Game Review: ‘The Dog Ate My Homework’ from University Games

The Dog Ate My Homework from University Games turns the classic excuse for missing an assignment into a competition to decipher what has been lost. Dogs do, in fact, eat homework from time to time, but most likely students using the excuse are trying to buy some time after not doing their projects by the deadline. The Dog Ate My Homework presents a fun take, with the issue not being missing homework but an image that’s all mixed up. It’s up to the players to figure out what the homework shows by realigning shredded paper.

The Dog Ate My Homework

Gameplay in The Dog Ate My Homework is straightforward, making it a good family game. Players take turns choosing a Homework Sheet piece of paper from the supply and “feeding” it to the dog facedown to prevent the next player seeing the image on the paper. Cranking the dog’s ear causes the paper to come out the other end, shredded into tiny strips.

The challenge in The Dog Ate My Homework is flipping over the shredded strips of paper and trying to decipher them before the sand timer runs out, after about 30 seconds. Most of the images are simple or easily recognizable, such as a butterfly, a crown, or a loaf of bread. Others might be more difficult, such as a series of buttons or a carton of eggs.

If the player can successfully guess the image in time, they receive a Doggie Treat token. If they cannot, no treat. Play then continues with the player who just guessed getting a chance to shred up a Homework Sheet. After everyone has had three turns, the player with the most Doggie Treats wins.

Nothing to Bark About

Since the trick of The Dog Ate My Homework is identifying shredded images, there may be some occasions when players do not agree on what an image is supposed to be. If shreds get twisted around enough, it may well look like something else entirely. Fortunately, the game rulebook has a list of each of the 100 Homework Sheets with numbers correlating to the numbers in the corner of each Homework Sheet to resolve any potential disagreements.

Making More Homework

The Dog Ate My Homework is a game for two to four players aged five and up. Since the main mechanic of the game is to destroy the Homework Sheets, eventually the set will run out, especially since players will eagerly want to play again with such fun guessing. Players can download even more drawings through the University Games website as well as make their own. As long as paper 32 lbs. or lighter is used to print or draw on, players can have their dogs shred as much homework as they like.