I'm Sorry! Actually, no i'm not! (Sorry !)

Member Name: kiwiii85

Product:	Sorry !
Date:	31/12/08 (179 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Easy, mindless, family fun, simple

Disadvantages: You really find out who your friends are!

There's no better time of year to bring out the board games than Christmas.

Sorry! is another of those fantastic Waddington's games that once you've played once, you don't want to stop. It's suitable for players aged 4 and up (as long as they can count upto 12) and is for 2 - 4 players. This is a fantastic game that incorporates learning with fun - your child will learn to count to 12 easily and is introduced to the concept of subtracting when you pick up that - 4 spaces card.

The contents of the game include 4 playing pieces, "Sorry!" cards and the board - hardly anything complicated meaning setup time usually only takes around a minute. I find nothing worse than a game that takes a good 10 minutes to set up, after all, that's usually half of the time you have available to play.

Playing the game is simple and starts with everyone picking a colour. With the colour comes a start square and a home square - the object being to move your pieces from the start, round the board and to the home. This game is slightly unusual in that it doesn't come with dice that can mysteriously disappear from one game to the other. So how do you play? The answer is with the Sorry cards.

Our version of Sorry! comes with a card holder where the cards are placed face down in one side and once used they are returned face down into the second circle on the holder. You decide who starts the game and as far as I'm aware, there is no method to this and you can pick your own (ie oldest/youngest/ highest card starts). The first player picks up a card and the game begins.

To move your piece from the start square, you must have a 1 or a 2 card. With the 1, it lets you out of the start, but with the 2, you get out and draw another card. There is no limit to how many pieces you can have on the board at once (One lucky soul could have all 4 out, whilst another is still waiting for their 1 or 2!). The cards range from 1 to 12 forward, or a minus 4 backwards. There are a couple of trick cards in amongst the others - a 7 you can split so one piece can move 3 and the other piece 4. This can be any combination as long as it totals upto 7. There is also an 11 or change places card, where you can move 11 spaces forwards, or change places with another players piece that is closer to your home (or if he's winning, you can move him further away from his home to buy you some more time, it's all about tactics!).

So it all looks quite easy doesn't it? Well it isn't quite that simple! Hidden amongst the numbered cards are Sorry! cards. If you pick up one of these, you can choose to send any other players piece back to the start so they have to again wait for the 1 or 2 to get out again. This can be a fantastic tool if you're about to lose, but remember it works both ways and if you do it to someone, they're likely to do it back to you!

So which one of you can avoid all obstacles and players and get your 4 pieces home first? I'd love to say it's always me, but sadly that's rarely the case! You need to have the exact number in order to get your piece home so unfortunately for me, you can be sat there for quite some time waiting for just the right number!

My verdict? This is one of those fantastic mindless games that you can play whatever your mood. It's so simple that if you're tired, it's easy. It's suitable for all the family and i can assure you, kids do not tire of being mean easily! We've had this game since we were kids and we now play it with our nieces and nephews who love it. I can't wait for my own daughter to grow up so she can play it with us too.

I have no idea how much the game cost when we bought it but it seems to be selling for between £10-£15 these days. This is an absolute bargain and i would recommend it to anyone with a sense of fun.

Summary: Sorry! is fun for all. A definite buy for any family with a sense of fun and a mean streak!