Wednesday, October 26, 2011

TOS Review: Wits & Wagers Family

My kids are always excited when we get a new game, and it was no exception when Wits & Wagers Family arrived in the mail.

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Once we got the box open (the lid is rather tight-fitting), I was pleased to see that set up was quick and the directions were easy.  Each person chooses a set of "meeples" and corresponding little white board, and then the players take turns reading questions, which all have numbers as the answers.  Everyone writes their guess on their white board, then they are laid out in numerical order.  There is one extra board that has "1" printed on it, in case you think the answer is less than the lowest guess.  Players then place their meeples on the answer or answers (you can choose up to two) they think are the closest without going over.  Points are awarded to whomever guessed the closest, and whomever chose the closest answer.  I thought the questions were well-rounded, as there were some that were fairly easy because I knew the correct answer, but yet there were plenty where I didn't have a good idea.  We did skip a few, because we got several "How many songs on this Disney singer's cd?" questions in a row, and just got tired of them.  I don't recall coming across any that I felt were inappropriate, but we have not gone through the whole deck of questions yet.

My favorite part of this game is that play is quick, easy, and fun.  It only takes 15 points to win, and at least one player generally wins several points per turn.  I like that if I only have maybe 1/2 an hour, we can play a round or two and the kids are happy that I played a game with them.  My least favorite part was that there were no erasers in the box for the little white boards, but we just kept our paper towels in the box after the first time.

The box says that the game is for ages 8 and up.  Based on the fact that my 10 and 11 year old did not know most of the answers (or really have a very good guess, to be honest), I'd say that I probably wouldn't play this game with kids younger than them, though anyone that can write and has a good concept of numbers could play.  The game is also specified for 3-10 players.  There are 5 white boards, so if you have more than 5 players, you would need to form teams.  I think that you could play with way more than 10 players if you're going to do teams, and don't see any reason why Wits & Wagers Family couldn't be used as a party game.

Wits & Wagers Family is produced by North Star Games.  Other games by North Star include Say Anything and the regular version of Wits & Wagers.  There is a "find a store" feature on the website - I live in a pretty rural area, and the nearest store was an hour away.  There is also an option to buy it through Amazon, if you click on the "Games" tab.  Prices will vary based on the retailer - it was listed for $15.00 on Amazon when I just checked, but that could change any minute.

Over all, I think Wits & Wagers Family would make a great Christmas gift, especially if you give "family" gifts to extended family and friends.

***Note:  I received my copy of Wits & Wagers Family for free to review through TOS Homeschool Crew.  All opinions are my own.


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