Bark Avenue – Board Game Review

Do you have what it takes to become a premier pooch pedestrian on Bark Avenue? If you can hustle and make shrewd business decisions, you might make a name for yourself as an elite dog walker in the Big Apple. 

Bark Avenue is a family-weight, pick-up-and-deliver game themed around dog-walking in Manhattan. Players will be vying to be the best dog walker by walking several dogs at once, completing preferred activities, taking potty breaks, and ensuring their dogs are compatible. 

This game was the creation of first-time game designers Mackenzie & Jonathan Jungck of TerreDice Games.

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Overview

The objective is to rake in as much money as possible by walking dogs around Upper Manhattan. Dogs have different preferences and compatibility requirements, so juggling your clientele and timing the walks is crucial to making the puppy parents happy and earning extra tip money. 

A turn consists of rolling a die for a potential bonus, moving around the city, performing a location-dependent action (such as picking up or dropping off a dog, playing with them, purchasing treats, etc.), and finally, tracking the length of each dog’s walk.

Money equals victory points here. Delivered pups ensure their walker receives the payment posted on their card at the end of the game. Doing extra activities, such as completing a dog’s favorite activity or allowing it to poop, will earn special tokens. Tokens will equate to tip money if the dog is turned in on schedule. Unlike the income from the doggy delivery, tip money is liquid and can be used to buy in-game boosts.

As you plan your route, you should strive to complete challenges to get good reviews, such as walking a solo dog or a foster dog. When this occurs, new skills are unlocked allowing you to become a more efficient dog walker.

When the sun goes down, the game ends and players total the dollars earned from their dogs, tips, reviews, goals, and advertisements. The richest dog walker wins the game!

Review

Gameplay

Bark Avenue is lightweight, but there is still a good bit of strategy involved. Optimizing your clientele and route is essential to performing well in this game. Players are tasked with making the best decisions at the moment while working towards their goals. Some of these considerations include planning an efficient route, tiring out the dogs to speed up their return schedule, choosing compatible pups, etc. If you are making inefficient moves scoring well will be a struggle.

Players get the choice between two dogs and two personal goals to start which gives them some initial direction. From there, they can continue to work how they see fit at their dog walking business. With an open grid map to explore and several actions available at each location, there are plenty of choices for each turn. The route and available dogs should be considered when determining the most advantageous route. The dogs in the market lineup are constantly shifting so players should watch for dogs that meet their needs – both in size, temperament, speed, and location. 

Each turn begins with a die-roll that may gift a light bonus, such as a potty break or extra movement. This slight bit of luck may provide a small boost in the form of tip money or speed, but overall is not heavily consequential to the game outcome. 

Only half of the board is utilized at the two-player count. We completed routes more quickly than in games that utilize the entire map, which favors certain goal cards over others. It is possible to run into a situation where one player gets a personal goal (or two) that’s incredibly lucrative on the smaller map, such as earning $4 per small dog walked. Compounded with the absence of competition in the dog market, one of our sessions led to a game that felt wildly unbalanced. This issue did not arise at 3+ players because the entire board and dog deck are used. Because of this, I do not think Bark Avenue is great at the two-player count.

It is satisfying to deliver the dogs, especially when the pup helps you simultaneously complete review stars and fulfill personal goals. As the game progresses and review stars are unlocked, your walking efficiency improves, allowing for actions such as park play to tire out the clients faster (allowing you to take them home earlier) or allowing you to walk three dogs at once. The game arc lets you “level up” as you go, which feels rewarding. 

One of my highlights of the game is the inclusion of real-life foster dogs and their respective rescue homes in NYC. Although they can earn tips, foster dogs do not yield end-game points, making them seem like unappealing clients at first glance. But they are the only type of dog that allows players to earn two review stars in a single delivery – which can greatly accelerate your abilities. Getting a foster dog early in the game can give an early efficiency boost that might be worth the loss of potential income. Along with being a fun way to raise awareness, the foster dogs add intriguing choices to the game.

