Silly fun for adults

My boyfriend was bought this as a present when he changed career to train as a doctor. We thought it was a pretty funny joke gift but that was all - didn't expect it would be fun to actually play as adults. How wrong we were! It was brought out one evening over Christmas (after we'd had a few sherries!) and proved to be hilarious. Try keeping your hand still after you've had a few and you'll see what I mean! It brought out the competitive nature of some of the guys in the room too, who couldn't help getting frustrated with their inability to use tweezers (women have an advantage here!) and mocking each other for repeatedly setting off the buzzer. It's a pretty basic idea and not intellectually challenging, and it is quite flimsily made (the inside of the box itself forms the playing surface), but it's good for parties and families and a bit of lighthearted retro fun for a very good price.
P.S. If you want to make it more challenging, try setting up the pieces upside down in the slots - makes it a lot harder to get them out!

Jenga- best game ever!

Jenga is a great game, minimal effort required to set up the blocks, slight concentration to play, no effort required to knock it down.
Good Sturdy game as built out of wood!
Overall- a must for every home, a great way to spend an evening!

If you don't have the first edition, get this.

Fans of the Potter films will be enthralled for hours on end. My kids don't seem to mind that the questions are a little on the easy side; there are certainly plenty of questions, clips and games to get through.

I have only two negative points to mention,. The first is that owners of the first edition will get poor value from this purchase; the first edition covered the first 4 films already, so you're only getting the fifth film in addition. To be fair, though, there is some new content other than the 5th film.

The other is that the focus is solely on the movies rather than the books. Most fans will have read (or had read to them) books 6 and 7 by now, and it is a shame that this material could not be used in the game too.

Simple, smart and very entertaining

If you're wondering whether you'd enjoy this game: It's like a cross between Monopoly and Risk, with about the same level of complexity, and with all the benefits of both and none of the drawbacks.

It has enough random elements to make it exciting (dice, cards and board-setup), but without making it arbitrary - which seems to be a failing of Monopoly. This means you can have a good or a bad few turns, but a good strategy will make all the difference over time.

The bartering of resources with other players is a key component of the game, and again it's possible for a good mercantile thinker to turn this to their advantage. It's fascinating - and amusing - to see the market swing in two turns from"All I've got is 4 Wood" to"I'll give anyone any 3 resources for a bit of WOOD!!!"

The combination of short-term goals and long-term strategies give it that Risk-like feeling of rewarding achievements, but without the aggressive style of play. There is no attacking or defending per-se - you just have to out-grow the other settlers. You can only really win by being a more successful cooperator than the other players!

As others have said, you never feel that the game's over until the last turn. Unlike Risk, Monopoly or most of the other conquest games, everybody's in with a fighting chance until the very end...

All in all, this is a beautifully well-rounded game. It's simple enough for anyone except very young children to pick it up and have a go, but balanced and dynamic enough for the more demanding gamer to get stuck-in. I've seen game-fanatics and"toys are for little people" snobs get just as caught up in the same game, and there have been many genuinely funny moments.
It's quite simply the perfect"get a couple of friends over for a bottle of wine" game. Heartily recommended.

They are really cutting corners

I have fond memories of Hungry Hippos as a child so I was very excited to play it again with my children. However, just as the reviewer before me has explained - this (like many other classics) has been"modernised" which is a polite way of saying"cheapened". You must put it together yourself and it's a lot less durable than the version I remember playing.

Other games that have been"modernised" include: 'Guess Who', 'Downfall' and 'Go for broke'.

I LOVE this game

This is quite possibly the best game i've ever played - so simple, so addictive, and made me realise how competitive i actually am. i really like the packaging and the coloured pieces. i think anyone who buys this game will become an instant addict - i have been converted into a true Blokus fan.

Great fun for all the family

This is a great game. Dont be tempted to buy the one with the electronoic pod. This version is so much fun and all my family love it. I cant praise it highly enough.

Fine to play with the family

This game is not bad once in a while. It offers the potential for humour not so much in the questions posed (e.g."what's your partner's favourite ice-cream"), but in the sometimes heated debates that ensue (it was marvellous to see my mother haranguing my father telling him that his favourite ice-cream has always been vanilla (I know you better than you know yourself) when he insisted it was strawberry). This is about as funny as it gets.

Any time you need a little light relief when you're with your family this fits the bill.

A game that helps your brain!

