In the past, we reviewed The Simpsons Operation and we loved it! The kids had a great time playing it and the fact that we got to Operate on Homer’s donut hole made the entire experience hilarious. However, I have to say, seeing the little Martian men attempting to operate on Buzz Lightyear made my day!

I have always had a hard time choosing my favorite character in Toy Story. I always seem to go between Buzz and Woody. Lil B has always been a Buzz fan and CT used to carry around his Woody everywhere he went when he was younger (this was when the first film had come out). So, we all loved being able to play Toy Story 3 Operation because these characters are near and dear to our hearts.

The package includes:
Buzz Lightyear Gameboard
Tweezers
24 Game Cards
12 Funatomy Parts
Play Money
Storage Drawer
Instructions

The Game Details:

Buzz Lightyear’s not feeling all that great… can you lend a hand to operate? Radar Rash and Asteroids have Buzz Lightyear in a tizzy—and that Battered Blaster sure is making him dizzy! Grab the tweezers on command and see if you can lend a hand! Careful—a tap on the buzzer will set you back and give Buzz Lightyear an Asteroid Attack! Can you fix up Buzz Lightyear and get him back to Andy’s room?

Operation is recommended for kids ages six and up. Of course, the rules are simple and most kids won’t have any problem playing any of the Operation games. The biggest problem I could see is letting a smaller child play with small parts (they do note a choking hazard, so if you’re kids chew on things, this isn’t for them) and the fact that you need a steady hand since not all young children have that. Otherwise, kids of all ages can enjoy this with little to no problems.

Toy Story 3 Operation is available through the Hasbro Store and you should be able to find it wherever board games are sold. At the Hasbro Store, this version of Operation is available for $19.99. If you have kids that love Buzz Lightyear this will be a necessary edition to their game closet.

Buzz Lightyear Operation is loads of fun! It takes a little bit of skill, but no more or less than you ever needed to play the classic version of Operation. We highly recommend it for Toy Story fans and for people that play lots of games and like to add movie-themed games to their library of options.

Technorati Tags: Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story 3, Woody, Operation, Hasbro Games, Product Review, Toy Review, Game Review, Board Game

When we were offered the game and accepted it to review, all I knew about the game (or assumed at that point) was that it was a word game. Based on the title I had a feeling that people would be blurting things out. It sounds pretty easy and that is exactly what it is! Blurt is listed for kids as young as seven years old and as old as adults. I believe they also offer a version for younger kids, too.

A five or six year old might be able to play this, if they are up on their vocabulary skills or if you’re trying to build up their word usage you could use this as a learning tool. Still, the average child of those ages might become frustrated because knowing the answers will be harder for them. Kids around the age of seven should find it challenging and fun at the same time. As for adults, it’s probably going to be more fun than it is challenging, but that will depend on you and the cards that are drawn.

Speaking of cards, each Blurt game comes with a number of “basics.” These include:
Game Cards (these are the foundation of the game and give you the answers and clues)
Blurt Game Board
Game Marker/Pieces
Die
Playing Guide

It seems funny to say that a playing guide is included because this game is literally as simple as it can get when it comes to learning a new game. You start by rolling the die. Next, you read the clue on the card. Now it’s up to the players (you should have at least three of them, so you and two additional or more) to guess what the word is based on the meaning they were given. As you might guess, thanks to the English language and depending on the clue, things can get crazy with plenty of words being blurted out because so many words have similar meanings. When the correct answer is said that player gets to move ahead on the game board.

The instructions say that Blurt is for up to 12 players, though you could easily play this in teams if you were playing during a party. In fact, the game tends to be a lot more fun based on the amount of players that you have. It’s enjoyable with three, which allows you to have one person against another at all times, but it’s loads of fun when you have several people yelling and shouting the answers in hopes of winning.

Blurt is a great game for the entire family. You can find it on Amazon as well as at other online stores. If you’re looking for a family-friendly or party-friendly game, you should check this out.

Technorati Tags: Blurt, Word Game, Board Game Review, Family Friendly, Party, Product Review, Fun

I’ve Never is not going to be relevant for anyone, but a tween or a younger teenager really. While adults could play the game with no problem, they are not going to find the same level of fun answering a question like, “I’ve Never…Picked my Nose on the School Bus?” Kids should enjoy it quite a bit with that in mind. Of course, this is just one of the questions in the bunch. There are quite a few, allowing for new questions to be enjoyed during several games.

