Showing posts with label Board Games. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Board Games. Show all posts

Monday 13 April 2020

Junior Rummikub from Ideal Games - A Review

During the Easter Weekend, we have continued to enjoy playing some of the games that we were kindly sent from Ideal Games. Today we have decided to review Junior Rummikub, which is a fast paced numbers game for the whole family to enjoy.

The front of the box is a lovely bright red colour that features some fun graphics including a cheeky monkey, a cute blue rabbit and some vibrant colourful stars. It is really eye-catching and also shows you some of the game pieces. The top right hand corner identifies the game as being suitable for children aged 4+ and that it can be played with 2-4 players.


The rear of the box provides you with a brief overview of the game, which gives you a good idea of how it is played. There are also some images of the actual contents that are included, along with a list. The box contains:

  • 40 Tiles (1 to 10 in 4 different colours)
  • 4 Joker Tiles
  • Star Counters
  • 4 Tile Racks
  • 1 Instruction manual

We carefully removed all the items from the box and began to set up the game. The instructions were relatively straight forward and it was very simple to get everything into place. Once we were ready to play, I read out the instructions to the rest of the family and although a couple of my children didn't quite get it intially, this all fell into place once we began to play and in just a few minutes it all made sense.


The aim of the game is to collect as many stars as possible by creating Runs of numbers or adding to them. A Run has to comprise of at least 3 tiles and these tiles must also be in consecutive number order. In addition, all numbers in the run must be the same colour.

To begin, we each selected a playing rack and 6 stars, before turning all the tiles over on the table face down to create a tile pool. I then told each player to select 6 tiles at random and we each placed them on our tile rack, whilst ensuring that our opponents could not see which tiles we had selected.

The oldest player then starts off the game play by trying to lay down a run. If they are unable to go, then they must pay the bank one star and pick up a tile from the pool. The person to the left then takes their turn. Once a player is able to lay down a run, then the next person has the choice to add another tile or tiles to the run laid out, or alternatively they can start a new run of a different colour.


To help you to earn stars there are a series of rewards and for every tile that you manage to lay down, you can claim one star. If you manage to lay a run then you can also claim another star and on the last tile played which clears a player's rack, then this also entitles you to a further bonus star.

For example if I was to lay down a new run consisting of the numbers 3, 4, 5, then I would score 4 stars. It is very simple to pick up once in play and as soon as we had finished our first round, my children immediately requested to play again.

There are also 4 Joker tiles that can be drawn and these are very useful and valuable tiles, due to the fact that they can be used as any colour or numbered tile in a run. You can also use two or more jokers in the same run which can make the game quite exciting.

The game is complete once a player manages to successfully lay down all of their tiles from the rack. The remaining players must then each pay the bank one star, for each tile that they have remaining. The winner is the player with the most stars, but in the event of a tie, then the winner can be determined by who managed to put down all of their tiles first.


Overall my family and I really enjoyed this game. Whilst I initially thought it would be most ideal for my youngest son Riley, it ended up being something that we could all enjoy and it has been a great addition to our family collection. Everyone picked up the idea of the game very quickly which meant that no one got frustrated trying to understand how to play. I particularly liked the fact that it was helping my youngest son with his numeracy skills, as well as encouraging him to use logical thinking. With an RRP of £22.99, I think that this is great value for money and I would definitely recommend Junior Rummikub to others.

Junior Rummikub can be purchased from toy retailers including Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Junior Rummikub or other products available from Ideal Games, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:



*Disclaimer: We were gifted this game of Junior Rummikub for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product and our experience. All opinions and thoughts are my own, unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.

Tuesday 7 April 2020

Family Fun with Othello - A Review

You will have hopefully read our recent post about a fabulous bundle of boredom busting games that we were sent from Ideal Games UK to help us keep busy and entertained over the coming weeks. My family and I had a wonderful selection of both classic and new games sent to us, which we shall be putting to the test over the next few days.

There was a little debate as to which game we should try first, but after having a good look through the games on offer, we decided to start with Othello. All of us enjoy fast paced strategy games, so this seemed the perfect choice to begin our family games night with.


Othello is a two player game, where the object is to trap and capture your opponents disks, whilst strategically placing yours on the board. If you trap the other players disk, then you can flip this over to match your colour, but of course they can also do the same to you, so it helps to try and think ahead before placing your next move.

We hadn't actually played this game before, so we each had a good look at the box and read through the instructions before starting to play. The front of the box has a large image, which shows a green playing board along with black and white disks. There is a caption that runs along the bottom that states "A Minute To Learn.... A Lifetime To Master!"

The rear of the box provides much more detail, along with a brief explanation of how to play. There were numerous images that gave examples of the game in play, which were also accompanied by some short sentences of written instructions. Once we had all taken a look at the box and the enclosed guidance, then we were ready to play and began to set up the board.

On opening the box we found the following contents:
  • 1 x Instruction Manual
  • 1 x Playing Board
  • 64 x Reversible Disks
  • 4 x Playing Board Feet
There isn't much assembly involved in this game at all and the only preparation you need to make is inserting the 4 playing board feet into the base and lining up your disks in your players row. Each player has 32 disks, with one person playing the white colour and the other person the black. The object of the game is to be the player with the most disks of your colour at the end. 

