Board Games
Read reviews about board games for children, for adults and for the whole family. From Scrabble to Scalextric, from Monopoly to Mousetrap – board games for all interests and abilities. Compare prices and buy your board games online. You can also add your own opinion about a board game you've
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Hasbro Monopoly
by cazkins I remember getting a Monopoly board when I was around 12, getting confused right from the start but enjoying it none the less. It's not a quick, easy going game, but it's a classic that makes you think and compete with others, so it's one I'd recommend everyone should give a go at least once. Monopoly dates back to the 1930s, ... produced by the huge toy brand Hasbro, and has grown since then to include various different takes on the traditional game. For instance, you can get electronic Monopoly, on your phone, the internet, board games with various film themes etc. I have the bog standard classic board at home, one that I know won't go out of 'fashion' any time soon. The game is designed for people aged 8 and upwards, though I'd argue that those of a young age may struggle to fully grasp the rules and the workings of building up properties, mortgaging them etc. There's also a 'My First Monopoly' which is an alternative to consider to make it a little more child friendly. You can play with 2 to 6 players, so it's often a game that will, in our house at least, get brought out at Christmas when everyone's had a few drinks and suddenly thinks a challenging 4 hour game is a good idea! It's a game of thought and technique, but also of luck, because a lot will depend on chance. In the box you get the board itself, a deck of Change and Community Chest Cards, 2 die, Monopoly money, various green and red houses and a choice of 12 metal tokens that each player uses as their board marker. The latter are like a trademark of monopoly, a few in particular like the Wheelbarrow and Top Hat. They include: Racecar, guy on a horse, sack of money (for 1999-2007 editions), thimble, battleship, top hat, wheelbarrow, scottie dog, cannon, thimble, boot... but they will vary depending on your version of the game. So, you basically choose your counter, roll the dice and start moving around the board. One person from the players is usually nominated to be the banker, and they will allocate initial monies to everyone (detailed in the instructions) and then deal with payments for houses, fines, exchanges etc, everything that requires money being moved around from the bank. There are quite a few rules and such to keep in mind, but the basic premise is that you try to purchase properties on the board by using your money to buy a little house to put on that square. Properties and utilities are grouped together, so the strategy is to buy a little conglomorate of the same group of properties. This way, you have more investments and when someone lands on your square, they owe you money. The more little houses you have on the square, the more pennies you can rake in. When you've got all the houses for a property or utility, you can upgrade them to hotels, which will mean even more monies! You get the idea; you want to be greedy but strategic, and eventually there will be someone that runs out of money and will be out of the game. Throughout playing other things can happen too, such as landing on a square that requires you to pick up a chance or community chest card. This could mean anything from being owed money (good times) to being fined or getting sent to jail (bad times). These little things help to keep the game interesting and not too strategy based; adding some chance in, along with the roles of the die, keeps things fun and unpredictable but still competitive at the same time. I like the originality of this game and how it brings together various skills, strategies and bits of luck at the same time. Dealing with money, selling and buying properties, thinking about what the other person is doing, finding the best way to maximise your profits etc, makes the game quite intelligent and so it requires thought. The gamble and chance element keeps it from being too serious. It does depend on who you're playing with of course, because some people can be far more competitive than others! The rules are relatively straightforward once you get used to them, but remembering exactly how to do things (such as mortgaging) can be tricky. Luckily, I find the instructions to be quite good so definitely try not to lose these, though they can be found online too. On more than one occasion have I been part of a scrabble when people are confused over rules and what's 'allowed' or not, which I find can often ruin the game. It's therefore best to be sure everyone understands what's what first and keep the instructions handy. As for the game itself, Hasbro is a reputable brand and I've found the board and bits and pieces included to be of good quality. The box is designed so you can keep things together fairly well, though it's still quite easy to lose things if you're not careful. It all fits neatly in to a large-ish box, and I've had no problems with anything looking much worse for wear even after years of having owned the same game. It's worth noting that gameplay can go on for quite a while, and on, and on...and on. Would I recommend it? If you've got the time, and the patience and mindpower for it, then yes. It's interesting and very much a group game; you can be competitive but still have fun, and because it requires some strategy it keeps you thinking and yet still unprepared for the turns of luck that happen throughout the game. I can't give it 5 stars because it's still quite difficult if not everyone understands or has the patience for it. It does take a long time and it's usually the case of someone going broke or everyone upping and leaving for a drink and eventually abandoning the game. None the less, it's a classic that will retain its appeal for its cleverness and originality, so I'd definitely recommend at least giving it a go to say you've played. Original version RRP £14.99, selling on Amazon for £11.14 Read the complete review |