I think this game is suitable for 4-9 year olds and it helps your brain work things out.I think you will enjoy this game if you buy it and you CANNOT get bored of it easily!

TriOnimos Review

This game is a great game for the family or your flatmates.
I live with 3 other people and this is one game we always bring out at least once a week. Its great for a group of 3-4 people, it keeps your attention and usually someone different wins each game. Some of it is luck- depending on what counters you pick up to start with, sometimes its a matter of how on the ball you are when it comes to placing the counters down stategically.
Its definately a good game for travelling as well, once you take the counters from the box they can be placed in small bag and they are very light. Since its easy to learn your always going to have people to play with!
Have fun!

Rummikub

we love this game and having found a travel version it came to France with us.....This game helps with numbers for my 6 year old and the travel game is easily packed up and neat enough to fit in a suit case!

Excellent for children.

A simplified version of Monopoly. The game is much better for children than adult Monopoly: there is virtually no strategy and so who wins varies with each game played. The money is better for children: coming in denominations of £1, £2, £3, £4, and £5. The game is excellent at teaching children how to count and a game only lasts about 20 minutes. Excellent!

Taking a RISK!

For every advantage there is a disadvantage quickly following it, every move that is beneficial to your strategy always has even a slight disadvantage to it, in other words with every move you are always taking a RISK! You must decide what is best! That is whats so good about this game, you may have a strategy all planned out on your first go, but by the time your next go comes round you find you've had to change it, you are constantly thinking whats the most advantageous move to make, also even if its not your go you may still be called upon to defend your turf.

There are multiple ways to play the game, team games 3 players versus 3 players, 2 players versus another 2x 2 players or individual 6 players, and theres mission games where you accomplish set targets.
Some of the decisions you will have to make during the game are: Do i conquer one country or go for a whole continent in one go?
Should i hand in my 3 cards and get 15 reinforcements now or wait another turn and get 35 reinforcements? Should i reinforce one country more than another? Should i wipe player 4 off the map and get his cards and leave myself open to attacks or just dwindle his army down so i can take a country or 2?
Many decisions to make, and with all of them you will be taking a RISK! FUN!

Excellent, entertaining game for everyone

Kids will just love this highly amusing game. Adults love it too.

Used this in our British Sign Language class Level 1 and it was brilliant. Well worth the money.

Exellant

I've played this game before and found that my children loved.
I laughed so much when they made the marbles fall down, because my girls all screamed. A very fun game to play.

Yahtzee - ancient game, new frame

Yahtzee is a wonderful way to while away the hours, especially during this cold snap. This version is fully contained, portable, light, well designed (for example the dice rack can be placed safely on the opened arena for easa of access during play) and sturdy.
For those of you seeking a game with educational value: addition, chance and logic all come into play here. The game is quick to learn and always challenging. It provides an opportunity for single and multiplayer competition.

The only issue I have found is that, due to needing the dice shaker to be compacted, its design can occasionally hinder play - I am sure a plastic cup will surfice.

Great family game

I bought this for my four year old as we had Cranium Hullabaloo (also fantastic) and I thought I'd just give it a shot. I'm really pleased I did as it quickly became his favourite board game.

The game is incredibly simple, but it's also fun for us (the parents) and his older brother to play. All you have to do is move your playing piece around the board according to what the spinner/timer in the middle dictates. There are four options. First up is Frog Pond where you'll be flipping frogs from their lilly pads into their pot - like a frog based version of tiddlywinks. Next is Tumble tides where you use a button to spin four parts of a picture to match a whole picture you're given. Third is the Snack hut where you roll 6 dice to try and get as many matching foods as you can. Last is Letter Pond, here you pick a word from a flip-book and then use a magnetic 'rod' to try and fish the correct letters out of the pond. With each game you win balloons to add to your playing piece, and the first to fill their piece wins.

Games last about 15 minutes which is about perfect for holding their attention.

The best bit for me though is that even though the games are educational and fun, they are very simple, and, as they are all to some degree luck based, my 4 year old has as much chance of winning as my 6 year old - essential for mums and dads who always end up consoling the little one with other games:)

Fun for all the family

We played this at our friends house on New Years Eve. What a hoot! It was great fun and everyone could join in. Got quite competitive towards the end of the evening!!

Yes No Game

Fab game, lots of fun for all the family. Ask the questions really quickly and in different tones makes it more fun. Played it several times now and it still has us in stitches!