5 Second Rule Spintensity Family Game – Review & Giveaway

Posted on November 12, 2020 by Fiona Martin

5 Second Rule Spintensity is the all-new, spinfully intense electronic version of the original 5 Second Rule game – one of my kids favourites. So I knew that this new version of the game by Interplay would be a hit with them and I certainly wasn’t wrong. With a 5-second electronic timer to keep the game’s momentum going, this really keeps everyone on their toes, shouting crazy, funny answers that everyone finds hilarious. With so much fun to be had this is perfect with friends, family or simply just the two of you.

They really do cover a wide choice of topics with something for everyone. Most subjects will suit all players but there are a few topics that if you don’t know, then you really don’t (more so when they ask you to name songs from an artist or certain groups of celebrities). We found it easier to allow players to pass on cards like this and simply move on. This led to swifter game play and more fun for everyone.

The bonus to the Spintensity version of 5 second rule is the Electronic timer which is central to this game and keeps the momentum going. It limits how long you have to answer questions and determines your next move.

Each turn in the game requires you to name 3 things in 5 seconds then press the timer to see what the spinner wants you to do next: name 3 more, 2 more, draw a new card or move on to the next player… or will the timer turn Red and sound you out!

If you successfully answer your question you keep the card. Then at the end of each round you move around the board according to the number of cards you have. The winner is the first to reach the finish point.

Spintensity Fun for all the Family

We found this game really simple to play and ultimately great fun. The kids just love the freedom of answers they can give to the questions. We allow most but do disallow any that really don’t fit the bill.

I just love the constant laughs we have and upbeat atmosphere that this game creates for our family. Also it’s not too long so can be played anytime, we’ve certainly squeezed quite a few rounds of this in over the last couple of weeks!

If you’d like to see the game in action then check out some clips of us playing below:

5 Second Rule Spintensity is available from most good toy retailers including Argos, Smyths Toys and John Lewis, this is certainly a great game to be had this Christmas and beyond.

For your chance to win a copy of 5 Second Rule Spintensity just fill in the gleam form below:

5 Second Rule Spintensity game

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews. Although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Scotland Yard Board Game for National Unplugging Day

Posted on June 16, 2017 by Fiona Martin

This year’s National Unplugging Day is being held on Sunday 25th June 2017 and they are asking parents around the UK and beyond to pledge to #GoGadgetFree and spend the day from morning till night without any technology. I think this will really help bring families together for some fun without glancing at their phones or tablets every five minutes! To celebrate going gadget free we have been trying out the Scotland Yard game from Ravensburger and I have to say we spent most of last Sunday playing this, laughing, having fun and enjoying each other’s company.

Notorious criminal Mr X is on the run in Central London. Can Scotland Yard’s finest detectives track him down, or will he escape forever?

One player takes on the role of Mr X, whilst other players take on the role of detectives and work as a team to try to find him. Mr X only reveals his location every 5 moves, but the detectives can get clues as to his location by looking at his travel log, which reveals his chosen method of transport. The detectives also move around the board using taxi, bus and underground tickets, and must try to surround Mr X, and then move to his hidden location to catch him and win. But the detectives don’t always win and Mr X can escape to any of the 199 locations shown on the detailed map of Central London!

The game consists of a large quality playing board depicting the streets of London. Between the 200 stops are taxi routes, bus routes and train lines. Mister X has unlimited use of any of these but each of the detectives has a limited amount of tickets so has to use their method of transport between destinations wisely as they try to locate Mister X

Mister X has a board on which he records his movements but all the other players can only see is his mode of transport before he pops up on the board at certain points. Everyone wanted to be Mister X so we took turns on each game. You get a special cap to wear to try and hide your eyes from the board so other players can’t guess by your eyes where you are looking.

The game was faster paced than I expected and actually a lot of fun. We all loved the game and played it over and over. Both children and adults found the game appealing although you do need to be the recommended 8yrs plus to really get to grips with strategies when moving in order not to get caught out. We did play a simpler version for our youngest little boy and he loved joining in on the action.

I’d really recommend this game for families as it offers something for everyone along with a bit of healthy competition between the detectives and Mister X. The detectives can discuss tactics between each other which gets the family talking and the time soon went buy and none of us had touched any technology throughout the play. Scotland Yard is a great game to play for National Unplugging Day with the aim to #GoGadgetFree. Give it a try, it’s lots of fun and great to get back to good old fashioned board game family times!

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

Disney Frozen Race to the Palace Board Game

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Fiona Martin

Disney Frozen Race to the Palace board game from Ravensburger is aimed at 5yrs plus and can be played by 2-4 players. Initially it appears a fairly simple game of climbing places to reach the palace, but it has an interesting combination of three dice and the fact that you don’t just move your own player makes it more complex.

Frozen race to the palace x Inside the box are three pieces that join together to create the playing board, along with a large card that stands up to be the Arendelle palace and five figure cut outs with stands, four tokens and three dice.