Many of the questions are basic and what you might expect to find in a I’ve Never style game for teenagers. You have the basic questions on boyfriends/girlfriends, school, crushes, and things along that line. These questions I don’t have any issue with in the least. Kids will have fun answering them and doing the silly things on the cards. All in all, it’s a good game.

There are some questions that I wasn’t fond of for a variety of reasons. Some of them lacked purpose, others seemed to encourage bad behavior, and some just had seemingly stupid orders if you’ve done the item in question on the card. For example, there are a variety of cards that say “Make Up Your Own…I’ve Never…Question and Pick Someone to Answer it.” The options vary from card to card, but the one in front of me says that if it’s true you’ve never done the thing you get to move two spaces, but if you did the thing (whatever it is) you have to pretend that you’re a dog begging for treats.

Then there are questions that have simple to answer questions, with pointless actions. “I’ve Never been late to class because I went to the wrong class.” If you have done this you need to imitate the opposite sex. Perhaps it’s just me, but it seems that some cards have well matched actions and others do not. Another example of this is the “I’ve Never Fallen Asleep in Class” card that has you holding hands with the person to your left for a round if you’ve actually fallen asleep in class. I don’t get the point of this either, unless maybe the person is meant to keep you awake, just in case!

There are some questions that seem to penalize you for being a wimp if you haven’t done something that was somewhat delinquent. For example, there are two cards (the second is worse than the first) that say “I’ve Never Made a Prank Phone Call” and “I’ve Never Egged Someone’s House.” If it’s true you’ve not done these things you are forced to move back two spaces on the grounds that “You’re a wimp.” If you’ve done them, at least in the case of egging someone’s house (I don’t think I would recommend something that could be deemed destruction of property) you get to move forward a space.

Kids will enjoy this, though if you expect your child to behave in a certain way, you might want to take a gander through the cards before they play the game. Ultimately, this is not your standard board game, but with that in mind, if your child does not find interest in games like this or have lots of friends to play multi-player board games with this is not going to be necessary for your family. This works out for girls that have a lot of sleepovers or kids having parties where a board game would be great for entertainment purposes.

You can pick up the I’ve Never Board Game through the Game website or through retailers like Amazon where the game retailers for around $20.

Technorati Tags: I’ve Never, Outrageous, Board Game, Tween, Teen, Fun, Truth, Game

Manufacturer: Hasbro
Price: around $18
Buy this Toy at: Amazon for $17.97

The first board game I ever played was Candy Land. Back in the day, my brother and I played a lot of board games, especially Monopoly, Clue, and Life; pretty much all the top games from Hasbro. Hasbro has always been the leader in board games, and their Candy Land game, recommended for younger children, is a classic board game, dating back 60 years. For 60 years, children, like me, have experienced Candy Land as their first game.

Now that I’m the parent, I’m always looking for games the kids will want to play together. With a teenager and a five year old to consider, it can be hard to find something both of them will enjoy. While the original Candy Land is enjoyable for the youngest, the teenager can only stomach so much time playing the game. When Hasbro decided to release a new, 60th anniversary version of Candy Land, I figured this might appeal mostly to the five year old, but what I didn’t expect was the teenager would be into playing this game, too.

For the older kids in your house (and mine) the appeal of this game is the construction of the game board. Our teen loves to construct pretty much anything he can put together. He was all in, when it came to helping the five year old construct the board. We try to play our games at the table, so we didn’t have to worry about the board falling apart. The kids played this game together. The five year old was primarily excited about all the new characters and locations that are available in this new version of one of his favorite board games.

The best part is that the boys worked together to build the various game boards they played with before each game. They found some pretty creative ways to construct the board. The board can be shorter, it can be extended for longer game play, and there are some fun new locations to explore across the board, such as Chocoslovakia and The S.S. Neapolitan. While this board set up isn’t ideal (you can’t pick it up and move to a new location or play on carpeted surfaces) it does offer an alternative to the static board games with repetitive objectives that have you going the same route over and over again. With this in mind, it is easy to see why the creative nature of the board is more of a benefit than a hindrance.

Positives and Negatives:
While, overall, the new Candy Land game, Candy Land: Sweet Celebration, has many positive features that make it worth the purchase, the game isn’t perfect. There are a few negatives that are a detriment to this game. The main problems have to do with the construction of the game board. While this is an innovative concept for Candy Land, and board games in general, the construction of the pieces make the board fall apart and the entire construction process may not be easy for younger children, who love the original Candy Land.

