Don't wake mum sounds a better name for it to me....??? (Tomy Sssh! Don't Wake Dad)

Member Name: blissman70

Product:	Tomy Sssh! Don't Wake Dad
Date:	22/01/09 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great game for all the family

Disadvantages: can be a little frustrating at times

This is my first review on a board game, let alone a childrens board game, but I feel that I had to write a review on this brilliantly funny, but sometimes frustrating game...allegedly for kids..?
The game I am talking about is Tomy's 'Don't Wake Dad' ...

My Mother-in-law bought this game as a Christmas present for my youngest daughter and she simply loves playing it and even just loves waking 'dad'.


* WHAT IS IT..?

Don't wake dad is, as I said, a board game for two to four players ages 4+...
The aim of the game is to go around the small board and get to the fridge without, as the title says, waking dad...(although why the developers chose dad as the lazy grumpy one and not mum I don't know)...


*WHAT'S IN THE BOX..?

When you first open the box it contains...
* A playing board, (other wise it wouldn't be a board game),
* 4 playing figures, (basic plastic figure moulds in four colours, red, green, blue and yellow).
* A bed with a startled looking man in it.
* A yellow cloth hat, which fits over the startled looking mans face when he's asleep. * 16 playing cards, each with a different picture on it, such as a football bouncing or a telephone ringing, with each picture representing a picture on the playing board.
* A red arrow with a click on base, which is used as a form of dice, (this can easily be lost so take care with it)
* Instructions on how to play the game...which can seem a little confusing at first but are simple once you start playing the game.

*** but you will need to supply 2 1.5 AA batteries which fit inside the underneath of the bed, (small cross head screwdriver also required).


* SETTING UP...

There is a sheet of stickers which need placing onto and around the bed, such as an alarm clock face, a pillow, a blanket and a bedside table, (this only takes a moment and the Fit the batteries into the bed and switch the bed on, (this is done by a switch above the alarm clock next to the mans bed), place the yellow hat over 'dads' head, covering his eyes, and then push him down into position until you hear a click...
instruction sheet tells you where each sticker goes).
Then you unfold the board and place the bed and red arrow into there places, (There are small slots in the board to tell you where to put things).
Each player picks a coloured play piece and places the chosen piece at the beginning of the game play, (represented by the coloured beds and a white arrow)
Then the cards are shuffled and dealt out amongst the players evenly...
Now you're ready to play....


* THE BASIC RULES...

Choose a player to go first, (usually the youngest) and they spin the red arrow...
The point of the arrow will stop on either a purple star or a coloured dot...
If you land on a coloured dot you must move your piece to the that colour on the board, this will have a picture and a number on it, (for example a bell ringing and a number 6)... this is where the fun starts...


The numbers on the playing board represent how many time you may have to press the white button, which is situated above the alarm clock next to the sleeping 'dads' bed... the more times you have to press it the more likely he is to wake up... with a start, (usually frightening the person pressing the button)...

If the image on the space you land is on one of the cards you're holding then you're safe... but if another played has the pictured card then they must give you the card and you will then have to press the alarm clock button how ever many times the space tells you too... press the button slowly, listening for a load click each time.

If you manage to press the required number of clicks without 'Dad' waking up then you are safe, staying where you are until your next go...
However, if you wake 'dad', and you'll know about it if you do, then that player will have to go back to their bed, (near the white arrow) and begin again...

* If the red spinning arrow lands on a purple star then the spinner moves his piece in front of the leading piece...( if I remember that rule correctly)

* HOW TO WIN...

The first played to get round the board and get to the fridge is the winner... sounds simple enough you may think, but believe me this game can sometimes take longer than a game of monopoly, especially if 'Dad' having a restless night...
That's the basic rules, (and if you're like my kids then the rules that come with the game will have been lost on day one)...


*IN CONCLUSION...

What a funny game to play with the kids... and to be honest, with the wife after the kids had gone to bed.
It took a few minutes to set up and a few more minutes to read the rules, (then even less time to lose the bloody sheet of instruction), but once you get started it really is a fun game to play.
I had to laugh at the silly noises that 'dad' makes when he's asleep, (he snores louder than my wife..?), and all the background noises which would normally wake any one.

The four of us sat around the table and began, with me thinking it would be a quick game...considering there are only 20 spaces from the start to the fridge... but I was wrong.
It seemed that with every two steps forward there were six steps back, as sixteen out of the twenty spaces requires you to press the alarm clock button, usually causing 'dad' to wake up... and even though you're half expecting the little startled figure to jump up, his yellow hat flinging across the room, if can be a frightening moment when it happens, (my youngest let out a bit of a scream every time).

It is one of them games which can last five minutes or even five hours, sometimes bringing a little bit of frustration if you're constantly waking 'dad' from his sleep, forcing you to go back to your bed and starting again...this is especially frustrating if you are nearing the fridge and are about to be victorious, only to land on the parrot in a cage with a number six, waking dad on the last click, sending you right back to the beginning, ( "right...that's it..." my usual response...trying to send the kids to bed at eleven in the morning out of pure frustration...Grrrrr...)

Another plus for this game is the clever idea of being able to store the pieces, hat, cards and spinning arrow in the draw at the end of 'dads' bed, so as not to lose any piece... brilliant idea indeed. (but it's a shame about the instruction sheet... maybe the rules should be imprinted on the actual box instead of a piece of paper


In all, it is a well thought out game which, after playing once, is simple to understand.
It has an interesting and colourful board with a well constructed 'dad' in bed figure.
It is a game which should entertain for quite some time... and can be played by all ages, but as there are small playing pieces parts do watch the younger kids, especially if they're a little peckish.

If you haven't already got this game and you want to get it then shop around for the best price... I have found it ranges from £14.61 at www.amazon.co.uk to £16.00 from ToysRus... but prices my vary depending where you shop and what sales are on.

Give it a go, you'll love it... even if you haven't got any kids, just tell the shop keeper it's a gift for your nephew or something... I'm sure they'll believe you.

I just wish there were games like this when i was a kid...

Summary: You'll never be board with this game...