It's funny how things change as you get older isn't it? As a child I used to love Sunday evenings, when after my favourite tea of boiled eggs, soldiers and a large slice of chocolate cake I used to have my mandatory bath and hair wash and then choose a board game to play with my parents before going to bed.

My favourite game was Sorry! and until recently I'd forgotten all about it, however, my parents kept most of mine and my brothers favourite toys and games and on a recent visit to their house my 9 year old son came across it in a cupboard and asked to play it - it is now his favourite game too.

**WHAT IS SORRY!**

Sorry! is a traditional family board game, similar to Ludo, for 2-4 players and is suitable for ages 4 years and upwards. It has been around for a good many years and is made by Waddingtons. Despite having been around for a while the game is still as popular now with children and adults alike as it was in the 1970's when I was first introduced to it.

As well as being a fun game to play it is also an educational game as it encourages children to count and also assists with hand and eye co-ordination development.

**HOW TO PLAY SORRY!**

The board game comprises of a fold away board, a set of circular playing cards and four sets of four different coloured pawns.

Before play can start each player has to chose a colour. Once they have chosen their colour they have to place their pawns into the circular start position which is coloured the same colour as their pawns. The only thing left to do now is chose who is going to start - you can decide this by starting with the youngest/oldest or in any other way you wish.

Unlike a lot of board games which are played using dice, Sorry! is played using playing cards.

At the start of the game the circular playing cards are placed downwards on one of the circular Sorry positions marked in the centre of the board.


Play begins with the first player taking a card off the top of the pile and following the instructions, (ie forward 8), in this instance the player would move one of their pawns forward 8 places. However, before a player can move any of his pawns he has to get at Start card. There are several Start cards and they are placed in amongst the playing cards.

Once a player has drawn a Start card they can move one of their pawns onto the board and begin playing the game. A Start card only enables one pawn to go into play, so in total the player needs to receive 4 Start cards initially to enable himself to get all his pawns onto the board.

The aim of the game is to be the first player to get all four of your pawns around the board and into the coloured home space where they then become safe.

This may sound simple, but hidden in amongst the playing cards are SORRY cards. The SORRY cards force the player who has selected them to sent one of their pawns back to the start. They cannot then not replay that pawn until they draw another Start card.

Also in amongst the playing cards is a card that enables another player to either select to move one of their pawns 'forward 11 or change places' with any other player. Obviously this can have a negative effect on a player who is getting close to winning as the player who draws the 'forward 11 or change places' card can decide to swap his pawn, (which is miles away from his home), nearer to his home by swapping places with your pawn. This could mean that you have to virtually go around the entire board again before you can get safely into your home area.

Sorry! is a great fun game but be warned because of the SORRY cards you can expect a game to last quite a long time, as just when you think you've got it all sewn up you can find yourself being sent back to the beginning.

Sorry! is available in most good Toy Shops and costs around £10.

This ga
me is based on a very simple idea but I it is sure to provide hours of fun for both children and adults and will continue to do so for years to come, unlike many of the fad games that come and go so often these days.

Thank you for reading.

Julie