Positives:
-new spin on old classic
-ability to make your own game board – design a new board for every game
-play as new characters
-experience new locations
-same theme as children’s beloved classic game, Candy Land
-appeals to older audience as well as younger
-fun for the whole family

Negatives:
-game pieces used to make the game board don’t always hold together
-game is limited to play on hard surfaces
-game construction may be confusing to younger children

Pricing and Availability:
The retail price for Candy Land: Sweet Celebration is set by Hasbro as $19.99. You can pick up a copy of this game, online, at Amazon for $17.97. This is pretty close to the price I found for this game at other retailers, both online and off. This is a board game. Most board games cost around $20, so the price of Candy Land: Sweet Celebration is no big surprise. If you are buying this for a birthday or holiday gift, you are probably expecting to spend this amount for a Hasbro game. However, it might be a little much to pay for one of those every day presents.

Requirements and Instructions:
Everything you need to play Candy Land: Sweet Celebration is included in the box. This game is recommended for 4+. It requires 2-4 players. There are four new pawn pieces that you can play as. These are Lolly, King Kandy, Princess Frostine, and Mr. Mint. Lord Licorice serves as a fifth pawn and is moved around the board to block the path of those playing and prevent them from getting to King Kandy’s castle.

The game also includes a cardboard, color spinner, 16 treat tokens (each player has to earn four of them to proceed to the castle), 5 different sweet locations, and 36 pieces to make the board. These paths are double sided, so you and your children can make a variety of different board game setups. With these things, all you need is players and you’ll be off to the races!

Durability:
This is one of the areas where I feel not having a traditional board game is a problem. The traditional board games are made of hard, plastic material. The board pieces in the Candy Land: Sweet Celebration game seem to be some kind of plastic, but they aren’t nearly as hard as the regular board material. Kids who play rough or intentionally try to bend the board pieces could do so. The game isn’t so breakable that just playing with the pieces will make them bend or rip, but you can’t expect to continuously bang or throw these pieces and have them hold up.

When the board is put together, the pieces easily come apart, but you can just pop the pieces back together. They pop off if you play on a surface that isn’t hard. This can be a bit frustrating, but as long as you aren’t jerking the board around, this won’t be a major problem. The kids didn’t have much to complain about, but then again, they were sitting at a table the entire time.

Ease of Use:
For an adult or older child, this game is a piece of cake to use. For younger children, who will definitely want to play, the gameplay won’t be a problem. However, four and five year old children may not be able to put the game pieces together without some help. I didn’t find this to be a huge problem for the five year old in our house, but he also had the teenager there to help and supervise what he was doing. You should involve younger kids in the design process, but you may not want to make them put the pieces together on their own.

Fun Factor:
The best part of this game is how fun it is. The boys loved playing with the new game pieces. The game is very bright and vibrant. The boys played numerous games, and when the older one grew tired of playing, the youngest wanted to continue so I had the chance to experience the new game myself. This may be a new version, but the entire point of the game remains the same. You are taking a trip to King Kandy’s castle and the trip is a candy filled adventure!

Bottom Line:
Whether Candy Land: Sweet Celebration is worth the purchase or not is going to depend on your child/children and your frustration level. If you prefer to play games on a bed or carpet area and not a table, you will be disappointed with Candy Land: Sweet Celebration. If you prefer to take the board out of the box and start playing, as opposed to spending some time building a board, Candy Land: Sweet Celebration won’t be for you.

Despite being recommended for children 4+, the building of the board might be too complicated for 4 and 5 year old children and they may grow impatient waiting to play the game. However, if you have older children and younger children, Candy Land: Sweet Celebration is the perfect way to get all of them involved, bonding as they help build the board and explore the domain of King Kandy together.

Price: 4 out of 5 stars
Durability: 3 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 4.5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 3.75 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Candy Land: Sweet Celebration, Hasbro, Board Game, Children, Candy Land, Toys, Review, Holidays, LI Kids

As Lil B turns five, I have noticed that he loves to try new things. At this age, children seem to love to learn. They soak it all up so quickly and it’s all so amusing and fun. It’s one of the best ages for children to be because adults have a chance to experience these things that they haven’t in a very long time. Lil B is currently learning to read and write. This means that he loves anything letter based. So, when Melissa and Doug approached us about a review of one of their Chunky Puzzles, I knew I had to pick the ABC puzzle, because that would be Lil B’s favorite.