To begin play you both start with 2 disks placed in the centre position as shown below. Each player then takes it in turns to place down a new disk, whilst also trying to outflank your opponents disks. Outflanking means to place a disk on the board that traps your opponents disk at either end. If you outflank their disk(s), then you get to flip them over to your colour and the game continues.


To outflank a disk(s), it must be in a continuous line but can travel in a number of directions including vertically, horizontally and diagonally. This means that if you carefully observe the board, you could place your disk to actually outflank your opponent in a number of different ways.

If at any point there is no possible move for you to make to outflank your opponent, then you must forfeit your go, however if there is a move available then you must take your go, even if this would not be to your advantage. Once it is no longer possible for either player to make a move, then the game is over and the player with the majority of their coloured disks is the winner.


Overall we really enjoyed this game and to be honest I liked it more than I had expected to. My first impressions were that it would be a very simple game and it would be over in seconds, but in fact it requires quite a lot of thinking and consideration of your next move or strategy. Riley is only 7, but he picked up the concept of the game really quickly and I liked watching him take the time to think out his next move. My two older children aged 12 and 13 also found this game to be really fun and it was great to see them playing against each other in such a calm, yet competitive way. As it is only a two player game, it wasn't possible for us all to play at the same time, however we turned it into a family championship instead and did a series of rounds, semi finals and finals until crowning our Ultimate Othello Champion!

Othello is a game that is simple to learn and enjoyable to play. It has an RRP of £22.99 which I think is a reasonable price for this game. It can be purchased from retailers such as Argos and Amazon.

If you would like to find out more about Othello or any of the other products available from Ideal Games, then you can visit their social media pages on the following channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IdealGamesUK/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idealgamesuk/



*Disclaimer - We were gifted the game of Othello for the purpose of writing an honest review of the game and our experience. All opinions and thoughts are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.


Monday 6 April 2020

Boredom Busters From Ideal Games

We are all going through worrying times at present with the current pandemic and for children in particular, there has been a lot of change and uncertainty created. Like most parents, we are trying our best to stay positive and encouraging our kids to continue with their school work, take some time out in the garden, speak with their friends regularly and talk to us if they have any worries. They have been absolutely fantastic these past couple of weeks, however it is only inevitable that the boredom will gradually start to creep in for all of us.

We have therefore been looking for some boredom busting games and activities that we can enjoy together, make us laugh and help us to take our mind off current events, if only for a moment. We were therefore absolutely delighted (and a little overwhelmed) when the lovely team at Ideal Games sent us a fantastic selection of products to keep us busy over the coming days and weeks.

For any families out there that enjoy board games, I intend to write a full review on each game pictured and I will upload a new one every couple of days throughout April. This will not only help us to keep busy as a family, but I also hope it will help to provide other families with some ideas and inspiration of games that they can also enjoy together.

Be sure to check back in the next couple of days to see our latest review, we just need to decide which of these great games we are going to play first!

If you would like to find out more about any of these games, then you can visit the Ideal Games social media pages on the following channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/IdealGamesUK/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/idealgamesuk/


*This is a collaborative post and we have been gifted the games featured in this image for the purpose of writing an honest review. 


Thursday 2 April 2020

Wordsearch Junior - A Review

Like most parents we are still trying to find the right balance between learning at home and still having some fun, during the school closure period. My children are doing great with the work that has been set by their teachers, however I think it is also good to add a touch of educational fun into the mix to help try and maintain a positive mood.

Therefore, when an opportunity recently arose to review Wordsearch Junior, I thought this would be an ideal game to help Riley learn how to identify and read some new words, in addition to working on his spellings. We therefore excitedly waited for it to arrive, before involving it in one of our literacy lessons this afternoon.


Wordsearch Junior is described on the box as being a fun way to play and read. It is recommended for children aged 5+ and can be played by 2 to 4 players at a time. There are three levels of play which each vary in difficulty, so you can choose the most appropriate game boards for your child.

The front of the box is really bright and vibrant, which features the name of the game across the front in large text. The rear of the box has some really clear images, that give you a good idea of how the game is played and what you will find inside.


On opening the packaging we found the following contents:

  • 1 x Game Board (consisting of a base, transparent disk and ring)
  • 6 x Blue Picture Grids
  • 6 x Red Picture and Word Grids
  • 6 x Green Word Only Grids
  • 140 Counters (35 red, 35 green, 35 yellow, 25 blue)
  • 1 x Instruction Manual

The grids have varying levels of difficulty, with the Blue picture grids being the easiest. These grids consist of pictures only and you have to look for sets of 3 pictures in the right sequence. The red grids feature both pictures and words, so this is ideal for younger players who can use the picture clues to help them locate and identify the words. The green grids are words only and you simply have to search for the word as quickly as possibly against your opponent.


As this was Riley's first attempt at such a game, we opted to try one of the red grids first, so that he could get use to the game and understand exactly what he needed to do. We therefore chose one of them and placed it into the base of the game board. I then covered this with the transparent disk, which then holds the grid into position, before finally adding the blue ring.

To begin the game, you simply turn the board until the grid colour appears in the word gap in the ring. Each player then takes a turn to turn the grid and reveal a new word and reads this out aloud for everyone to hear (or in the case of the blue image board, simply describe the picture instead).

