Staccups - cup stacking fun!

Staccups is a fast, furious and fun family game from University Games. With no batteries required, it's a simple game that results in hours of competitive fun. The aim  is to stack coloured cups in order, according to the coloured tab on their base, in the quickest time against your opponent.

The contents include 32 coloured cups and a podium stand spinner. There is minimal assembly required to set up. You simply have to clip the bases onto the coloured cups and you are ready to go. The quick paced game involves reaction times and hand-eye co-ordination as you race to stack your cups in a colour coordinated order. You have to match the top of the coloured cup to the previously put down coloured base, so you have to think fast and be precise to win.

Staccups is great for 2 to 4 players with the recommended age of 8+. There are different rules for games for 2, 3 and 4 players. However, Freddy enjoyed practicing on his own to try to hone his colour matching and super speedy stacking skills! There are several adaptations of the game to include an advanced and a strategy game. The shot sized cups are colourful and sturdy.

Play begins when the button on the podium is pressed, giving a starting colour for the game. Then play proceeds with players stacking their cups accurately in the quickest time. Opponents can challenge play if they think you have cheated or made a mistake.

It's a game that makes you think and which keeps your mind alert and your reflexes sharp. I love the simplicity of the game and that it requires no batteries and has uncomplicated rules. It's a good family game for everyone to enjoy.

Staccups is currently £12.99 from Smyths Toys or Amazon. (RRP £19.99)

Word Has It! - building the tallest word against the clock

We really enjoy playing family games, especially the ones that make you use your brain but are still a lot of fun to play. Word Has It! from University Games definitely meets this criteria. It is a quick paced game where players scramble to create the tallest word, using the stacking letters, against the clock.

The game includes an electronic timer (AAA batteries required) that counts down and builds the tension as players try to come up with a word that fits the criteria of the round. The criteria is decided using a category card and a spinner which picks the starting letter. From there it is a free for all, as you try to think up a word, find the letters you need on the three sided pieces and stack them up to create the tallest word you can think of. It's not that easy when you are under pressure and against the clock.

Each round is quick to play so you can play for as long as you like by playing as many rounds as you want. If you are like us you will always be wanting to play just one more round, hoping to beat your tallest word! It's great fun for wordsmiths and helps children practice their spelling in a really entertaining way.

Word Has It! is suitable for children aged 7+. Younger children might get a bit frustrated playing against competitive adults, but Freddy enjoyed playing with is as we gave him a bit of help to ensure he could keep up and make his words. Anything that encourages a love of words is worth making some concessions for.  When playing with the older children though it was every man for himself!!

You can play with 2 - 4 players so it is great for couples or families to play together. The RRP is £19.99 and it is available from Argos and Amazon.

Board games such as Word Has It! make a great alternative Easter gift and will keep families entertained over the school holidays. University Games also make the Pointless and 5 Second Rule board games, also excellent choices!

Festive Family Games

I've really enjoyed reviewing the board games that I have been testing out with Christmas Gift Ideas in mind.  Board Games generally mean the coming together of the family to have some structured, and slightly competitive fun!

University Games have some really great games that will be perfect for getting the whole family gathered around the table this Christmas.  Two such games are based on hit TV shows which adds that extra element of fun and familiarity to the proceedings.  These games are Pointless and Mr & Mrs.

I remember the original Mr & Mrs TV show where couples battled it out to win a carriage clock back in the 70s.  It was revamped recently for a modern audience.  This new edition Mr & Mrs Game can be played by all partners young or old, so sisters, brothers, parents and kids or married couples can join in.  It is designed for ages 10 and up.  Partners answer questions about each other (often with hilarious results) and the pair with the most matched answers and therefore points wins.

There are three rounds including the all new paddle round.  Some of the questions are quite quirky (what is a good age to live to?), others are more straightforward (how many cups of coffee do they drink in a day?) and I really like the fact that some questions are tailored for who is answering (woman, man, girl or boy).  This opens up the potential for playing with different groups allowing the whole family to join in.

This is a great after dinner game for groups of adult couples where things can get a little heated.  But it works equally well as a family game to see how well you know each other.  Playing time is not very long so you can repeat rounds to make it last longer.  You can have a dedicated host or you can take turns to ask questions making it quite a versatile game.

