NHL Ice Breaker: The Card Hockey Board Game

About this board game

NHL Ice Breaker: The Card Hockey Board Game is a fast-paced hockey game for 1–4 players that plays in about 25 minutes. Licensed by the National Hockey League, it features the league’s 30 teams plus national teams.

At the heart of the game is a specially designed 54-card deck, containing 52 standard suited cards and two Jokers. Players battle for puck possession by playing cards simultaneously, and the player with the highest hand wins the contest and carries out the action shown on the cards played.

Cards may be played individually or combined into pairs, two pair, or three-of-a-kind. Deciding which cards to play—and how to combine them—is central to moving the puck and making the most of each hand.

• Win card battles to advance the puck up the ice.
• Land on special Ice Breaker squares that can change the momentum.
• Encounter effects including penalties, big hits, turnovers, and great passes.
• Enter the Shooting Zone for a classic shooter-versus-goalie contest.

As the puck moves across the board toward the opponent’s net, Ice Breaker squares can shift the action in an instant. Once a player reaches the Shooting Zone, the game builds to its decisive confrontation: did the cards lead to a goal?

NHL Ice Breaker offers a true hockey feel while remaining easy to learn, thanks in part to the familiar playing-card format. Its learning curve is designed to be remarkably low, with the basic game typically learned within a couple of minutes. Released in 2006, NHL Ice Breaker combines accessible card play with the movement and momentum of a hockey board game for players ages 8 and up.