Doctor Panic Board Game Review

Reviewed by Helen Wyatt

We received the board game Doctor Panic, by Repos Production, to review. It’s a weighty box, which has a number of large hospital related graphics on the front, and hospital icons on the side. It is all accompanied by “hospital ward green” colouring. When you open the box you realise quite how much is involved in the game! There are a huge number of items included, and it took us a while to hunt out the instructions. There are in fact “intro game instructions” along with normal instructions, which is confusing when you first start off.

I sat and read, and re-read the instructions over and over, and as my kids got more and more disappointed, and I got more and more frustrated, I simply could not get to grips with how to set up the game or how to play. The instructions seem straightforward at first glance but when you start to read them they don’t fully make sense. To be fair we worked it out after a while but it was very frustrating trying to do so. The “introduction game” instructions don’t make it clear what an actual game looks like, and therefore that you are playing a shortened version in order to work out the game play.

The game is extremely complex due to the number of objects involved, however in essence you have to set up a minimum of 2 teams, each with 2-3 players, and designate one person in each team as the “head” (the game recommends the oldest person). That person is in charge of telling the rest of the team what they have to do next. You download a free app to play the board game (although you don’t have to, there are alternative ways to play) then the app will present you with your patient, some of their vital stats, and give you a countdown. During the countdown each team has to simultaneously complete 8 tasks (or “tests”) and if you complete them within the time then the patient is saved.

The tests that have to be completed are:

• A suture game where the head of the team has to describe to the other players how to sew the string on the coloured board.
• A scanner game, where the team have to prop 2 cards together, then pass another card underneath without the propped cards collapsing.
• A pills game, where the head has to describe to the team mates how to place the coloured pills on the board.
• An injection game, where the head has to describe how to make up the picture of the injection with cards, to match the stats of the patient.
• An x-ray game, where the head has to describe the position in which the team mates have to stand.
• An electrode game, where the head has to describe how to match the electrode cards onto the board.
• A forceps game, where the head has to describe to the team mates which card to pick up with the tweezers, and how.
• And an examination game where the head has to describe where the team mate has to place the magnifying glass on their own body.

Each of these games should be completed at speed and could be interrupted at any time by the “boss” calling, and giving an instruction, such as each team mate has to complete the next task pinching their noses, or other random activities that have to be completed before continuing. In addition the patient could go into “cardiac arrest” at any time. The team mates then have to make up the number on screen using particular cards.

It’s all about speed, and about working as a team. Aside from the frustration over setting it up, it is a fun game and can be played in a number of ways. In theory you can play with only 1 team of 2 players, with 1 person telling the other what they need to do within the time limit. You can progress to harder games as you go, and the good thing about having the app to accompany the game is that it can be updated regularly to keep things interesting.

If the instructions had been clearer that would have been much better – I believe the intent was to simplify things but instead they got more complicated!

Overall a good game for all the family to enjoy. It all seems very sturdy and well-made but there are a large number of pieces and they could easily get lost; you are provided with a number of sealable bags to store items in but kids being kids, this won’t make much of a difference! It recommends that players are 8 years and older, and that there is a good mix of adults and children in the teams.

Matilda aged 9: “It was a very fun game but it took a little while to understand but I really enjoyed it and I liked playing it. It is very addictive.”

Maya aged 6: “I liked it very much but the bit that I did not like was the scanner because it’s hard to keep up. The stitching and the x-ray game’s were very fun.”

Rating: 4/5

RRP: £24.99

Available to buy from Amazon here.