I don’t want to brag because that’s not my style, but I was right. He loves this puzzle. I think the single favorite thing about this puzzle is that the letters are nice sized block letters, so they stand up on their own. This allowed Lil B to make plenty of incomprehensible words and then ask…”What does this word mean?” I often asked if he knew what it said, but he didn’t seem to know either. However, another plus is that these large letters can give us a chance to help him learn to spell and read.

As we were going through the alphabet, Lil B decided to stop on the letter B. B is the first letter of his name, therefore it is the most important letter in the alphabet, at least according to him. I told him we should play with the other letters, too, but in the beginning he was all about the B. This prompted me to steal the A and give Dom the D, since first letters to names are worth snatching. Eventually he gave up his B for some other letters and we put our letters down, too.

I am a sucker for a toy that is fun, inclusive for alone play or group play, and that promotes learning. This, in a nutshell, is what Melissa and Doug offer with this puzzle. I absolutely love the design and the adorable block letters. More importantly, Lil B had a blast. He sat, parked on the floor for at least an hour playing with the blocks, trying to make words, and fitting the letters into their spots. He had a great time and has played with it quite a few times since the first day that we opened this.

Moms on a budget will appreciate the Melissa and Doug Chunky Puzzles because they are made well and are inexpensive. The ABC Chunky Puzzle retails on the Melissa and Doug website for $19.99. This is not a bad deal for a puzzle that could easily go through a couple (or more) kids before it heads into retirement. You can pick these up straight from the website and have them shipped right to your door.

Lil B isn’t normally much of a puzzle guy. He’s more active and likes rough and tumble toys. Still, he truly enjoyed the ABC Chunky Puzzle. He’s not one to pick up a toy more than once if he doesn’t like it. Not only that, he certainly doesn’t play with it for over an hour if it doesn’t interest him. He’s the kind of kid that will toss it to the side and ask for something new instead.

I can’t say that I blame him. I would do the same thing too. Luckily with Melissa and Doug’s ABC Puzzle we didn’t have to do that. We had a great time playing with it, learned some words, made some new ones, and even had a contest seeing who could put the puzzle back together fastest. Of course, he beat me, which he loved.

For now, we will just keep it between us that I let him win. He’s so proud that he did, it made him want to learn more, so he could beat me at more things and that’s the most important part. Besides, the kisses I got for being sad when I lost made it all worthwhile.

Technorati Tags: Melissa and Doug, ABC Chunky Puzzle, Birthday, Review, Toy, Puzzle, ABCs, Learning, Chunky Puzzle

It is fun to think that Hasbro has taken an old classic, like Operation and mixed it with a new classic, The Simpsons to get The Simpsons Operation game. This game is the Talking Homer Edition where instead of hearing nothing but those annoying buzzes when you hit the metal edge, while performing surgery, you get to hear Homer making noise. He screams. He moans. He says “Doh!” and other phrases that are trademark Homer. It’s a lot more fun than regular Operation!

Requirements:
To play The Simpsons Operation game you’ll need to have the game with all of its pieces. The box comes with the Homer covered operating table and its convenient holes for a bowler’s thumb, rubber neck, trick knee, pea brain, ear wig, chip on shoulder, elbow macaroni, heart of gold, mmm…short ribs, pot belly, hammer toe and twisted ankle. All of the parts that go in these holes are also included. There is also yellow and green money and doctor and specialist cards, which can be used to determine how much money you will be paid and what needs to be removed from Homer. The table also comes with the attached tweezers you can use to remove his ailments from their respective body holes.

The game can be played by one or more players though it is much more fun to play it with two or more. The operation table requires 4 AAA batteries. You’ll need to buy them because they are not included with the game. Other than that just bring yourself and your surgeon hands, and you’ll be ready to play!

Basics:
Recommended for ages 6 and up the Simpsons Operation Talking Homer Edition is a fun game for everyone in the family. Fans of the Simpsons love to hear Homer as he screams out in agony at shoddy surgery skills. Some younger players may have trouble getting the pieces out, but from what I can remember of Operation as a child it wasn’t really easy to get the parts out and that is part of the appeal of the game.

If you have smaller children I don’t recommend purchasing this game merely because the pieces are small and are a choking hazard. If you have both an older child and a younger child, if you purchase this game then use discretion and watch your younger child. Some parents have reported their younger children getting into the game box and chewing on the pieces. This can be solved by keeping the box up and out of the way of little hands when the game isn’t being played.

