We have all caught the show "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader?" with Jeff Foxworthy and wonder how a teacher doesn't get past 1st grade or some cheerleader makes 25k. Shenanigans! I declare shenanigans! But aside from my own view of the show, Patch brings us a board game version that makes us realize how much we've forgotten with out embarrassing ourselves on live TV. You can have up to 4 players and the recommended age is 8+. I think this is pretty good family night game, if you have 4th to 8th graders at home.
Game Play:
To get started you're going to have to organize all the questions by grade in the six slot holders. Also you have to hand out to each player a Peek, Copy and Save Game marker. There are six types of winning tokens - 500$, 1000$, 2500$, 3500$, 5000$ and Bonus X10. In order to get started we like to roll dice but the game rules say start with the oldest player. The cards themselves are colored so you know what grade level you asking - 1st Green, 2nd Purple, 3rd Blue, 4th Yellow, 5th Orange, and Bonus Black.
You grab a card, put it in the concealer, and then read the Subject then the question out loud for all. Everyone else can write down the answer. You, the reader, have two choices and if you think you're the man and know the answer say it out loud. If you're right you win the winning token for that grade. You then put the card in front of you and pass to the left. But if your wrong you have to use your save cheat card. If you already used your save cheat, you have to give up all your winning tokens and start from scratch. The other choice is if your not sure you can you can use a peek orcopy chip but keep in mind you only have one of each so don't use 'em early. To win you have to answer all 10 questions plus the bonus question and I'm telling you it's not at all as easy as you think.
What's in the box:
1 Game Board300 Cards (600 Questions)44 Winnings Tokens12 Cheat markers1 Card concealerThe Bang:
It's an easy game to play and if you have grade/middle school kids it's a fun family game; your kids will probably have a better chance at beating you, so study up. Remember you can use Copy, Peek, and Save so keep that in mind.
The Slack:
It's a great TV show but I wasn't too thrilled by the game, it's just like any other Q&A board game. I also wasn't too thrilled with the actual game board and pieces it was all cardboard and I felt it was missing details on the pieces.
The Ugly:
Now embarrassingly enough this game does prove a good point - most of us are not smarter than a 5th Grader. I don't think I knew the answers when I was in 5th grade either.
The End:
"Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader" is recommended for kids and family night; if you are of a different age bracket like me and my friends you won't find the joy in it. But it does have some really good questions that will honestly make you think and remember you knew the answer at some point in your life. The good part is the board game and the TV show shares the exact same rules of play. I had fun playing this game but I think this its better fitting for my younger nieces and nephews. I give "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader TOV 3 out of 5
Alacran