The words can be displayed in any direction so it is important to look not only left, right, up and down, but also diagonally too. Everyone searches for the word and the first player to spot it, shouts out the word and points at the answer. If this is correct, then they can place down their coloured counters to cover the word.

Game play continues like this until all the words have been found and the coloured section appears in the word gap again. If a word you find has to cover a space that already has another players counter in, then you can remove it and replace it with yours. Riley particularly enjoyed this part of the game and thought it was hilarious that he could remove my counters.

Once a full turn of the grid is completed then each player counts how many counters they had placed down on the board, with the winner being the person who has successfully used the most counters. A player can also win by using up all their counters, which Riley managed to do on a couple of occasions, much to his delight!


Once Riley had got the hang of the game, we decided to try one of the harder levels and switched from a red grid to one of the green wordsearch grids. Riley was a little apprehensive at first as he thought he would find it too difficult, but to be honest he surprised both himself and me, winning the first game with ease!

The green grid works in exactly the same way, except you are solely looking for words and there are no images this time to help you out. There were a couple of occasions where I thought I had found a word only to find that I was wrong, so make sure you definitely know where the word is before shouting it out.

For younger members of the family, the blue grids are ideal as these feature pictures only, so it is a great way of improving observation skills from an early age. I felt that these boards would have been too easy for Riley so we didn't attempt them, but they looked great and easy to understand.


Overall I really enjoyed playing this game with Riley and felt that it was a great way to help him learn some new words, whilst also staying focused. He enjoyed reading out the words, as well as racing against me to be the first to find them. We also made sure that we spelt out each word as we placed our counters down, which I hope will help Riley with his spellings going forward. We both found it to be a fun educational game and I look forward to playing it with him regularly going forwards. 

The game is very easy to set up and it has simple instructions to play, making it an ideal game for families to enjoy together. Wordsearch Junior has an RRP of £19.99 and can be purchased from Amazon.


*Disclaimer - We were gifted with this item for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.



Monday 14 October 2019

Win the Electronic Game of Bank Attack from John Adams Toys - Competition

Bank Attack is a brand new game from Ideal by John Adams Toys, which is sure to get families working together to crack the code and win the prize. This highly innovative and different play experience is both challenging and rewarding, but can you become criminal masterminds to break the vault and release the hidden gold inside?

Each player must pick their role in the group from Hacker; Money Man; Look Out or Explosives Expert and then use your special talents to break the bank. You can also select a difficulty level, then follow the spoken commands without delay: grab the right tools, pass them on at the right moment, use them quickly and grab the millions.

You can see how we got on when we recently played this game in our full review here.


Bank Attack is recommended for ages 7+ and has an RRP of £24.99. It is currently available to buy now from Argos, Smyths, Amazon and The Entertainer.

To find out more about Bank Attack or other games in the John Adams range, then you can visit their website and social media on the following channels:

Website - www.johnadams.co.uk
Twitter - @JohnAdams_toys
Facebook - facebook.com/IdealGamesUK
Instagram - @johnadams_toys
YouTube - JohnAdamsToys

We are delighted to be able to offer our readers the chance to win their very own copy of the electronic Bank Attack game and we have a fantastic competition for you to enter below. One lucky winner will soon be able to take on the Bank Attack challenge and see if you are able complete the mission!

If you are feeling lucky, then simply read the terms and conditions and enter using the gleam form below.

Win a Bank Attack Game from John Adams

Terms and Conditions

  • There is 1 (one) prize of a Bank Attack Game from Ideal by John Adams.
  • Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or over.
  • Competition closes on the 31st October 2019 at 23:59
  • A winner shall be drawn from all eligible entries within 7 days of the closing date and notified via email.
  • The winner will have 14 days to confirm their acceptance of the prize before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entries.
  • No bulk or third party entries
  • The winner's details will be shared with the promoter for the purpose of prize fulfilment and permission shall be obtained from the winner prior to doing so.
*Disclaimer - This post contains an Amazon affiliate link. 

Friday 11 October 2019

Slap Ninja by Jakks Pacific - A Review

Last night after a rush of homework, driving children to various clubs, making dinner and general tidying up, I had prepared myself for an early night, or simply just relaxing on the sofa and watching television. However, my children had other ideas and my lazy peaceful hour actually resulted in sixty minutes of hilarity, fun and so much laughter that I cried!

Why was this? Well....allow me to introduce Slap Ninja! A brand new game which was sent to us from Jakks Pacific to review. It is suitable for all the family from ages 4+ and requires 3 x AAA batteries which are included. Designed as a game of skill, you must perfect your speed and precision on your quest to become the ultimate ninja champion.


The packaging is simple and you can see the full product on display, which is great for shoppers as you can instantly see exactly what the game is about. There is also a 'try me' function, so you can press the button whilst it is still in the box and listen to some of the audio as well as feel the buzz. My children found this extremely funny before game play even began as the buzzing would make the box move across the table and it was also very loud, much to their delight.

The game was easy to remove from the box and was simply a case of tearing some of the box and cutting a couple of plastic ties from various parts that were holding it in place. My only minor complaint with this, is that it is the sort of box that you cannot use to store the game in afterwards. Within less than a minute though, the game was ready to play and my mini ninjas prepared for battle.


