Pick Up and Play Games for Filling Rainy Days Review
Reviewed by Louise Totton
Sometimes we find ourselves with a little bit of time to fill up – it could be before the kids start on their homework, before bed but after the games console has been switched off, or even just to spend some time together as a family after the dinner table has been cleared. One thing is for sure though – these awkward little bits of time become even more difficult to fill when it’s raining. When the weather is fine, that chances are they’ve already spent some time outdoors that day, but when it isn’t, they may have been stuck inside on wet playtimes and breaktimes for a few days, and to be frank they just need something to break up the day into smaller chunks.
Board games are great but a lot of them do require a significant time investment as well as potentially having to make the dining table off-limits for hours (Monopoly, I mean you!). The other thing with board games is that they can very often have quite a narrow age range, or at least they’re harder to play if your kids are different ages. We have been trying a lot of table top and pick up & play games out over the last year or so, and something that I think they can be great for is bridging age differences in children as well as ability levels, all whilst taking an awful lot less time to set up and play than traditional boardgames.
IDEAL have a super range of quite ‘different’ pick up and play games at the moment and they have very kindly sent two across for us to try out – Pointz and Grabolo. They are two very different games but we loved both of them for different reasons.
The first one that we decided to try was Grabolo (RRP: £12.99), and the reason was the packaging. My youngest daughter (aged 7) picked this one out because it looks so attractive and engaging. The game consists of 36 plastic playing pieces (6 different shapes, each in 6 different colours), 2 dice and a set of instructions, all contained in a clear plastic beaker with a screw top. The packaging allows the beaker and all of the pieces to be seen and shaken and my daughter was really keen to dig in and have a good look at it all.
Game play couldn’t be simpler (the best games are always the simple ones). The players (2-4 players, aged 4+) sit in a circled and all thirty-six pieces are spread out on the table. The youngest player then rolls both dice – one dice has a different colour on each face, the other dice has a different shape. So you might roll a blue tree or a green rabbit. It is then a scramble for all of the players to locate the correct piece (there will only be one of each in the pile). That player has then won the roll and play continues for the next player to roll. The game is won when one of the players has collected the requisite number of pieces, and this winning number varies depending on how many people are playing. Having said that, it’s not quite that straightforward and there are also opportunities for players to either steal pieces from other players or have to put some of their own pieces back into the main playing pot.
We thought this game was brilliant fun. I particularly liked that no player had an advantage just because of their age, which meant that as a family we could all play together really easily without having to make any adjustments for age (we are a household of 2 adults and the kids, who are 7 and 9). The rules are so simple for this one that the kids can actually play completely unsupervised which is always a bonus; no need for adult to arbitrate the gameplay or interpret the rules. We also all really liked the quality of the pieces – they are all made of good quality, reasonably heavy plastic which means they should stand the test of time in a busy household. They are also a good size, meaning both little hands and older eyes shouldn’t have a disadvantage in playing.
As well as being brilliant for rainy days and keeping on standby in the house, this one is also a fabulous option as a travel game. All of the pieces fit securely into the plastic beaker which has a screw on lid, making it a fabulous choice for taking camping or even for a quick game for a restaurant table whilst the kids are waiting for their dinner to arrive. Of course it also means that it packs up and stores away really well and takes up only a small amount of room in the lounge cupboard too. I think this one will come out again and again in our house, especially over the summer holidays.
The second one that we were sent to try out is Pointz (RRP: £12.99), which has equally lovely and intriguing packaging and again, we were all really excited to get it out and give it a whirl! Pointz is similar in design to Grabolo in that the packing shows off very well what the game is all about, but everything does pack perfectly into the plastic part of the game. This game consists of an arrow-shaped box, which also acts as a spinner, plus a deck of 80 arrow-shaped cards (the Pointz) and the instructions. Setting the game up takes a matter of ten seconds – it is simply a case of popping the cards (colour-side up) into the arrow and arranging all of the players (aged 6+, with 2 or more players) into a circle around the table and putting the spinner in the middle.
The plastic arrow is a good and sturdy container for the cards, and it has a little nobble on the underside which allows it to spin freely on the table. The youngest player sets the game off by spinning the arrow (I have to say, it did feel a little like spin the bottle at this point) and the player who it points it takes the top card from the arrow and reads the card aloud. The instructions on the card are then followed – they are all quite different so some will call on the reader to complete a task, some will call on the spinner or any other player in the game. The called-upon player will have to speak, act, search, think or react their way to winning that point, all against the clock – if the card is won, it goes onto the winning player’s pile. If it is lost, it goes onto the Jackpot pile in the middle, where it is then up for grabs by anyone.
The beauty of this game is that it can last as long as you want it to – the winner is the person with the most cards, so you could agree a 5 minute or 10 minute game length, or play as we did with the first player to collect ten Pointz.
This game was super fun and the challenges were so varied that no single type of player had an advantage. I particularly liked the Talking Pointz cards as my youngest is often reluctant to speak in groups of people and can sometimes panic a bit in these situations. This really helped to encourage her in a fun and non-threatening way and everyone around the table playing loved all of the challenges.
These IDEAL games are both fabulous and not like anything else we already own. I loved the way they all pack into themselves, making them ideal for playing either at home or away. They both are made from high-quality components and I think they will last an awful long time, filling up rainy days and camping stays for a long time to come.
Rating: 5/5
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