In Depth Information:
Operation has educational uses. It is excellent for helping with hand-eye coordination. It also helps to improve fine motor skills. While it doesn’t necessarily teach any anatomy skills, it is fun to point out how Homer has a bowling pin in his thumb or a pea for a brain. This game is more for entertainment then education. Still, the benefits of the game, especially for children between the ages 6-11 make any form of the Operation game worth the purchase.

Playing the game is easy. An instruction manual is included in the box. You play it the way the original operation game is played. To start, you shuffle the doctor cards and specialist cards separately. The doctor cards go in the middle of your playing area and are turned face down. The specialist cards are dealt to each player and are faced up, so everyone can see them. Make sure to give every player the same amount of specialist cards. If you have extra, put those cards in an out of the way location so they’re out of play. The banker makes sure money is separated by denomination and will pay for every operation that is completed without the tweezers hitting the metal edge surrounding the holes in Homer’s body parts.

You place the pieces in the holes where it says each piece goes. The first player is either the biggest Simpsons fan or the youngest player. During a turn, you choose a doctor’s card from the pile. Then you have to remove the funatomy (body part) from the body hole where it is located. If you do so without hitting the sides, you get paid the amount listed on the doctor’s card. You can keep the funatomy part and put the card to the side so no one takes it during their turn.

If you are not able to get the part out without hitting the sides then every player needs to look at their specialist cards. Whoever has the specialist card for the part you tried to remove gets to try and remove the part. If they succeed they get twice the fee. If they fail, you put the doctor card at the bottom of the doctor card pile so someone else can choose it later and try again. This is also what you’ll do if the specialist card is out of play.

Bottom Line:
If you like the Simpsons and Operation and you have children over the age of 6 then you should definitely consider purchasing The Simpsons Operation Talking Homer Edition. Even if you don’t have kids you can purchase this game. It’s fun. It’s a great way to pass a rainy Saturday afternoon and a great way to bond with family members. This board game comes highly recommended.

Durability: 3 out of 5 stars
Ease of Assembly: 5 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.1 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: Simpsons Operation, The Simpsons, Talking Homer Edition, Hasbro, Classic, Board Game, TV Show, family

This gift giving guide is listed in no particular order. We hope you enjoy our list, and happy shopping during the wonderful holiday season.

Technorati Tags: Gift Giving Guide, Top Five, Board Games, Holidays, Game of Life: Twists & Turns, Stratego, Pirates of the Caribbean:At World’s End, Simpsons Clue, Mystery Date, High School Musical, Monopoly

It was Edna Krabappel in the Early Man Room…with the Tarantula!

We love board games. Many family activities involve playing board games. It is a great way to bond as a family and everyone plays on an even level for the most part, no matter what their age happens to be, especially with a game like Clue.

This is the Simpsons version of Clue, which has been newly released in its 3rd Edition with a whole new mystery to solve. The previous editions of The Simpsons Clue board game had the same murder occurring. Mr. Burns was knocked off, and it is so easy to see why! However, the suspects, the locations, and the objects have changed. While you could once blame Smithers, with the poisoned donut, at the Bowl-a-Rama, this edition of The Simpsons Clue game features Edna Krabappel and Fat Tony with the Bone or the Tarantula in the Animal Diorama Room or the Egyptian Room.

The Story Behind “The Simpsons Clue”:
There is a story behind The Simpsons Clue – 3rd Edition. In it, Mr. Burns has attended the opening gala at the Springfield Natural History Museum. Unfortunately, this will be the last event he will ever attend as he gets knocked off. There are only six characters that could have done it. The characters are Bart Simpson, Lisa Simpson, Homer Simpson, Marge Simpson, Fat Tony and Edna Krabappel. Chief Wiggum, of the Springfield Police has the perfect way to find out who did it. He dresses the six suspects up like the original Clue characters and tells them they have 24 hours to solve the crime. It is up to the characters to solve the crime by eliminating the others and narrowing down the list until only one character, one weapon, and one location remain.

All of the locations are related to the Springfield History Museum. Since this is the sight of the crime, then this is the place the suspects must stay to solve the murder. The list of rooms that could have been the place of the murder include the Egyptian Room, the Dinosaur Room, the Early Man Room, the Medieval Room, the Greek Room, the Animal Diorama Room, the Springfield History Room, the Jewel Room, and the Great Inventions Room. The weapons all come from the museum as well. These new weapons are certainly inventive and include a cobra, a bone, a tarantula, a Greek bust, a spear, and a mace.

