Game review 51: Game of Games
What if victory in the decathlon was mainly achieved via a roll-and-move mechanism? That's the premise of this 90s board game
Multi-sports! A mini-Olympics in one slightly off-colour, musty-smelling box.
For the easily distracted among us, Game of Games provides a stimulating varied challenge with its slew of micro competitions.
It’s a fairly forgotten Milton Bradley product from the mid-80s and there’s a lot going on with the board: 15 games in total, including mini-golf, shuffleboard and bar billiards.
There are some crafty pieces of design: the pool table is made of felt and the shuffleboard doubles as a bowling alley. Most of the sub-games are short and simple, though some of the card games, such as I-Spy, may require some house rules to keep a younger child interested.
Points are awarded for how well you do in each sub-game, but who wins depends mainly on dice rolls, so it’s doubtful for younger players will lose interest due to, well, losing, as the scoring system means they can never get that far behind, and pretty often win.
Which, you know, is either an upper or a downer depending on what you’re looking. Happy, gleeful kids delighted to have got one over the ‘rents? Good! A fair result based on the skill and nous of each player? Not so good.
Essentially it’s like if Decathletes trained for their 10 events for four years, but the bulk of their points at the Olympics were awarded via rolls of a dice.
Whichever way, one positive aspect of the roll-and-move mechanic is it ensures the game doesn’t outstay its welcome.
Game facts and stats
Year published
1986
Publisher
Milton Bradley
Designer
Gil Druckman and A. Weiner
Player count
2–4
E’s review
What do you like best about the game?
“I liked the cones with the ball” (the bar skittles). I liked all the games even though they are a bit tricky.”
Marks out of 10
“12”
My review
Advised age range
7+
Setting-up time
Quicker than you think – about three to four minutes.
Price
It’s possible to pick up a complete version on eBay for between £10-£20.
Difficulty for kids
Easy, especially if you adapt with house rules eg give them five attempts on the pool table to pot the balls instead of three. The roll and move aspect may make it less interesting for adults, but does keep the kids involved.