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Drumond Park Family Fortunes
by blissman70 Most people in this country, and beyond, have heard of a television show called family fortunes. A game that many years ago involved the general public taking part in a show to try and win some money, and possibly some prizes, by answering questions about what other people may or may not have said. Sadly though these days the ... general public have had their noses pushed out and it is down to those people who crave publicity that appear on the show, (you may know them as celebrities... but I don't like to use that word to describe them), and their families, trying to win money for their favourite charity, which is a good cause. But they have the chance to win prizes for themselves even though they can afford the cost of the prizes that they may win as they aren't short of a bob or two. Bring back the original show so that the general public can win a prize or two instead of those camera hungry chavs that go by the name of .... You know what.... (Sorry, rant over...) Anyway, from this once entertaining television show, (until the chavs took over), there was no doubt going to be an array of packages to try and make extra money for those people involved, and before too long the shelves in the shops were filled with such items. One particular item is in fact the board game that is Family Fortunes and is played in the same manner as the television show, although you don't win prizes and the money isn't real. But look on the bright side, at least you don't have to put up with that lanky loudmouth who thinks he's funny when he's asking the questions... (at least he makes himself laugh, which is something I suppose!!) So, Family Fortunes board game then...is it any good? Let's start off with how the game is played, but for all those people that have seen the show on the television then you'll know how to play it, but if you haven't then I'll give you a brief idea of how to play it, with both the television game and this board game being played in the same way, sort of. NOTE: You can skip this bit if you wish to... I won't be offended at all). The game... Two contestant stand opposite each other with a hand near the buzzer, then the quiz master asks a typical question, such as.. "We're looking for the top five answers. We surveyed a hundred people and asked them what animal lives in a cage?" The contestant who hit's the buzzer first has the first guess, trying to get the top answer, if they don't get the top answer then the other contestant has a guess. Who ever gets the highest answer then has the choice of playing or passing, either having a go at guessing the answers themselves or letting their opponents have a go. What ever they decide it is then a matter of the chosen contestant to have a go at guessing the top five answers from the board, with each answer having a set amount of point depending on how many people surveyed chose that particular answer. If this contestant gets all answers on the board without making three mistakes they then win that round and take all the points accumulated in that round. If a contestant guesses wrong three times then it is given over to the other contestant to have a guess, where the second contestant only has to get one of the answers on the board rather than all of them. The contestant who wins the round gets all the points that appear on the board. This question and answer format continues for three round which have single points and then another two rounds which are double points, or money rounds. The winner of the game is the one that has the most points after the five rounds, and this contestant then goes on to what is called 'big money' round, which consists of that contestant trying to guess the top answer to five questions given, trying to get over 200 points from the five polls. This 'big money' questions are asked to two people, one at a time, with the second person not knowing what the first person has answered. This is where the 45 and 60 seconds buttons on the control 'buzzer' panel come into play, with the first person having 45 seconds to answer the five questions whilst the second person gets the 60 seconds in case they repeat an answer that the first person gets. So that's how the game is played... it may sound complicated but is a lot easier to play than I have explained, honestly, and as I mentioned, the board game is played in the same way as the television show. Now for the equipment needed... or what you should get in the big blue box that the game comes in. You should get... * An electronic buzzer control panel which has two buttons on the front section, one with 45 on it, the other with 60 on it, both being timers depending on which round your in and how many people are playing. Also on the 'buzzer' board is the players buttons, A and B, both on opposite ends so that the players are on either end. Then in