"Whaddya mean Desperate Dan's not a famous detective beginning with D? Psh, you don't know!" (Scattergories)

Member Name: bamamo

Product:	Scattergories
Date:	25/10/08 (91 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Can be funny, game can be altered to accommodate more players, time scale, etc

Disadvantages: Loud and offputting timer

Even though I'm (techncially) a grown-up now, my mum and I still enjoy playing board games, but I for one find them terribly expensive. So we tend to scout charity shops where we've been able to pick up as-new games for as little as £4, which is what this cost from the PDSA shop last week.

I was pleased to find it as I've played in the past and we enjoy word games. After ensuring everything was included before we left the shop, we went home to try it out.

Scattergories is a simple game to learn, but some of the categories depending what letter you get can be really tricky!

The basic premise is that you roll the dice, which has letters on its sides (fortunately 'harder' letters aren't included, though I haven't actually counted how many sides it does have) and find a word for each of 12 categories which starts with that letter. For example, a sport beginning with C could be cycling. If you can think of an answer with that letter twice, eg if it were P you could say Ping Pong, then you would get two points, three is three points, etc. Creativity is allowed as long as all players agree it is a valid answer, but it's certainly a lot more fun if you use silly answers sometimes!

After the round is over players read out their answers and cross out any which match up. The player with the most points wins. The game can be played with more than two players, there really isn't an upper limit as although there are only six printouts of the list, you can always share.

There is a timer in the box which you can set at various points to make the game a little harder if you wish. Unfortunately it's VERY LOUD! It actually went off when we picked the box up in the shop and sounded like a time bomb!

There are 12 unique lists which makes 144 categories in total, most lists will have one which is a bit harder than the rest - we always struggle on Famous Detectives! You could always also invent your own categories to make it a bit more fun.

I really enjoy this game because the rules aren't so set in stone so you can get away with putting dumb answers when you get stuck and it gives everyone a bit of a laugh. The score sheets have three lists each, so we tend to play best of three, but you can play one round or the full 12 lists depending on how much time you have to spare. Because the categories and letters are always changing, I can play for a while without getting bored.

Highly recommended for those who enjoy word games, or enjoy being silly. The box said age 12+ but I think I would have probably been able to play when I was 10 or so. Yes, some categories are hard, but they are most likely hard for all players, and then you get to put something ridiculous and everyone is happy again!

You can find this game at Amazon, toy stores, catalogues, or anywhere you would find board games. The RRP is £24.99 which in my mind is a bit steep because essentially you are paying for a funky dice, timer and random words, so fun as it is I would recommend shopping around!

Summary: Will make your brain hurt!