About NHL® Ice Breaker

LATEST NEWS: NHL Ice Breaker named top sports game of all-time by The Dice Tower.

You get all the great action of NHL®-hockey with NHL® Ice Breaker: The Card Hockey Board Game™. It’s easy to learn, fast-paced and makes for competitive hockey fun.

NHL® Ice Breaker is a hockey-simulation board game and playing card game. Manage your cards and battle for puck possession and advance it up the ice for a scoring chance. Just like the game on the ice, the object is to out-score your opponent. One time through the deck represents one period of play; three time through the deck and that’s a full game.

While it has all the great elements of a classic board game, NHL® Ice Breaker action derives from the specially-designed 54-card playing deck. Each card allows players to make the pass, take the shot, make the save, or deliver the big hit, simulating all the fast-paced intensity of the game of hockey.

NHL® Ice Breaker features all 30 National Hockey League teams and is remarkably easy to pick up, given the familiarity of the standard 54-card playing deck and some simple card game mechanics. NHL® Ice Breaker takes a minute to set up and is recommended for ages eight (8) and up.

For one to four players, NHL® Ice Breaker takes about 30 minutes to play.

Game contents:

• 54-card deck
• 39 Team Cards + 1 Stanley Cup card
• Game board
• Mini puck (+1 bonus replacement puck)
• Scoring / period markers
• Rulebook (bilingual)
• Quick-start rule sheet

Skills developed:

NHL Ice Breaker teaches the skills of counting and language, while stimulating visual perception and decision-making. It supports quick mental processing and sharpens cognitive skills in a fun competitive hockey atmosphere.

The Buzz on NHL Ice Breaker:

Enjoy this 5 min. 43 sec. audio review of NHL Ice Breaker by The Spiel:

“If you enjoy hockey, this game is something you NEED to buy.”
– Sam Healey (TheDiceTower.com)

“This is a definite gem for hockey fans, well worth playing anytime.”
– Calvin Daniels (Board game critic & sports journalist)

“NHL Ice Breaker is a Major Fun game.”
– MajorFun.com

“NHL Ice Breaker is the best table-top hockey game I’ve ever played. It’s the first that captures the feel and flow of ice hockey.”
– Ken Whitesell (40-year sports board game veteran, at Origins Game Fair)

“Out of several hockey games I own, this one is the best.”
– Patrick Havert (Goldenwolf, BoardGameGeek.com)

“Finally a fun board game for hockey fans!”
– J. Chow-Gent (mom, Ottawa, ON)

“My nephew is a young hockey player, so he was thrilled to see this under the tree last year. He and his dad got into it right away and they played all afternoon.”
– T. Rypkema (Cloverdale, BC)

“The game of the show.”
– Vincent Booth (Sir-Games-A-Lot, at Canadian Toy and Hobby Fair)

“NHL Ice Breaker is the best-looking new game at GAMA [2006].”
– George Seary (Armada Games, Binghamton, NY)

“I’ve been at GAMA for five years, and this is the best game I’ve seen.”
– Dave Lepore (Alderac Entertainment Group AEG, Ontario, CA)

“Quick, fast-paced, clever and fun.”
– Marcus Santana (Ronaldo, BoardGameGeek.com)