Game play is super easy and simply requires two players to sit opposite from one another, with each player placing one hand around their handle. One player is the designated Ninja Student, whilst the other is the Ninja Master. The challenge if you are the student, is to press the red button three times without being slapped and believe me this can get tricky, especially if you have a very competitive Ninja Master in charge of the giant slapping hand.

If the student manages to do this, then the master gets a shock through the controller, however if the master successfully slaps three times, then this shock is delivered to the student instead. Super easy to understand, but not quite so easy to master the skill!


Whilst playing there is music provided, which adds to the tension of the challenge and I personally thought that this was a great idea. It certainly built the suspense as we each took it in turns to take a go of being the student. There are star lights which turn red to help you keep track of the score too, so there are no worries about missing a point.

My children are all extremely competitive and as most parents will know, this can often lead to arguments where games are concerned, but this one just resulted in so much laughter that it was fantastic. It was actually funny to lose, which helped to create such a nice atmosphere during play.


Overall we absolutely loved this game! In short, it is an electronic version of the age old playground game of slaps, but with an added twist and plenty of laughs. I really liked the fact that the game was good to go from the moment you got it out of the box. There was no tricky set up, no having to read through mountains of instructions, you just simply have to place it on your chosen surface and get ready to play. My family found it hilarious and the look on Riley's face when he lost the first round and the handle began to buzz was absolutely priceless. I would happily recommend this game to others and I can see this definitely being a Christmas must-have!

This game is currently available to purchase from Smyths Toys, Amazon and other good retailers.

For more information on this product or others in the Jakks Pacific range, then you can visit their website or social media pages on the following channels:

Website - www.jakks.com
Facebook - facebook.com/jakkspacifictoys
Twitter - @JAKKSToys
Instagram - @jakkstoys



*Disclaimer - We were gifted this product for the purpose of writing an honest review of the game. All opinions and images are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link.


Wednesday 24 April 2019

Family Fun with Googly Eyes by University Games - A Review

Keeping my kids occupied during the school holidays can sometimes be quite a task. Whilst we enjoy regular days out, our budget will only stretch so far, therefore it means that occasionally we need to find some ways to entertain ourselves at home.

This is when I find that board games can be a great source of entertainment and they also provide you with the perfect opportunity to spend some family time together. University Games have a great selection available in the shops and when we were recently offered the chance to review their Googly Eyes game, I knew that the Easter holidays would most certainly provide us with the chance to try it out.

Googly Eyes is described as 'The drawing game of wacky vision!'. All of my children love to draw, so as soon as I discovered that there was an artistic element involved, I quickly realised that it would be the perfect game for us.


Googly Eyes by University Games comes in a brightly coloured and interesting box. There is a clear plastic window where you can see the glasses inside, along with some images of the contents and someone drawing a picture. This gives you a slight hint as to what the game involves.

On the reverse of the box there is a great contents picture which shows you everything that is included in the box. There is also a basic sentence that gives a simple idea as to how the game works which reads 'Put on the wacky vision-altering glasses and race against time to draw your team to the finish.'

The full contents include:
  • 1 x Gameboard
  • 1 x Pair of Wacky Oversized Glasses
  • 3 x Sets of tinted, interchangeable lenses
  • 4 x Plastic playing pieces
  • 1 x Drawing Pad
  • 1 x Pencil
  • 1 x Dice
  • 1 x Timer
  • 54 x Challenge Cards (this equates to a total of 162 challenges)
  • 1 x Instructions
Setting up the game was easy and was simply a case of removing all the items from the box, placing the board on the table and putting the cards in a neat pile. I then read through the instructions for everyone so that we had a clear understanding of how to play before we began. Each of my children were desperate to try on the glasses, so we actually spent ten minutes just wearing the glasses and seeing how the different lenses compared. Once we had taken some funny photos we made a start and Riley excitedly threw the dice.


To play the game the first player rolls the dice and moves their counter along to the corresponding colour. This can be green (easy), yellow (medium) or blue (difficult). Once you have landed on a space, you then select a card and need to draw the item that matches the colour your counter is on. Each colour is also allocated a set amount of time for your to do your drawing, with green having 15 seconds, yellow having 30 seconds and the most difficult of blue being given 45 seconds.

The players team mate(s) then need to try and correctly guess what is being drawn against the clock. Of course this sounds quite simple, but the glasses make the task quite tricky, especially if you are unlucky enough to land on the blue space where you also have to switch hands. This means that you have to wear the most difficult of lenses, whilst also drawing with the opposite hand to which you would normally use.

The glasses fitted Emma (12), Ben (11) and myself really well, however my six year old did need to hold them in place at times. Funnily enough he chose not to hold them in place when he had the blue lenses in, so I am convinced that he could see through the gap, though he would never admit to this. I really liked how it encouraged my youngest child to think how he could draw things, so for example he had the challenge of drawing a tree house, so he quickly thought about this and drew a separate tree and then a house next to it, which made it easy for me to guess.


If the team player guesses correctly then you roll the dice again to move along the board. The winner is the team that reach the Finish point first.

I seemed to find the blue lenses far more difficult than the children and some of my drawings were hilarious as I literally could not see what I was doing.

