A great game that will appeal to all the family (Cranium)

Member Name: SimonCook

Product:	Cranium
Date:	06/02/02 (417 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Very challenging, Very Diverse questions that tests different abilities, Appeals to all the family

Disadvantages: Not enough questions

In an attempt to stimulate some ‘Quality Time’ for the family we decided to purchase several board games for Christmas. One was a Harry Potter Cluedo clone (will review this another day), the other was Cranium.

Cranium combines elements of many other games (Trivial Pursuits, Scrabble, Pictionary etc) to produce a game that should appeal to most families. It combines creative, logic and trivia to provide a game that tests all areas of mental (and physical) abilities.

This allows the game to appeal to all family members as it does not concentrate on one skill area but allows different people with different abilities to excel in different areas. It also makes building a balanced team very important.

<What do you get in the box>

Included in the box is a foldable game board, four movers, four boxes of cards (Creative Car, Word Worm, Star Performer and Data Head), some play dough, a timer, a colored die, four pads, four pencils and a set of rules (and a partridge in pair tree???).

The first thing I noticed is that each of the separate components were well designed, well made and well thought out. For instance, the boxes all have ‘Draw cards from this side’ written on one edge – this may not seem a big thing but does help the game flow a little.

The game screams 'quality'; this game will last a long time (as long as you don't play frisbie with the board.)

<OK so how do I play?>

Firstly, let’s take a look at the game board. The board is divided into four sections, each section representing one of the card types; there are two tracks that travel around the board that lead you towards the large brain in the center. There is the normal track and the fast track (the fast track has fewer spaces and thus makes it quicker to move around the board).

On each of the tracks are some colored markers – as you roll the die, you use the normal
track initially – you essentially move to the color that you roll. (on each corner there is a small brain – this is where the two tracks meet – when you land on this you must stop – you choose which question to answer – if correct you may move to the fast track). I found the board to be a little short (i.e. it is possible to get around the board in four moves and therefore you could win the game in one go by answering 9 questions).

When you land on a colored square you are asked the next question from the matching box – the four boxes are:

Green Box – Star Performer – these boxes ask you to do various activities – charades, hum a song so that people can recognize the tune, or my personal favorite – impersonate a celebrity (my Yogi Bear is particularly good Boo Boo). I found this to be the most fun, and find the ingenuity required to mime such items as bridges fun and sometimes difficult. Generally one player acts, the other team members guess.

Red Box – Data Head – you get several different types of general knowledge questions – some are pictures, some multiple-choice or some are True/False questions. Most of the time this is a team question allowing the team to discuss what their answer will be.

Blue Box - Creative Cat – generally you will find yourself drawing or sculpting an item. You can even be asked to draw with your eyes closed! This is another fun category – the sculpting being perhaps the most difficult! Generally one player draws – the other team members guess.

Yellow Box – Word Worm – perhaps the hardest box – you are asked to spell words (backwards too!), solve anagrams, finish ‘hangman’ type puzzles, or choose the correct definition of the word. Some of these are team games, while others (like the spelling) are individual games.

Once you have made it around the board you
enter the brain. You have to answer one question from each box – once you have done this your opponents then ask you a question from a box of their choice – get this right and you win!

Some of the cards allow all teams to compete for the chance to have a bonus roll. This was fun but doesn't really work in a two team game - I suggest four teams with two or three members each is best for this option.

<The Game>

Overall the game is very enjoyable, the mixture of all the different types of media will allow virtually all people to participate. The problem with many games is that some people can’t draw, or aren’t good at trivia – this game should allow everyone to be good at some part of the game.

I found that playing with two teams is good, but really negates the part where all teams compete for a bonus roll – four teams would probably be the most fun. Additionally, I found it too easy to get around the board quickly – in some games you can essentially get to the Brain in four rolls – thus the game can be over very quickly.

<Difficulty>

Although it is billed as a family game, there are many questions that younger children will simply not be able to answer – for instance some of the spelling is very difficult, or when I try and hum the theme tune to ‘The Monkees’ my children have blank faces! (Actually the way I hum, the entire house probably have blank faces).

The best way is to eliminate cards that are simply too difficult as you go, so that everyone can play. I am sure that the makers will begin to sell an expansion question set aimed at children. There are already additional expansion sets with further questions available.

<Conclusion>

This game really is excellent as it has many different elements that different people will enjoy – this ensures that all family members can play and compete. There a
re not many cards to play with so you will eventually get to know all the answers, but there are plenty of ‘expansion’ packs to buy!

I found that this game really did bring the family together allowing for much quality family time – we now turn off the TV on Sundays and pile around the table. For some reason they all laugh at my Yogi Bear impression!!!

<Cost>

Generally this game retails at 30 pounds or more, with additional costs involved if you require more cards - however I do feel it is well worth the price!

Summary: