Top 10 Board Games ("Buyer's Guide: Contemporary Board Games")

Member Name: Jazzy09

Product:	"Buyer's Guide: Contemporary Board Games"
Date:	03/06/09 (43 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Classic collection of board games to help you decide what to buy

Disadvantages: -

Here is my list of Top 10 board games. As you can probably see I love to write review on my top ten favourites but still I find these types of reviews a great read.


~ Number Ten ~

Board game: Screwball Scramble
Released: 1990's
Brand: Tomy
Number of players: 1 player only

This was a great Christmas present when I was younger and played this game a lot. The game involved pushing a lot of buttons and using your concentration, patience and co-ordination skills. I hated the ticking timer which was very loud and sounds like an alarm clock if it goes off. It did at a lot of pressure to the game and if you didn't complete the course in the specified time it would make you jump will a loud ringing noise.

You can actually still buy this game online and is very cheap to buy considering how much gameplay you get out of it.


~ Number Nine ~

Board game: Treasure Hunt
Released: 1989
Brand: Channel 4
Number of players: 2 to 6 players

I remember the show from the TV which Anneka Rice was the lady running around trying to find the hidden item within a set time limit. The board game is based on the series and during gameplay allows you to solve clues which lead you to the next one and if you are successful you will find the treasure.

This was a good game and worth its weight in treasure!


~ Number Eight ~

Board game: Market Day
Released: 1984
Brand: Ravensburger
Number of players: 2 to 4 players

I used to love this game and had been passed down through the family to us. This is a great game for young a child and allows them to collect farm animals like pigs, cows and many more. When playing each person tries to get round the board collecting cards for individual animals. These cards are required in order to complete you farm with all the necessary animals.

During gameplay you pick up cards which can set you back, for example your animals can escape through an open fence which means you miss a turn.


~ Number Seven ~

Board game: Blast Off
Released: 1969
Brand: Waddington's
Number of players: 1 to 4 players

This was one of my dad's board games and enjoyed playing this. The main aim of the game is to move around the board on a small amount of fuel and visit all the planets. I remember that you had to visit the moon after reaching each individual planets which was a bit annoying but made the game a bit longer. If you landed on the other player's ships then they had to go back to planet Earth.


~ Number Six ~

Board game: Subbuteo
Released: 1947
Brand: Waddington's
Number of players: 2 players only

Now this involved a lot of finger flicking and great fun for friends and family. My dad had to get a big piece of wood to stick the green pitch onto and then set your football player pieces onto it. Each piece is designed to be flicked and slide around the pitch and spring back up once flicked. The rules are pretty much the same as football rules, for example you can have throw ins and free kicks and corners.

This is a great board game for all football nuts!


~ Number Five ~

Board game: Frustration
Released:
Brand: MB
Number of players: 2 to 4 players

This was a great board game for a rainy day and would often play against my mum for money. The hardest part of this game was trying to get 6 which was required to get your pieces out of your base in order to go round the board and get them home. To stop players from getting round the board you would have to roll the number required to land on your opponents piece and that would mean they return to base and would have to re-roll a 6 to get back out.

The aim was to get all 4 pieces home first. It sounds easy but it really can take a long time to complete the game depending on who lands on what pieces. A great game for the family, this is a true classic and will be around for years to come. The layout has changed on new versions of this game but it is still addictive.


~ Number Four ~

Board game: Scrabble (Original)
Released: 1938
Brand: Mattel
Number of players: 2 to 4 players

This has to be in everyone's top ten as it has been around for a long time and is still played by millions today. The aim of the game is to create the biggest words with letters which you are allocated at the start of the game. Each letter is worth different points, for example Z is worth more than A. The board is square with 100 tiles and most tiles are marked with numbers which means if you put a letter on that tile you multiply the letter by that amount.

This game can cause many arguments so I would advise that you play using a dictionary so that knowone can cheat and use made up words. This is up there with the best and is a great game to play with family at big occasions.


~ Number Three ~

Board game: Twister
Released: 1966
Brand: Hasbro
Number of players: 2 or more players

If you are looking for a game that really tests your physical abilities then this is the game for you. It is played on a plastic mat and has four rows of coloured circles. A spinner is then used to determine which foot or hand is to be placed on a certain colour. If there is more than two players you can imagine the chaos of trying to get over one another to get your body part on the spot that you are required to by the spinner.

A good game for parties.


~ Number Two ~

Board game: Cluedo
Released: 1949 (UK)
Brand: Waddington's
Number of players: 2 to 6 players


First before anyone does anything three cards must be chosen (a suspect, weapon and a room). These are then not seen by any player and are put into an envelope until the end of the game or until someone guesses all three after asking questions and getting answers from each player playing the game.

There are six weapons, six characters and nine rooms in which players suggest their guess and players say whether it is correct or wrong. When playing this I would recommend playing with more than two players as the game tends to be over quite quickly but still a great game and a classic.


~ Number One ~

Board game: Monopoly
Released: 1904
Brand: Hasbro
Number of players: 2 to 6 players

Whenever you think of a board game the first one that comes to mind is Monopoly and that's because in my opinion it's the best. Having done my research it is predicted that over 750 million people have played monopoly to date and on average the game can last from 2 hours to 9 hours. It takes about 15 minutes to setup and involves rolling 2 dices in order to move around the board.

During setup the banker is selected by all players and is given the task of handling the properties and cash. This can lead to vast amounts of cheating (mainly by my wife). Players are then given the option to choose an item to move round the board and if you're like me I like the dog. There are many other pieces to suit players of all personalities.

Next players are given £1500 cash to spend on properties as they go round the board. There are pitfalls along the way with 'Chance' cards and sections of the board like 'Income Tax' which can lose you the game in the latter stages.

There are many versions of the game today in which all have the same rules just different layout designs e.g. The Simpsons. I don't think there are many of us who haven't played this game at some point in their childhood.

Thanks for reading!

Summary: Top 10 list of board games which are great for family and friends to play!