Overall we had a fantastic time playing Googly Eyes and it provided plenty of laughter. It is a great game to play as a family and would also be the perfect game to bring out at a party or family gathering. It is simple to understand and my six year old son grasped the concept of the game instantly without the need for much explanation. The contents were all good quality so I had no need to be concerned about any parts breaking. One thing that I particularly liked was that everything fitted back into the box really easily, which I have found can be quite a challenge with some other games and smaller parts often go missing. However with Googly Eyes, everything has its own place in the box so it is easy to store away safely ready to play again another day. My family and I would happily recommend this game to others and we have already decided that it is going to become our new travel game to take with us when we go on holiday.

The game has an RRP of £19.99 and is recommended for children aged 7+. It is available to purchase from most good toy retailers including Argos, Smyths, Sainsburys, Debenhams and Amazon.

For further information on Googly Eyes or other University Games, then please visit their website or social media pages which can be found on the following channels:

Website - www.university-games.co.uk
Twitter - @ugamesUK
YouTube - University Games


*Disclaimer: We were sent the Googly Eyes game free of charge for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All thoughts and opinions are my own unless otherwise stated. This post contains an Amazon affiliate link which means that I may receive a small commission should you choose to purchase from this retailer.

Thursday 14 February 2019

Pointless by University Games - A Review

You may be familiar with the game show Pointless, which regularly features on BBC television. My children Emma aged 12 and Ben aged 11 first introduced me to this show after they had been watching it with their gran. I must admit that it took me a couple of times watching the show, to fully understand how it worked, but since then its become a programme that we watch regularly. My two eldest children really enjoy it and although the questions are sometimes a little too tricky for them, they do like to challenge themselves and guess some of the answers.

We were therefore really interested to find out more about the Pointless board game by University Games, which replicates the BBC TV quiz show in the comfort of your own home. It features plenty of new questions as well as the ability to download the infamous scoreboard on your phone using an app. The app is free to download and it helps to keep a record of all the scores. It also calculates the (pretend) jackpot in addition to stating the reigning pointless champion.


I really liked the idea of the app and love the fact that the game incorporates modern technology. I have often found with other games that the play can be slowed down a lot when you have to make manual notes of scores or write things down, so with the assistance of an app, it certainly makes things much more simple.

The front of the box features familiar Pointless graphics, including the logo and the scoreboard. It suggests that it can be played either as 2-4 players or in teams and the reverse tells you a little bit more about the game as well as providing some information on the app, along with several images. It is a small sized box, so very simple to carry and store away when not in use, and all the contents fit neatly inside.

The box contains -
  • 270 x questions
  • 1 x Answer Sheet Pad
  • 3 x Question Card Holders
  • 1 x Pointless Trophy
  • 1 x Rules of Play
It is recommended for players aged 12+, though I feel that this is purely down to the amount of general knowledge required for the game as the concept itself is actually really simple. I had a quick glance through the questions and whilst some would have had my children completely baffled, I think the majority worked fine for their age group. For the first couple of games my children went head to head, but after this both my husband and I teamed up with the children and found that a team of one adult and one child worked great.


Unlike many other games where you need to gain the highest score, Pointless is actually quite the opposite. The object of the game is to score the least number of points and this is done by providing a correct answer that you think fewest of 100 people surveyed would have given. If you are able to provide a correct answer that the people surveyed had not thought of, then that provides you with a Pointless answer scoring zero points.

Setting up the game is really easy and is simply a case of installing the app and entering the players details. Someone then needs to be chosen as the Question Master and the remaining players can then be split into teams. The Question Master can also be part of a team, but must ensure that they do not look at the answers on the question card whilst placing it in the holder. Once it is in the holder, the answers are hidden so there is no chance of someone taking a sneaky peak at the answers. During play the app will show the current (pretend) jackpot, which will then rise during the game if a pointless answer is found during the rounds.

As my children were playing the first couple of games themselves, I did remove some of the question cards to ensure that the remaining cards were all topics that they had some knowledge of. I then sorted them into four separate piles for Rounds 1, 2, 3 & 4 and placed the cardholders next to them. When my husband and I joined in with the later games I simply returned the cards I had removed back to the piles. I really liked the fact that I could adapt the game to suit us and found that this worked really well.

For example the cards I kept for round four included Books by David Walliams and Harry Potter Teachers. My daughter Emma is a huge Harry Potter fan, but even she commented how hard it is to think when being put on the spot. She was determined to win that round and also managed to get a pointless answer after much deliberation over which teaching staff member to choose.

In round one each team decides who will answer first and the Question Master reveals the question. During this round there is no conferring allowed between team members and once the answer is given the Question Master enters the relevant score into the app and then turns it to face the players. Once you press "Go" the scoreboard counts down just like it does on the television show and this creates lots of ooh and aahhh moments as everyone waits to see the results. If there is a second player in the team then they take their turn at answering the same question. The app will then automatically add the score and reveal the winner of that round. The highest scoring player or team is then eliminated. Round two then continues in the same format with the remaining teams.


Round three is the head to head round where the two remaining players or teams battle it out. During this round players are allowed to discuss their answer with each other and the first team to win two questions will have the opportunity to win the (pretend) jackpot as well as receiving the "Pointless Trophy".

