Cheatwell Games Travel Family Quiz Night and Travel Wild Guess Review

Reviewed by Deborah Banasko

We are very much a “games” family, and we always pack a few to take on holiday whether that be for the car, plane, holiday home or restaurant for meals out.  Travel Family Quiz Night and Travel Wild Guess both fit nicely into my handbag so already they get a tick, and neither takes up a lot of table space when playing the game which is another bonus.

Travel Family Quiz night is a kids versus adults game, so it’s ideal for family holidays and meals out, and it can be played individually or in teams of adults against children.  Players or teams place their coloured counter on the Start position on the board, whilst the game cards are organised into 8 subject categories.  The die is rolled and the question relating to the square that a player lands on is asked.  That player or team will have another turn if they answer correctly, or play will pass to the next team if they answer incorrectly.  At their next turn they will be asked a question on the same topic again before they are allowed to roll the dice and move forward.  The winner is the first team or player to reach the finish line.

The twist to the game, which I love, is that each card has differentiated questions.  The top question is for younger children with multiple choice answers, and the second question is for adults.  There is also a third option for older children and teens where the top question can be asked without listing the possible answers.  I think this idea is a wonderful way to ensure that the whole family is challenged and included.  I personally found the adult questions pretty tricky and wouldn’t have minded a multiple choice option, I am ashamed to admit.  When I played on my own with the children I actually let them ask me the kids questions (and still got a few wrong)!  As a team game the adult and children’s questions are pitched about right as it isn’t meant to be easy, but there will always be something that every player can answer.  The suggested age is 8 plus which I would agree with as, whilst our 5 year-old could answer some of the questions, he was less engaged than our 8 and 12 year old.

The number of squares on the board isn’t too large (35) so play time depends on how smart you are to a large degree. We found that it became really competitive and it was a great way to round off a meal at the end of the evening.  I love the mini board and game cards; the writing is quite small but still easy to read.  The slight drawback to this game is that it is a little tricky to play in the car due to the need for a playing board with counters and the different card categories, but the board is small and would work perfectly on a plane.  We placed the 8 decks of cards inside the lid of the box for ease.  Perhaps if the counters were able to stick to the board, possibly a magnet type format then it would be a little easier when travelling on the go but this is a minor point. It is more than worth the £13 RRP.

Travel Wild Guess is a great game to play literally anywhere as there isn’t a game board. Inside the box are 84 wild guess cards, an answer and score pad, pencils and a die.  A deck of cards are shuffled and placed answer side down, and each player has a pencil and answer sheet. This can be a team game should you prefer.  To start the game a player takes the top card, rolls the die and reads aloud the question on the card which corresponds to the number on the die. Players must write down their best guess at the correct answer, and the player who’s answer is the closest wins those points.  The player with the highest score after 20 guesses, wins the game.

To put this into context a little, examples of questions include “The length of the Mississippi River in Kilometres” and “The number of Munchkins in the 1939 movie of the Wizard of Oz”!  We really had some fun with this game, mainly as some of our guesses were so terrible and often embarrassing when you are beaten by an 8 year old!  This is great fun, and certainly one that I plan to take to our big family parties as anyone can play, and at some point everyone makes themselves look a little bit silly as so many questions came up which I literally had no clue where to gauge my response.  It’s one of those bonkers games where you actually feel like you’re having an education at the same time!

The suggested age is 12 plus, but I find this a difficult one to judge as my 8 year old was able to join in and play with us.  He wasn’t as engaged as my 12 year old as his guesses were random and he needed lots of hints, but he still played.  As a guide, it is probably best to aim for slightly older children but this is still a good family game and not just for adults.

The price point of £9 is another bonus as you get a lot of questions in the box, and it really is such a fantastic concept for a game.  Plus, I now know the number of gallons of paint needed to paint the White House and the number of feet that a sneeze can travel! Simply brilliant.

I am possibly a little biased as I do love travel games, but I would score both games 5 stars out of 5.

Rating: 5/5

RRP:
Travel Family Quiz Night £13
Travel Wild Guess £9.00

You can purchase both games from Amazon here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheatwell-Games-Family-Quiz-Night/dp/B0BWFQBB1P
And here; https://www.amazon.co.uk/Cheatwell-Games-Travel-Wild-Guess/dp/B0BWFQCHC3?th=1