the middle of this board there is the 'incorrect' answer button which, when pressed makes that well known sound which sounds like a big man making bottom sounds after a vindaloo. * 150 Question cards * A Score board, which is wipeable and re-useable as long as you use the pens provided, or filing that, only use white board marker pens. This score board has two sides to it, one side is for the five rounds, with places for the contestants scores, wrong answers and the top answers. Then the second side is for the 'Big Money' round with spaces for the answers given and the points for each answer, if any. * A white boards maker pen for marking the scores on the board. And some instructions on how to play the game My Opinion... I used to enjoy the television show, although the recent 'celebrity' version has taken the shine off what was once a rather fine show, so when I had the chance to play this at home I thought 'why not'. So we played it as a family, taking it in turns in being the quizmaster and contestant, and really having a good time whilst playing it, and it turned out to be quite a lot of fun. Although I have found that the more people on each team the better, and funnier, the game seems to be, with some really 'stupid' answers coming out of what are supposed to be 'intelligent' friends mouths. The bits in the box are designed pretty well, with the white board being one of those wipe clean ones, so you can wash get the marker pens off it with ease, although I do advise using a wet, or damp cloth every so often to clean the board properly. As long as you use the right pens on it and not a permanent marker pen. This board is designed in a triangular fashion, with two playing boards and the base so that it can stand up, and stand up pretty well it does too, although as it's made of cardboard it can get blown about a bit in the wind. The 'buzzer' panel needs 3 of those 'flat' batteries to make it work, you know the type, the ones that you find in watches and things like that, but you can pick these up for a about a quid so that's not too bad. Although you don't really need the buzzer board to actually play the game itself, but it does help. Sadly though there is a limited amount of questions and, depending on how often you play it, it's not long before you get to know the answers by heart, giving the top answers in a heartbeat. But you can easily make up some new 'polls' of your own if you want to, it's just a matter of a little patience and maybe a bit of a search through google or something, (internet charges may apply). In all, this is a fun game for all the family to sit around and generally have a good laugh whilst playing it, whacking at the buzzer as quick as you can, even though you don't know the answer as you know you'll say something in the time it takes for the quizmaster to ask you what the top 5 answers are. The initial questions are good enough to get you thinking, although some answers can be a bit daft, but when the supplied questions run out it doesn't take long to write up some more. As for the price of this television spin off of a board game. Well, this one sells for around £15.00 - £20.00 which is not too bad at all really considering the fact that it is one of those games that all the family can play and has hours of entertainment and lots of 'sillyness'. © Blissman70 2012 Read the complete review |
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Mattel Scrabble Original
by IJC2k12 Forget the cut-throat world of financial management and property acquisition, and discard all thoughts of general knowledge marathons for six pieces of cheese - this is the game you should be breaking out on those rainy days and lazy afternoons. As a product, the basic game is about as sturdy as they come. The tiles have a ... pleasing quality to them that avoids the tacky plastic feel they could have had, and those letters do a fantastic job of not wearing out despite being rattled to death in that drawstring bag. The tile holders do their job very well too, though peeking family members can't be helped. For a fold out board with a single sticker overlay, it's held up very well to the ravages of time - no peeling whatsoever, and the dreaded splitting of the board down the seam hasn't even threatened to materialise. To describe the game itself would be to wear out a well-worn theme, but just know it's incredibly balanced and rewards all players equally. Also, for those who feel their vocabularies won't hold up to the challenge, a few goes make you realise it's not about what words you play, but where you play them. For a game usually held up as a bastion of word play, it's very much a cut throat strategy game underneath it all. Also, for young ones it's a great learning tool. There are junior versions available, but trust your child to get the (very basic) rules and there's no reason not to start on the adult version straight away. There are even solitaire games to play, so if you don't feel like crushing your eight-year-old's dreams with a well placed CONQUEST then you can team up to take on the game. The only niggles are classic ones that every board game suffers from. One player may have to become a skilled upside down reader, and while the tiles do a good job of not sliding, a careless bump could ruin a good game in progress. These are both problems the deluxe version solves massively with it's gridded overlay and rotating board holder, and it's a must-have if you feel flush. Read the complete review |
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