Dino Dunk joins tabletop basketball with a dexterity challenge. Instead of rolling dice, players flick wooden disks to move dinosaurs, pass a ball and aim for a scoring zone near a volcano-shaped basket. The result is visible on the court: a shot can miss because of its direction or force, not because a table assigns a penalty.
Cody Stephens designed the game, which Twin City Games released in 2018. It is for two or four players aged nine and up, with a match taking about 30 to 45 minutes. Two teams of five animals play to six points, and each dinosaur’s ability changes which actions are available.
Build a team before the tip-off
The double-sided neoprene mat serves as the court. Basket zones sit by the volcanoes, while a separate board tracks the score and possession. Each side chooses five dinosaurs from ten. A standard team has one small, three medium and one large disk; size affects stability, collisions and the actions a piece can perform.
Character cards show whether an animal can move, pass, shoot or dunk, along with its special ability. The roster choice matters, so simply taking the five largest disks is not a complete strategy. One animal may be better at setting up a pass, another at intercepting the ball, and a large player may be needed near the basket.
In a four-player match, players share control of two teams. During a team turn, each person activates one dinosaur. This keeps everyone involved, but success still depends on coordinating the order and direction of the flicks.
Move, pass and shoot
The attacking team activates two different dinosaurs. To move, a player flicks the disk across the mat. A pass means flicking the ball so that it touches a teammate. A shot sends the ball toward a scoring zone. These actions are physical rather than symbolic: a player has to judge the space between pieces and choose how much force to use.
A shot from beyond the three-point line scores three points; a closer basket is worth two. A large dinosaur can attempt a dunk by placing the ball on its disk and flicking the two pieces together toward the basket. If the attempt goes wide, the ball may become loose or leave the court.
The possession tracker prevents a team from arranging a perfect shot forever. If the offence has not scored after six turns, possession passes to the other team. A defender can steal the ball with a clean touch, but striking the dinosaur that holds it counts as a foul.
Fouls and an easier first match
A penalised dinosaur is temporarily removed from the court. If a foul happens in a shooting zone, the attacking side receives free-throw attempts. Those rules give the flicking contest a small amount of familiar sports structure without turning it into a full simulation.
Exhibition cards offer a simpler first game by reducing the animals’ individual abilities. The rules also suggest adding wooden backboards behind the baskets, which help keep the ball on the mat. Once players understand movement, passing and shooting, they can use the full character cards and make positioning more important.
The game needs a level surface and room around the mat. Differences in flicking skill are easy to see: an experienced player can control force and set up a combination, while a new player may send a disk away with one heavy touch. A piece can catch another component, rebound at an odd angle or stop near a boundary. For people who like dexterity games, that physical uncertainty is the main event; players who prefer exact control may find it chaotic.
Dinosaurs in a fantasy league
The roster includes recognisable animals such as Tyrannosaurus, Spinosaurus and Velociraptor. Their real sizes are reduced to three disk classes, and anatomy becomes comic sporting abilities. The cards are designed for balance and humour, not as a scientific reference. A Tyrannosaurus mass listed as fifteen tonnes exceeds most estimates for known adults, and exact birthdays are plainly invented statistics.
The line-up also crosses biological boundaries. The game’s “pterodactyl” is a pterosaur, and its Mauisaurus is a marine reptile, not a dinosaur. Teams named for one geological period may also mix animals from the Jurassic and Cretaceous. Dino Dunk is honest fantasy about a Mesozoic basketball league, not a reconstruction of animals living together.
Who may enjoy Dino Dunk
The game fits a family or group that likes physical contests, short combinations and spectacular misses. The exhibition rules make a first match easier, while the individual cards give players reasons to build a team around different skills.
Those who dislike dexterity games or do not have a large, level table may prefer something else. The games for kids collection offers other family formats, while the dinosaur board game catalogue includes both light dexterity titles and longer strategy games.
Frequently asked questions
How do you move a dinosaur in Dino Dunk?
Players flick their pieces across the tabletop court, aiming to send them into the target area.
Is it a basketball simulation?
Only in a playful sense. It borrows the goal and aiming challenge, but uses dinosaur pieces and simplified tabletop rules.
What makes a shot difficult?
Angle, force, distance and obstacles affect where a piece travels, so a direct flick is not always the safest choice.
Who is the game best suited to?
It suits families and groups who enjoy quick dexterity challenges. Players looking for deep planning or detailed dinosaur facts may prefer another title.