I am really looking forward to playing this over Christmas with my parents, my son and his girlfriend, me and Ian and my daughter and her boyfriend, with the younger kids acting as hosts.  It'll be a perfect game to play over the holiday season.  I just hope it won't lead to any marital disputes!!

Pointless is my Dad's favourite TV show.  He watches it everyday and loves pitting his knowledge against the contestants on the TV.  I can't wait until I can challenge him to a game of Pointless the Board Game!

Like the TV show, the pointless answers are the best!  The answers were decided by giving 100 people 100 seconds to name as many correct answers to a set question.  Each answer then gets a score based on its popularity.  You are looking to find the most obscure answers to score the lowest number of points.

You can play in teams so younger children can be included.    In fact sometimes their knowledge of modern stuff can help with finding the pointless answers.  Knowing the TV show definitely helped understanding the rules which are quite wordy!  There are three rounds followed by the end game where the winning player or team is decided.

Finding the pointless answers are not easy at all...but everyone will know something on the list and hope to pick something that has a lower score than your opposing players. (An example of a question card....Instruments played in the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra....I'd never even heard of the least popular answer, a Cor Anglais, but I knew all the other instruments on the list so it's a case of deciding which instrument is the least popular answer!)  I'm sure my dad will pride himself on getting all the low scoring answers like he does when watching the TV show (until the category is something to do with pop music or reality TV which I will definitely do better on!)

There are 338 question cards so it will be a long time before they start repeating and you rack your brains to try to remember the low scorers!  It is good for extending your general knowledge!

I like that Pointless pencils are included in the game's contents...I hate scrabbling around for pens in order to start a game. It's a nice little touch.

Both games will be enjoyed at Christmas when the extended family get together.  I am very much looking forward to giving them both a thorough playing and I will report back on how we get on with the multi-generational gameplay!!  Expect lots of photos of my mum looking confused, my dad looking smug and the kids having hysterics!!

If you want some great after dinner entertainment following your Christmas Lunch, you can buy Pointless (RRP £19.99) and Mr & Mrs (RRP £14.99) from Amazon.co.uk.  Both promise to deliver real entertainment and would make excellent presents for fans of the TV shows!

5 Second Rule

In our house we adopt the five second rule whenever anyone drops a yummy piece of food on the floor.  As long as you declare the 5 second rule ruling, you are free to eat the treat from the floor without anyone looking at you in disgust!  This rule is regularly evoked with Freddy's habit of throwing tasty morsels around the living room.

However, this post isn't about our dirty eating habits, it's about a fabulous new family game from University Games, 5 Second Rule, that we were sent to test.  It is a game of "quick thinking and fast talking" for 3 to 6 players ages 8 and up.

The game involves having to name three things on a designated subject in just 5 seconds.  This could see you having to name three species of fish, three types of cheese or three things you'd find in a shed.  Each card has a different question, some more challenging than others.  If you fail to name three things in 5 seconds play passes on to the player on your left until someone succeeds and gets to move their playing piece one space on the board.

Pass on and Switch cards and a Danger Zone on the board shake up the gameplay and keep things interesting, in this fast paced family game.

The five second timer is absolutely brilliant.  Ball bearings travel down a spiral in a tube...when they hit the bottom your time is up.  It is a very satisfying way of timing your 5 seconds.  2 year old Freddy thinks it's the funniest thing he's ever seen and it makes him giggle everytime it's turned over!

We tried out the game with the minimum number of three players and then again with five players.  It worked equally well both times.  I liked it because 8 year old Kizzy was just as able to compete as her 19 year old university student sister.  It was a level playing field which is an important factor in family games.

There was lots of laughter, lots of action and lots of fun!  It's amazing how blank your mind can go as you watch the ball bearings spiral down the timer!  You end up saying the most ridiculous answers as you get flustered and put under pressure.  Random things spew out of your mouth in your haste to get your answers out in time...it seems easy until it's your turn!

I really liked this game.  It was simple yet effective and the whole family enjoyed it.  It is priced at £19.99 and can be bought from Amazon.  A great choice for entertaining the family, especially if summer turns out to be the wash out it looks like it's going to be!

Here is a little video of our first go at playing 5 Second Rule!