Ideal Smash Down Game Review
DISCLOSURE – THIS ITEM WAS GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW. ALL THOUGHTS AND OPINIONS ARE THE REVIEWER’S OWN.
Reviewed by Bharti Lim
As a family we try to find games we can play with the children to get them off screens. Our 2 boys have really started to enjoy board games but can easily get bored, so something that they can play over and over again and doesn’t cost too much is often harder to find then you would expect.
We were recently sent Smash Down and as soon as I saw it, I knew it would be a hit because it is a similar concept to another game our children love but this one requires a little bit more thinking as well as observation skills.
Opening the box, I really liked how colourful the answer cards with the words are. It seemed a little confusing how the game works but the instructions were really simple follow. The game is designed for a maximum of 4 player with one quiz master, and says a minimum of 3+ but can be played with just 2 people. Albeit a little bit more difficult, I read the questions in the end as my boys played which seemed to work well.
The game packs up relatively small, it contains the question cards which pack into a box to hold them together, 4 double sided hard answer cards and 4 colourful pointy fingers with a long arm.
The idea behind the game is to read the question from a card and then the faster finger first to find and point to the correct answer, and shouts “smash down” wins the card. Pretty simple! Well unless you are playing with children who seem to be much quicker at finding the answers then the parents. I will warn you the volume control on my children was broken as their excitement of finding the answers faster then us had them in hysterics.
We are a very competitive family so there were of course arguments about who was first to find it or shout “smash down”, which I personally think is the sign of a good game!
You might be wondering if it gets a bit boring after playing it once or twice, well ‘Ideal’ the company behind the game have thought about that and there are 2 sides to the board. There is the black side and the questions to ask are on the black sided question cards. Then there is the other side which is various colours and the question cards are also coloured. This means you could play this game over and over again. Also, as there are 4 cards you can move them around so despite knowing the answer you still would need to be fastest eyes and finger first to win.
The best part is that when its time to pack it away, there is only a few parts that easily pack into the box, because no one wants to pack lots of pieces away at the end of the game.
Although the age recommendation is from 8 years old, its suitable for children from a younger age if they can read as my 6-year-old was able to play this very easily too.
If you are looking for a game to gift, or play on Christmas day after all that food then this game would be perfect! It is also a great price to gift to others too, some of my children’s friends would love this game. We will definitely be playing this after our Christmas dinner!
Rating: 5/5
RRP: £14.99 currently on sale for £12.99
This product can be purchased from Smyths Toys here.