Tell me. have you 'scene it'? (Mattel Scene It? - The DVD Game)

Member Name: kingfisher111

Product:	Mattel Scene It? - The DVD Game
Date:	11/10/06 (761 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Quick, easy to play, fun

Disadvantages: film clips will become outdated

This is another good family fun game for playing at home on dark winter nights! It is based on the movies and film knowledge but you don't need to be an absolute film buff to enjoy it.

The aim of the game is to move round a film reel shaped board by answering questions about films in order to make the final cut and ultimately win the game. The board is quite versatile as it can be folded in or out to make a shorter or a longer game depending on how much time you have to play.

There are four playing pieces so four people could play individually but we normally find that it is better and quicker to play in two teams. This usually turns into a 'battle of the sexes' when playing with friends! The playing pieces are interesting as they resemble things associated with the movies such as a camera, clapperboard and popcorn!

Some of the questions are on trivia cards but others have to be answered following watching short clips on the DVD that comes with the game. The questions on the trivia cards fall into three sections - Take three (where typically you are given three movies or actors and have to work put the link between the three), songs and slogans (particularly to guess what film certain taglines were associated with) and Popular culture (which is basically trivia questions based on the movies). With all these categories the greater your film knowledge is the better, but you can get by with a little guesswork as well! There is also a thirty second timer on the DVD which you can use to make sure that teams do not take too long oner their answers!

There are two question categories which are based on using the DVD. The first is My Play where you always have to watch a clip which is then followed by a question on the screen. These are sometimes based on direct observation of the clip - for example what was the colour of Princess Fiona's ribbon in the Shrek clip - but others might ask you the name of the actor playing a certain role. This can sometimes be frustrating as you will watch a clip very intently trying to memorise all the details only to find this was not necessary at all in order to name the actor! There are 180 different clips on the DVD and each have a number of questions associated with them. These come up entirely at random so even if you see the same clip intwo successive games you are not likely to be asked the same question.

The other section that relies on the DVD, and is also my favourite, is All Play. Here, the questions still are based on films but most take the form of different word clues. For example, you might have a grid with spaces for all the letters of the words in a film title. These are gradually filled in and you try to be the first person to guess the film before all the words are revealed! Another example is where you have cryptic clues to the film title and another is where you have the rebus type clues where you have different pictures which represent words or parts of words and when they are put together you can guess the film title. The All Play questions are the only ones when both teams are trying to answer at the same time so you have to be quick!

In order to determine which questions you have to answer you move around the board in the usual way rolling a traditional numbered die. When you land on a square you then roll a rather peculiar looking eight sided die which determines whether it is any of the above categories. This die might also land on a Buzz card which is similar to the chance type cards in Momopoly where either through good or bad luck you can move forwards or backwards or miss a turn!

When you have finally moved all around the board you have to face the Final Cut in order to win the game. These are also on the DVD under the heading 'All Play to Win'. If you don't answer all three in the one go, next time you only have to answer the remaining number! These are also for everyone to join in so the other team can have a good go at stopping you winning!

I think that this is a really good game and I don't even have a really good film knowledge. However, I do like to get myself on a team with someone who has seen a few more films than I have! It's enjoyable watching the clips and there is a real variety. I have already mentioned 'Shrek' but there are so many more - too many to list! Also even though i have played this game quite a few times I probably haven't seen them all!

At the moment the boxed game is selling on Amazon for £29.97 but there is also a sequel pack for just under£20. This is probably a very good addition as when you have had the game for a while, you are obviously not getting clips of the latest films. I also noticed on Amazon that there are themed games too - for example Harry Potter Scene It and Friends Scene It too! So I guess that if you are into either of these they would be a good buy too!

So I certainly do recommend this game. It's good family fun from about twelve years upwards, and as a bonus you might even decide to watch some films as a result of playing the game!

Summary: Test your film knowledge with Scene It?