Frustration - probably the most accurately named game around. (Frustration)

Member Name: Gary25

Product:	Frustration
Date:	05/11/08 (230 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Great family fun, easy to play, easy to store.

Disadvantages: May cause ructions.

Time to start thinking about Christmas presents. If you want to have some variation from all the expensive electronic and console games around and go back to a more traditional game suitable for all the family to play then you can't go wrong with "Frustration".

Crumbs, I even remember playing this as a child - yes, I was one once - so it has been around for a considerable length of time and is still proving a popular game today.

"Frustration" is made by MB Games, now part of Hasbro International Incorporated, which has an excellent reputation and is a long established and trusted manufacturer of children's toys. It is actually distributed by Hasbro UK Ltd in Newport, Gwent, only around 15 miles from where I live.

When you pick up the cardboard box containing the game, you immediately realise that it will not take up much space wherever it is to be kept. It only measures 23.6cm x 23.6cm x 5cm approximately. This is a big plus in itself and means that the game is extremely portable and can be taken away on holidays - very useful if you are staying in a caravan in this country - think rain!!

The box lid is very colourful showing the name of the game "Frustration!" in yellow lettering with a red edging and underneath telling you that it is "The game that drives you popping mad!"

The main picture shows a none to angelic looking boy smashing the popper (which I will describe later) with his fist with a young girl with her head in her hands looking on with the sort of expression I would have if my six numbers came up on the lottery. The rest of the picture contains a view of the game board with pieces flying out at what appears to be warp speed 9. Do not be alarmed though as this does not happen when you play the game for real.

The game can be played by two, three or four players and is recommended for ages 4 and up. This is because it is not suitable for children under that age due to the small pieces and the risk of choking.

The back of the box contains the assembly instructions and rules for playing the game so you don't have to worry about losing an instruction leaflet. However, the assembly is a one-off task and the game is so easy to play that once you've played it you won't need to refer to it again.

How to assemble.

You get the coloured board, which is just made of ordinary cardboard and place the main plastic gameboard over it and align up with the four holes into which you insert the four rubber feet. This not only protects tables from being scratched, but stops the game from moving around and obviously joins the two boards together. That's it, assembly completed, and you don't have to dismantle when you've finished - it fits neatly back into the box. The dimensions of the board are slightly less than that of the box and is square in shape with rounded corners with no sharp edges.

The game is virtually identical to ludo. Each player picks a colour, either red, green yellow or blue and you get four pieces of your chosen colour. Each piece is made of a hard plastic, cylindrical in shape, around 2cm in height with a small ridge around the middle to pit into the raised spaces on the gameboard. What I like with this is that the maker gives a spare piece for each colour in case any are lost.

On each rounded corner are four coloured holes to match the colour of the counters and if you've chosen red, for example, you'd pick the red corner and place your four counters in those four spaces, each hole marked with a small star. These are your starting spaces. The other players do the same with their chosen colour. The base is also marked with each corresponding colour so it's easy to see where you have to go (see picture).

In the middle of the game board is a raised platform containing one dice encased in a hard plastic dome which is on top of a sheet of what seems to be thin metal. By pressing on this dome you hear a 'pop' as the metal is pressed down and when released, the metal sheet pops back into shape and the dice is thrown around in the dome. Whatever number is showing on the top of the dice is the number the player uses.

To start the game you decide on the order the game is to be played - let the kids go first you meanies!! To start you need to get a 'six'. If you don't then it's the next players turn, and so on. Once a six is thrown, you move one of your counters out of the starting spaces into the hole marked with an arrow, and you're off. As with most games, if you throw a six you get another go (hehe) and you move around the board in a clockwise direction.

The aim of the game is to get all four of your counters around the board, 28 spaces before you reach safety, and when you get round adjacent to your starting spaces there are four numbered spaces, 1,2, 3 & 4 leading up towards the dice. Easy you may think, but here's the catch and the reason the game is called "Frustration".

You may be merrily moving around the board but say an opponent has a counter out and is three spaces behind you. If they then throw a 'three' and land on your counter, yours has to go back to the starting spaces, where you need to start again by throwing a 'six' and going all the way around again. It always happens to me.

If you are fortunate enough to get your counter all the way around and into the home spaces marked 1,2, 3 or 4 then you are safe and can't be knocked back to the start. The object of the game is to get all your four counters home before anyone else.

My children are 12 and 8 and we, perhaps somewhat unfashionably, really enjoy playing this. It is a good way to get the whole family involved and playing a game together.

Be prepared however with younger children for the odd temper tantrum as it can be terribly frustrating to be landed on by another player, and you may have to compromise. Nevertheless it is great simple fun.

The game can be found at all major retailers for between £10 - £15 dependent on what deals are on offer, and you pick one up on e-bay for as little as £6.99.

Summary: A cheap family fun game suitable for all.