In Round Four, this is what is known as "The End Game", during which the Question Master randomly selects three questions and reads them out. The remaining team then has just one minute to come up with three answers. The answers can be from any of the questions, so they can come up with three answers to one question, or one answer for each of the questions asked. It is completely up to the players how they choose to use their three answers. If one of the answers proves to be Pointless then the jackpot is considered as being won. If not, then the jackpot will simply roll over to the next game.

My children became very competitive whilst playing and they actually surprised me with some of the answers they gave.


Overall we really enjoyed this game, the rules are simple to follow and it was a great game to enjoy with my older children once my youngest son Riley had gone to bed. I think the idea of integrating an app into the game is great and we loved the concept of a traditional board game being combined with modern technology. The trivia element definitely got us all thinking and we had plenty of competitive fun trying to think of the most 'pointless' answer. I can definitely see this being a game that we will play regularly and I would definitely recommend to other quiz loving families.

This game has an RRP of £14.99 and is recommended for 2-4 players aged 12 years and over.

For further information on Pointless or other University Games, then please visit their website or social media pages which can be found on the following channels:

Website - www.university-games.co.uk
Twitter - @ugamesUK
YouTube - University Games


*Disclaimer - We were sent this game on a complimentary basis, for the purpose of writing an honest review of the product. All opinions are my own unless otherwise stated.

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Shark Bite Game by Drumond Park - Review and Competition!

Now that the clocks have turned back, the evenings are dark before we know it, so it's nice to have a fun activity to do as a family whilst keeping warm and cosy at home. One of our favourite things to do together, especially when the weather is poor, is to play some family games. We have had some firm favourites over the last year including Stoopido and Rapidough, which are always guaranteed to provide a good laugh together. However, the lovely team at Drumond Park, recently sent us their Shark Bite game to review and we couldn't wait to see how this fared in the fun factor stakes!


Shark Bite was released earlier this year and I am sure the box is sure to have caught the attention of many children when browsing in the toy shops. The front of the packaging features some brightly coloured graphics, displaying an angry looking shark whose mouth is full of fish and lobster delights. It also features a photo of two children playing the game in the bottom left hand corner, which helps you to gain a better understanding of what the product and the contents look like inside.


It is designed to be played by 2-4 players and is recommended for children over the age of 4. This really appealed to me, as my youngest son is 5, so I felt reassured that it would be suitable and easy enough for Riley to play, as well as understand.

The reverse of the box provides some brief information on how you play the game, as well as providing further graphics and images. The contents list is also provided which is as follows:
  • 1 Shark
  • 12 pieces of shark food
  • 1 fishing rod
  • 1 sticker sheet
  • Instructions

After Riley had taken a quick look at the packaging, he couldn't wait to get the box open and get the game ready for us to play. We removed the contents and began to prepare the shark and dice. This was really simple to do and simply involved placing some stickers on the dice, as well as applying the sharks eyes and pushing the shark into its base. Riley insisted on doing this himself and found it really easy. We then took the 12 pieces of shark food and began to push them into the holes in the sharks mouth. In less than a minute, the game was ready to play, with the added bonus that there were NO batteries required. Perfect!


Emma and Ben joined Riley and I, so that we could all play the game together. We read through the instructions and we were all confident that we knew exactly how to play. The game itself is a really simple concept with easy to follow rules. To play you simply roll the dice which shows you how many fish you need to catch. You could roll one fish or two, so it is easy for very young children to identify how many they need. Once you have rolled the dice, you then need to catch your fish, using the fishing rod provided. Riley found it a little difficult to remove the fish during his first couple of attempts, but soon got the hang of it and realised that if he pulled the rod with quite a quick tug, then the fish would come out easily.


This is where you have to be careful though, as when you try to remove the fish, the shark may bite without warning and if that happens, then you need to return any food back to the sharks mouth. The aim of the game is to be the person to collect the most fish.


We immediately fell in love with this game as soon as we began to play. Everyone was laughing, as each person took their turn to try and retrieve an item from between the scary sharks jaws. Each of us hoping that it wouldn't snap on our go. Not only was it great fun to play, but it also encouraged Riley to recognise colours and numbers. It also tested his coordination skills by trying to hook a fish or lobster onto the fishing rod.


We played the game for over an hour, as each time a round ended, I was met with shouts of "Again, again". Due to how easy it is to set up and play, the kids have also been playing it every day both before and after school and I have been really impressed at the fact that it has also been an 'argument free' game so far!


My only minor criticism of the game, would be that I think there should be more than one rod included. I am a little concerned that if the one rod that is included should break, then we would be left unable to play the game properly, which would be very disappointing. If there were additional rods provided, then this would prevent that potential problem. The game could be played by picking the objects out using your hands, but I think that the rod adds more skill to the game, and that makes it more enjoyable.


Overall we all really enjoyed this game and it is certainly very popular in our home at the moment. There are no fiddly parts, no batteries required and no great skill needed to put the game together. It is literally ready to play in seconds and provides lots of fun and entertainment. The instructions are simple and it is the perfect game for families to enjoy together. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend to others. It is available to purchase from all good toy retailers including Amazon and has an RRP of £24.99.

You can also find out more about Shark Bite and the other great games in the Drumond Park range, on their website here:  Drumond Park



We love this game so much, that we have teamed up with Drumond Park, to giveaway a Shark Bite game to one lucky blog reader! If you would like to enter, then please do so, using the gleam form below. Terms & Conditions apply. Good Luck!