Weight

Bark Avenue is a medium-light game that would work well as a gateway game, or for families. It presents many choices that will give younger or inexperienced players plenty to chew on.  When determining which actions to take or which direction to travel, there’s usually a clear “best choice” to be made and seasoned gamers should not have difficulties identifying it. That’s not to say that the action space is dull – I have enjoyed my plays of it. In our household, it works well for family game night. 

Theme / Aesthetics

The dog-walking theme pairs exceptionally well with the mechanics. Players are responsible for picking up their clients from their neighborhood, taking them out for some activity, and returning them home within a designated timeframe. This pairing works well to make the actions in the game easy to understand and accessible to a broad audience.

The components are very nice for a non-deluxe copy of the game. The tokens are cardboard and the cards are of a decent weight and work well for their purpose. The poop tokens are often the star of the show with kids (and kids at heart). The artwork on the cards is bright and sure to appeal to dog fans. The symbology in the game is easy to understand for players on the younger side. Overall, the components, mechanics, and theme all work together to create a light-hearted, fun, and sometimes silly game experience. 

Replayability

Bark Avenue comes with 17 event cards (7 of which are revealed each game) and 81 unique dogs – it’s unlikely the same event lineup and order will repeat. The events often provide slight inconveniences, but ultimately do not change the course of the game. The personal goals likely have the most powerful impact on the direction – with 17 in the game, there’s an adequate amount to keep things interesting without overwhelming younger players. Even so, the game arc felt similar upon repeat plays. This is not a problem for me in a family-weight game and can provide younger gamers with a level of familiarity that makes it feel more approachable.

Interaction / Fun

Despite the several-step turns, Bark Avenue has the potential to be a quick-moving game. The steps can move very fast; however, when younger players are involved sometimes these turns can draw themselves out creating some downtime. Some players may find it hard to get invested in another player’s turn due to a lack of interaction, and there’s not often much to do during the downtime which can lead to boredom (and in my experience, squirmy children). Having played the game with two, three, and four players, I think that three players is the sweet spot when one or more of the players are kids. 

Bark Avenue is not highly interactive – more like a multi-player solitaire. Occasionally there is competition for a dog in the market to advertise at the same coffee shop, but this interaction feels more passive. What little interaction there is never feels mean – players are unlikely to purposefully “hate-draft” a dog just to mess with an opponent because each pup client taken on is a several-turn investment. 

Despite its lack of player interaction, there is plenty of potential for fun table moments.  This isn’t a game where people are playing quietly in their heads, in my experience. We like to narrate what we are doing – sometimes for the sake of my youngest, but also because it’s hard not to loudly beg your dogs to poop. Lighthearted players who can embrace the theme will likely find the experience a lot of fun.

Final Thoughts

Bark Avenue is a fantastic little package bursting with charm. The bright colors and theme are bound to appeal to a fairly wide audience.  The thought and care put into the design come through in the little details, such as the inclusion of foster dogs and the integration of the theme and game mechanics.

It is not going to be a good fit for everybody, however. Players looking for a tough challenge will likely find this too light to hold their interest for repeat plays. I would hesitate to recommend it to those looking for a primarily two-player experience due to my concerns with balance after cutting the map in two. Additionally, those who prefer games with player interaction will find that lacking here. 

Despite these considerations, there is a lot to like here. Bark Avenue’s light optimization puzzle was engaging enough to hold my attention while playing with my family. In addition to planning routes and picking up the right clients, I liked traveling around the map to figure out how to squeeze the most money out of my turns. I have had games where I bypassed some income by taking on a foster dog to rush my review stars and others where I spent more time chasing tips. Although an optimal move usually presents itself, there are still critical choices for players to make throughout the game. 

Bark Avenue is a fantastic entry into the gateway/family game category. The rules are simple and easy for children to learn and play due, in part, to the iconography and thematic integration. There is virtually no opportunity for mean-spirited interaction. The artwork is adorable and appealing to dog lovers. It offers a fun (if not terribly challenging) optimization puzzle for players of all ages. And who can resist a game that causes you to cheer when a dog poops?

If you love dogs and are looking for an entry-level game for your friends or family, Bark Avenue just might be a good fit for you.

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