Fancy a change of SCENE? (Mattel Scene It? - The DVD Game)

Member Name: Wee_Jackie_163

Product:	Mattel Scene It? - The DVD Game
Date:	17/10/09 (60 review reads)
Rating:

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** INTRODUCTION **

I am a huge fan of board games in general and was given the 'Friends' edition of the 'Scene it' board game a while ago as a gift. Because I love the Friends edition of the game so much my partner snapped up the 'regular' edition when he saw it for sale at a car boot sale recently.

Some of the packaging was still intact, and it was fairly obvious to my partner that the game had never been played. He managed to buy the game for the fantastic bargain of £2!!

The game is similar to a traditional board game in that each player (or team, if you prefer to play with more people) has a counter and rolls a dice in turn. The twist to the Scene it game is that there is an interactive element to it, which is provided by the use of a DVD alongside the game. This has been cleverly set up to coincide with different rounds throughout the game.


** THE CONTENTS **

Upon opening the box, there is a circular-shaped board, a small pile of "Buzz" cards, four counters, 4 category reference cards (one for each player or team) a purple plastic box containing the question cards, a DVD in a cardboard cover, an instruction sheet and two black dice (one is cube shaped with numbers on and one is more triangular, with a range of symbols on it).

I will point out that I have several other interactive DVD board games, all of which have required some sort of setting-up with the DVD player, or the game's remote control or something similar. Not so with the Scene it game; all you need to do is take the DVD from the box and pop it into your DVD player, and hey presto! Setting up is complete! You can then keep the DVD on, set up your board, and away you go!

A little touch of genius with the Scene it game is that you have two options for choosing your game in that the board is designed to allow you to either fully extend the board for a longer game or if you prefer, you can fold it into a circle for a shorter game. This board is called a "Flextime" board, is unique to the "Scene it" games. We have actually played both games, and found that the formats were quite similar, but obviously the game using the extended board does last longer.


** SETTING UP **

When playing the game for the first time, we preferred to use the option on the DVD menu called "How to Play", which is basically an on-screen demonstration. It clearly states in the instructions that this is an option for learning how to play the game. The DVD menu works like any other DVD menu, whereby you can move up and down the menu by using your remote control. It is really easy to do and we didn't find any problems with it when using it throughout the game.

Alternatively, you can choose to either read the instruction leaflet then begin with the "Set up" option which again can be found on the DVD menu.


** PLAYING THE GAME **

To begin the game, you simply each select a counter or mover, placing them on the START square on the board, and position the board where all players can see it. You place the "Buzz cards" on the appropriate circle on the board, and distribute a category reference card to each player. This card basically just lets each player know what each symbol on the triangular-shaped dice represents, and subsequently what challenge they will need to take in order to complete their turn.

One player needs to be the 'DVD master', and they will be responsible for operating the DVD player (and in charge of the remote control) throughout the game.

Each player rolls the numbered dice in turn, with the player who has rolled the highest number going first. The first player then rolls both the numbered dice and the triangular dice (with the symbols on) together, moving the number of spaces as shown on the number dice. Depending on what symbol the player has rolled, players will need to complete either a DVD or a Trivia card challenge.

The Trivia cards contain three different types of question, such as 'pop culture'. The rolling player is asked their question (by an opponent of course) which corresponds to the symbol on the triangular dice that they have thrown.

The Trivia cards are relatively straight forward - you answer the question which corresponds to the symbol you have rolled on the triangular dice. If the player answers their question correctly, they roll again and have another go.

There are also "BUZZ" cards which should be read aloud and the instructions carried out by the rolling player. Buzz cards remind me of the "Chance" cards in a traditional game of Monopoly, in that some are winners and some are losers. An example of this would be that the rolling player has to move back three spaces.

Alternatively, there are several DVD challenges to be completed with the use of the DVD. The Trivia cards do not need to be used for the DVD challenges.

There are two possible DVD challenges - the first is the "my play" challenge, which basically involves the DVD master using the remote control and selecting "my play" from the DVD menu. The rolling player then attempts to answer the question that appears on the television screen, which corresponds to the clip that has just been shown. If they answer the question correctly, they get to roll again and have another go.

The other challenge is the "all play" challenge which similarly involves the DVD master selecting "all play" from the DVD menu. The difference this time however, is that any player can answer the challenge that follows, with the winner being the first player who clearly shouts out the correct answer. So, as you can see, there is plenty of opportunity for control of the game to be stolen! (Much to my other half's dismay!)

And so the game carries on in this fashion - rolling dice, reading out questions, watching the DVD and moving counters around the board. This continues merrily until one player reaches the "STOP" square on the board. (It actually states "stop - all play to win").

** WINNING THE GAME **

The player who has landed on the STOP square then has two ways in which they can win the game and be crowned winner! The first is the "All play to win" option. This basically means that the DVD master once again chooses the correct option from the DVD menu. All players then compete in this challenge. If the rolling player wins this challenge, then that player can advance to the winners circle on the board and that's it - they have won the game!!

If, however, another player wins this challenge, they have the option of either moving their own counter forward three spaces, or forcing another player to take a BUZZ card, and carry out its instructions. The game would then continue, with each player or team rolling in turn.

Assuming that the player that missed out on the winning title the last round has not been overtaken by somebody else (arrgh, how frustrating!), then they will be given another chance to steal the winner's crown when it once again reaches their turn. This is done in the "Final Cut" game. This is another option on the DVD menu, which the DVD master would select.

The Final Cut game means that the rolling player must answer up to three questions correctly to win the game. The DVD cleverly displays on-screen instructions at this juncture, so there was no need to panic about getting all this clear in our heads before play commenced. (Phew, thank goodness!)

Play then continues until we have a winner for the game. It has proven to be quite a thrilling climax to the board game when one player who had almost won couldn't answer their questions and so the process was a much more drawn-out affair. Very exciting when other players enter the 'Final Cut' circle and at this point have a chance to steal the game!!


** TO CONCLUDE **

I have done my best to explain here how the game works. I am sure that some parts of it might sound quite complicated, and to be fair when we first read the instructions we were a bit worried about whether we would be able to follow the game properly, and carry out the different challenges that were on the DVD. We really needn't have worried as the on-screen instructions contained in the DVD were so self-explanatory that we ended up trying to skip through some of them a bit later in the game. It is not a difficult game to grasp and after a couple of games, you'll be flying around that board without needing to so much as glance at your instruction leaflet!

All in all, I love this game and we play it regularly. We have also played it when we have had some friends round and to simplify things a little have paired into teams - girls against the boys! This has proven to be a great giggle and a good addition to our night in.

I would highly recommend this game for families with more grown-up children, parties, holidays or nights in. It has proven to be great fun and we thoroughly enjoy playing with it from time to time. I can only award it top marks - five Dooyoo stars from me!

There are several different editions of the "Scene it" board game, such as a Harry Potter edition and a Simpsons Edition, but this 'Movies' game is available from amazon.co.uk for £14.99. The RRP for the game is actually £29.99, so this is actually a fairly competitive price.

Summary: A great game for parties!