Win a Shark Bite Game by Drumond Park

Terms & Conditions

  • There is 1 (one) prize available on a Shark Bite game by Drumond Park. 
  • Entry is open to UK residents aged 18 years or older.
  • The prize is as stated and no cash alternative is available.
  • Competition closes on 6th December 11:59pm.
  • The winner will be notified via email and will have 7 days to respond to the winning email to confirm their acceptance of the prize, before an alternative winner is drawn from the remaining eligible entrants.
  • No bulk or third party entries.
  • The winner's details only will be shared with Drumond Park for the purpose of prize fulfilment.
Disclaimer: We were provided with a complimentary Shark Bite game for the purpose of providing an honest review of the product. All opinions and photographs are my own unless otherwise stated.

Sunday 4 December 2016

The Brilliant & Bizarre Jelly Belly Bean Boozled Game - A Review

Whilst we were brainstorming for our Secret Santa gift ideas, my son mentioned a fun game that some of his friends had recently played. We had already selected 4 great presents to feature, but wanted something fun and little bit different to fill the fifth spot.

The game in question was Bean Boozled Jelly Beans by Jelly Belly, and I immediately thought how fantastic, a game involving sweets, who wouldn't like that? However, my son then went on to explain that these weren't just any jelly beans, and that the game featured some very weird and wonderful flavours.

Keen to discover more about this intriguing game, Jelly Belly kindly sent us a sample to try out for ourselves. When the product arrived, I was both excited and very nervous in equal measures.


The box is really bright and colourful, and immediately my eyes were drawn to the obvious Caution sign at the bottom of the box that said "Caution, contains weird and wild flavours". I was still keen to try it out however and began looking at all the surrounding images on the box which explained the different colours and flavours inside. They were:


  • Multi coloured - Tutti Fruitti flavour or.......Stinky Socks
  • Green - This could be Lime or.....................Lawn Clippings
  • Yellow - Buttered popcorn or.......................Rotten Egg
  • Blue - Berry Blue or.....................................Toothpaste
  • Peach - Peach or...........................................Vomit (This was the one I was most scared of).
  • Brown - Chocolate Pudding or.....................Canned dog food
  • Green - Juicy Pear or....................................Booger
  • White - Coconut or.......................................Baby wipes
The aim of the game is to take a turn on the spinner and see which colour it lands on. Each of the players then pick the corresponding coloured jelly bean. If you choose the tasty flavour then you win a point, but if you choose the bad tasting flavour then you lose a point. If you want to be really skillful then you could try and practice your best poker face and pretend that you are happily munching on buttered popcorn when really its Rotten Egg, but it is definitely not easy to try and pretend that your rotten egg flavour was delicious. Not easy at all! I did try to cheat a little and smell them beforehand to see if you could tell before tasting, and you couldn't smell a thing until it was bitten into, then it became quite obvious.


The great thing about this game, is that it isn't limited on players, so whether there are only 2 of you ready to play or 10, it is an inclusive game for all, the only danger being that you may run out of jelly beans, but you can buy them separately in order to keep them topped up.

We watched a few funny videos on YouTube prior to playing, though I'm not sure whether this was a good idea or not, as one minute I was laughing and the next I was filled with dread as to what they may taste like, but after building myself up to it, I was ready to play!

We sat down in the evening a couple of hours after eating our dinner, and the kids were already laughing before we had even began. My husband was confident that none of the flavours would bother him, and I was merely sat there wondering what on earth I had let myself in for. My son chose to spin first and it landed on blue. I was somewhat relieved by this, as the thought of a toothpaste jelly bean didn't bother me too much, but miraculously we all had correct Berry Blue flavour.

Next up my daughter took her turn to spin and it landed on brown, I was quite looking forward to trying a chocolate pudding jelly bean, but oh no, as soon as I bit into it, it tasted just how dog food smells and despite my best efforts to keep my disgusted face hidden, I just couldn't do it. I quickly ran to the kitchen to grab a drink, which in hindsight I should have made sure we all had before playing. The kids were all laughing hysterically at my panicked face, which was then making me giggle too whilst desperately trying to remove the dog food flavour from my tongue. I swear I can still taste it now.

I will hold my hand up at this point and admit that I excluded myself from the game when it landed on the peach colour, I just could not bring myself to try a vomit flavour jelly bean. Yes I am a total wimp, and either my kids are extremely good at lying, or they totally swerved this one and all managed to pick the correct flavour of peach again, so as of yet, none of us have had the unfortunate displeasure of tasting this one. The only one that didn't bother me too much was the toothpaste flavour as this just tasted like the pink drink you have at the dentist, although it was rather strange having it in sweet form!


The game is great fun both for families or groups of adults and although some of the jelly beans may taste vile, they don't actually contain any vomit or dog food, and I checked the ingredients on numerous occasions just to make sure. We are planning on playing this again over Christmas when all the family come round, and I am looking forward to seeing all their faces. I played this with my eldest children who are 8 & 10, which I felt was just about the right age for children to enjoy playing but obviously this is down to parent discretion.

If I was to change anything it would be to remove the vomit flavour and replace it with something less disgusting. I have a fear of being sick as it is, and so no matter how hard I tried to participate fully in the game, there was no way I could bring myself to try this one. Our version of the game was the 3rd edition, so it would seem that they change the flavours occasionally, so I would be interested to find out what flavours may be on the next edition.

