amazon.in listing's player field says 2, but the rules work the same for three or four: each player keeps the marbles that fall on their own turn.

Is Travel Kerplunk the same as Kerplunk Fast Fun?

No. Mattel lists them as separate products. Kerplunk! Fast Fun (item FPR07, 2018) is described as a smaller, quicker version of the classic game, while Travel Kerplunk (item GKF43, 2020) belongs to Mattel's Travel Games line, with a base that stores the pieces.

Is Travel Kerplunk made in India?

We can't confirm it. The Amazon.in listing names a toy factory in Harohalli, Karnataka as the maker, but Mattel's instruction sheet doesn't say where the game is made and we haven't seen the back of the box sold here.

What age is Travel Kerplunk for?

Mattel says 5 and up. The marbles are small, so the sheet warns that the game is not for children under 3. Keep the box away from toddlers and count the marbles back in after each game.

Game facts

Designed by
Eddy Goldfarb
Publisher
Mattel (Mattel Games)
In India
Micro Plastics Pvt Ltd, Harohalli, Karnataka, with Mattel Toys (named as makers on the Amazon.in listing)
First published
2020
Players
2–4
Language
No reading – Nothing to read while playing: you pull sticks and watch the marbles. Only the instruction sheet has words, and one round shown is enough to teach it in any home language.
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.