The game is easily assembled and then play can commence. The characters used in this game are Elsa, Anna, Kristoff and Olaf. There is also Hans although no one own’s him and the aim of the game is to race him to the castle. If he gets there first then he wins, but if another character get’s there first then they win.

Frozen race to the palace 2

The game starts by each playing selecting a token, they take a look but don’t reveal which character they are playing. You then take turn to roll the dice. You will roll either two colours and a number or one number and two colours. The colour tells you how many spaces to move and the colour determines which character or characters you move. If you roll a white you can pick any character of your choice, which is where tactics come into play and you obviously want to choose the character that’s on your token.

Frozen race to the palace 3

There is also a space on the board with friendly trolls that allows you to jump ahead two spaces and a giant snow creature which sends you back one space. When a character reaches the castle, it is declared the winner and players can then reveal which character’s token they had.

My children both loved this game, particularly 5yr old Mister B who quickly grasped the game rules, which I think was great and he got really excited during gameplay. I think he was the perfect age for this although he does have a good understanding of things generally.

Frozen race to the palace 4

This is a really fun game that we’ve all enjoyed and has been well thought out. I thought each game would only last about 5 minutes but we found it lasted a good 15 minutes and all the family joined in.

Disney Frozen Race to the Palace Board Game is a must for any Frozen fan who will love playing with all the familiar characters from the film, it’s also a game we have been playing most days which is great and shows it has long lasting appeal.

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions and we received the product in order to write an honest review.

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Animal Safari by Orchard Toys – Review

Posted on April 1, 2013 by Fiona Martin

Animal Safari is a fun, tactical board game from Orchard Toys suitable for ages 5+. With Miss M being a huge fan of games and loving her Orchard Toy collection I knew this was sure to be a hit and I was also keen to try a game with a higher starting age to give Miss M the challenges she needs and thrives on.

The game is suitable for 2-4 players who use a stand up jeep playing piece to move from the camp in the centre of the board, around the board hoping to collect some animals before returning to camp. There are various viewing points across the Animal Safari board that if you land on you can pick up an animal card.

To move around the board are two dice and this is where the game gets interesting. In place are the number six on each, is a picture of binoculars, and rolling one of these allows you to take an animal card of your choice from another player. You can also tactically use the amount rolled on the dice to determine where you land on the board by either moving the amount on just one of the dice or the total of both. By having to total up the two dice also brings in basic mathematical skills which is perfect for young players. Miss M who is 5 is just learning basic addition in her first year of school and I felt this really benefitted her in practicing without realising it.

I was surprised by the variety of different animal cards – to include monkeys, parrots, flamingos, lions, tigers, zebras, meerkats, giraffes to name just a few. They are all brightly coloured and fun pictures to look at which helped add value to the game. Miss M loved looking at them and picking her favourites when she had the opportunity to take some from my pile.

Animal Safari retails at £11.75 which we think is good value for such a durable lasting game that is fun, enjoyed by all and contains hidden educational aspects.

Please watch our short review video of the game in action:

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.

Dinosaur Race by Orchard Toys – Review

Posted on April 2, 2012 by Fiona Martin

We were asked to review Dinosaur Race by Orchard Toys for izziwizzikids.co.uk.

With Miss M being quite young we have only just started playing board games but when I was offered the opportunity to try out the new Dinosaur Race game from Orchard Toys for ages 3+, I knew she would love it. She is an avid dinosaur fan having watched the Jurassic Park films over and over again and has a number of dinosaur books on her bookshelf.

An exciting aspect of this game that jumped out at me was the race track and medal podium – with the 2012 London Olympics this year, what a fabulous way of introducing children to sport and helping them to engage with the largest event to be held in the country this summer.

Having already experienced a number of Orchard Toys games, I knew the quality of the pieces would be made to their usual high standard especially considering they are made of 75% recycled cardboard. The pictures on both the box and the game are highly colourful, bright and eye catching – perfect for the suggested 3 to 10 years age range of this game.

Miss M couldn’t wait to get the pieces out of the box when she saw it and was very excited with the various contents. The first little novelty was that the game board was like a mini jigsaw and mummy was ordered not to touch it while Miss M carefully put the pieces together. I liked the fact that the dinosaur playing pieces had little plastic stands to create a three dimensional effect to the game. And the ultimate finishing touch has to be the medal podium complete with medals enabling you to hold a medal ceremony at the end of each race – London Olympics 2012 here we come!!!

We played the game with the maximum 4 players and this definitely produced a fun, exciting atmosphere that created tension and competitiveness as the dinosaurs approached the finish line.

We all had great fun playing this game and definitely felt it was different and unique to other games we had seen before. It retails at £11.75 which I feel is a reasonable price for the game and is available to purchase from Orchard Toys.

Here is our video review of Dinosaur Race by Orchard Toys for izziwizzikids:

All reviews are my own and my family’s opinions. We are not paid for reviews although we do receive the product to try out and enable us to write the review.