Jelly Belly have a great combination offer on their UK site at present for a 100g box with spinner and a 45g refill pack for only £10. This can be found here: Jelly Belly Bean Boozled

Disclaimer: I was provided with this product free of charge, for the purpose of providing an honest opinion and review. All opinions are my own.






Sunday 27 November 2016

Family Fun with Stoopido - A Review

We are big fans of fun family games that get you giggling, and so we were absolutely delighted to be offered the opportunity to review this fab game Stoopido, which is sure to be a popular addition to children's Christmas lists.

The game is made by Drumond Park who already offer a whole host of games to the market, but the fun and silliness of this particular one, had us keen to find out more!



The packaging for this particular product is really eye catching, bright and colourful, and features a selection of funny faces on the front of the box. It is recommended for 2-4 players, and for ages 8+. You can already gain a good idea of what the game involves from the images, so you can tell straight away whether it looks like a game that would appeal to your family. 

The reverse side of the box, shows you a visual guide as to where the pieces attach onto your glasses, along with some brief instructions informing you of how to play the game. Along with this is a list of contents, the manufacturers contact details, and an important notice that the game is NOT suitable for children under 36 months due to the small parts.

I could already tell from the packaging alone, that this game was going to be hilarious!



Inside the box, there was a bag containing 4 pairs of red glasses and 15 plastic clips, a bag with the Stoopitoot (love this word) and dice inside, 1 sheet of card featuring the 4 slap pads, 25 x Stoopido face pieces, 1 Stoopido Loser Sign, and the all important instructions. The Stoopido face pieces, slap pads, and loser sign, are featured on 6 sheets of card, and you simply just press them out to get all the individual pieces.



We began by pressing out all the pieces from the cardboard sheets and attaching the nose and ear clips to the face pieces. My children's first instinct was to try and make the funniest faces they could, before even starting to play the game, but then we sat down and my daughter read out the instructions. Although recommended for over 8's my youngest son (nearly 4) was also keen to get involved too and I was happy for him to do so, since I was playing aswel and could keep an eye on him. 

We each put on our pair of glasses and then placed the Stoopitoot in the middle of the floor with the Slap Pads surrounding it and then spread the face pieces around and we were ready to play!

To begin play, you simply roll the dice, and see where it lands. If you land on a Nose, Eyes, Hat or Ears image, then the first player to touch the corresponding Slap pads wins that round. The winner of that round then gets to pick a Stoopido Face Piece and add it to the glasses of ANY player that doesn't already have a face piece of that feature. So for example you couldn't add a nose to someone that already has one. If you roll the glasses side of the dice, then this unfortunately means that the player to your left can add a feature which you don't already have to your own glasses, and lastly if you roll the Stoopitoot then the first player to squeak the Stoopitoot can choose to either pick a Stoopido face piece of any feature and add it to any players glasses, or they can remove a feature from their own glasses.



If you win a round and each player already has the piece that you rolled then you can remove this piece from your own glasses. Once a players glasses are completely full then they are the LOSER and out of the game and have to sit there looking hilariously ridiculous!

The aim of the game is to be the last player left without a full Stoopido face on their glasses. For added fun you can take pictures of all the other players that lost holding the Stoopido Loser sign.

After reading the instructions a couple of times we began to play. I had been a little worried that it sounded a bit confusing, however once playing it all became really clear and the game is very easy to follow. It was so funny seeing each others funny faces and being able to choose what we added to each others glasses. My son especially liked the "Bogey nose" piece, ewwww! We played it a few times together and loved the fact that there are so many different combinations that you can make, so the game is never the same as the last time you played it, with everyone looking ridiculous on a whole different scale, each time we played.

I also loved the fact that no-one actually minded losing in this game, as the kids were quite keen to totally cover their glasses as quickly as they could just so they could see how silly their Stoopido face was. This helped to make it much more enjoyable, as my children weren't as competitive and as a result it prevented arguments, that can often arise when playing a more serious game.


Would I recommend it?

Absolutely! If you enjoy family time and a good giggle then this is the game for you. It has an RRP of £17.99 which I think represents good value as it can be played over and over again without becoming boring, due to there being so many different combinations. If you enjoy your more serious games, that involve some element of skill then sadly this game would not be for you, however I believe that everyone enjoys just relaxing and being silly with the kids every now and again and I am sure that many families would really enjoy this product. In fact, we enjoyed this game so much that I have decided to also include this in my Christmas Gift Guide for Children which I will be posting at the beginning of December, so make sure you check back to the blog soon to see what else we will be featuring.

If I was to change one thing, it would be that I would have preferred the dice to have been a bit larger, as sometimes it was hard to see which feature it had landed on, especially the yellow side, but we soon learnt what colour represented which feature. I would have also have loved to have had a fold-able picture frame included so at the end of the game you could take a picture with you all in it like a portrait.

Disclaimer - I was sent this product for free to provide our personal review and opinion on this product. This review is my honest opinion of our experience with the game.



This product is available to buy from Amazon, and other good retailers. The link above is an affiliate link which means that if you choose to purchase after clicking, then I may receive a small commission. These small commissions help me to run this site and provide great content for my readers.