We were therefore delighted to be sent Pass the Bomb! The Big One! from Gibsons Games which is recommended for players aged 8+ and contains 5 different challenge groups that are sure to put your brainpower and skills to the test. It can be played as a two player game, but is also suitable for groups of up to 8, making it the perfect game for our family of five.
Pass the Bomb! The Big One! comes in a square shaped, brightly coloured box, that immediately catches your attention. It is very vibrant and eye-catching, but you cannot tell much about the game from the front of the box or what it may involve. However, the rear of the box provides much more detail and you can gain a clear understanding of the game from both the images provided and the written detail.
I read out the information on the back of the box to the rest of my family so that everyone had a good idea of how the game worked. We then sat round the table ready to play and opened up the box. Inside we found the following contents:
- 1 x Board
- 165 Cards
- 8 playing pieces
- 4 puzzle tiles
- 1 wooden ball
- 1 cup
- 1 dice
- 1 electronic timer (red time bomb) - Please note that this requires 2 x AAA batteries which are not included.
We began to set out the contents on the table and placed the game board central to all the players. We then separated the cards into categories, shuffled them and placed them face down on the table next to the board. I then placed the time-bomb, cup and ball, the puzzle tiles and the dice next to the board on the opposite side, so that everything was laid out easily and in clear sight of all the players.
The aim of the game is to think of an answer or solve one of the tasks quickly, whilst the time-bomb ticks away. The game includes five different challenges which are Rhyme Artist; Word Acrobat; Category Captain; Puzzle Pro and Bounce Boss. Each player continues to play and hope that the time-bomb doesn't detonate. If the time-bomb does detonate, then you must move your playing piece by one space on the game board, which moves it closer to the "explosion" at the centre of the board. At the end of the game the winner is the owner of the playing piece that is the farthest away from the "explosion" in the centre.
When we were all ready to play the first player rolled the dice and set off the time-bomb. They quickly completed their task before passing it to the next player. This continued until the time-bomb detonated which certainly added to the pressure of completing the challenges. Each challenge really got us thinking and certainly tested our skills. Our favourite was the Rhyme Artist challenges which tests your rhyming abilities and for some reason we all found these ones really funny.
My eldest son really liked the dexterity challenge Bounce Boss where you need to attempt to bounce the ball on the table and land it into the cup. He was really good at this, but I wasn't, so when this challenge was involved, it was almost inevitable that the time-bomb would detonate on me. We also really enjoyed the word challenges and I felt that these also encouraged my children to use their vocabulary skills in a fun and exciting way.
Overall we really enjoyed playing this game. It was very easy to understand and it created plenty of laughter and funny moments during play. It is recommended for players aged 8+, however my 7 year old joined in and had no problem grasping the concept of the game. It is fast paced and entertaining, so there was certainly no chance of boredom whilst playing and it was a great way for us to pass some time sat together in the evening. My only disappointment was that batteries are not included, however this often seems to be the way with games, so fortunately we do have a supply on standby for this purpose. Otherwise it is a fantastic game and we would happily recommend it to others. It currently has an RRP of £22 and is available to buy from toy retailers including Amazon.
If you would like to find out more about Pass the Bomb! The Big One! or other products in the Gibsons Games range, then you can visit their website or social media pages on the following channels:
Website - gibsonsgames.co.uk
Instagram - @gibsons_games
Twitter - @gibsons_games
Facebook - facebook.com/gibsonsgamesofficial
*Disclaimer - We were gifted this game for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.