The Way to Play:
Playing the game is similar to playing the original game of Clue. You have six character pieces. Each character piece is designed after a member of the original Clue board game. Bart is styled like Colonel Mustard, Homer is Professor Plum, Marge is Mrs. White, Lisa is Ms. Peacock, Edna Krabappel is Miss Scarlett, and Fat Tony is Mr. Green. Their figures are wearing costumes that reflect each character.

You will place the characters on the board in their designated starting position. You will also place the weapons in the rooms where the instructions say you should place them. The first person to go is Miss Scarlett aka Edna Krabappel. If no one is playing Edna the first person to the left is the first player to have a turn. If someone is Edna, then she will take her turn and the next player to the left has their turn next. To take a turn players roll the dice and move across the board to get into the various rooms on the board. Where you will go will depend on what rooms you have already ruled out based on what cards you were dealt at the beginning of the game.

There are three sets of cards, suspects, locations, and weapons. Each of the three sets is mixed up separately. Without looking at it, the top card from each mixed up stack is taken and placed in the evidence envelope. From there, the three stacks are merged together and mixed up. Then they are dealt out to each game player evenly until the cards are gone. Each player needs to use a paper from a crime pad. On the pad, there is a list of all suspects, weapons, and locations. If the player has suspects, rooms, and weapons in the stack they were dealt, they can x them off on the crime pad. These cards show who was definitely not responsible for the crime, what they didn’t use, and the rooms that Mr. Burns was not killed in, so they can automatically be ruled out.

Players can move in every direction, except for in a diagonal path through the squares on the board. As players travel the board to different rooms, upon entry in the room they must declare who they believe murdered Mr. Burns and what weapon they used. This is their crime guess. The weapon and the suspect (in figurine form) are moved to the room just long enough for the other players in the game to prove or disprove the player who made the guess/accusation is wrong or not. Starting to the left of the player who made the guess, the next player tries to prove the guess wrong by showing the room, the suspect, or the weapon card that the person guessed to fit the crime. For example, a person who guesses Fat Tony, in the Egyptian Room, with the bone would have to be proven wrong by a player who has one of those three cards.

If the first player doesn’t have any of those three cards, the next player to their left must try to prove the guess wrong. Once all of the players have had their chance to prove the guess wrong, if the guess has not been proven wrong, then it is likely the player who guessed is correct and they can check the evidence envelope to see if they are correct. If the player is correct they win the game. If they are incorrect, they should put the cards back (without any other players seeing them) in the envelope and they are not allowed to play or guess in the game anymore. The game continues until a correct accusation/guess has been made or all the players have guessed incorrectly. In the latter scenario, no one can win.

What you receive:
The Simpsons Clue game box includes one game board with spaces for six figures to begin from, nine rooms, and individual squares for players to count as they move across the board. There are six figures representing each suspect. There are 21 cards representing all nine rooms, all six suspects, and all six weapons. There are six weapon pieces in the shape of the weapon they represent. There is a crime pad with multiple papers listing weapons, suspects, and locations. Players can use one piece of paper from the pad to mark off the cards they have been dealt and any cards other players say they have when a guess is made. There is also an instruction booklet and a set of dice included in the box.

Bottom Line:
The Simpsons Edition of Clue is a really fun game to play. If you like board games, the Simpson and enjoy spending time together with family and friends then this game is definitely one you need to pick up at the store. This game definitely has the potential to be a hot holiday seller. The game is inventive, fun, and the re-playability factor is astounding. You can play this game again and again and never grow tired of it. Hasbro has a winner with The Simpsons Clue. Buy it today and find out how great a game it truly is.

Durability: 4 out of 5 stars
Fun Factor: 5 out of 5 stars
Child Readiness: 4 out of 5 stars
Lasting Appeal: 5 out of 5 stars
Overall Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Technorati Tags: The Simpsons Clue, Game, Hasbro, Milton Bradley, Board Game, Family Fun, Game Review, Hot Holiday Toys

For those not familiar with the game of Operation it’s pretty simple. A patient, in this case Spongebob, is lying on the table awaiting several operations. The patient and table serve as the game board. There are several open slots where body parts go. You place in the small plastic pieces in the slots prior to game play to set things up. You have to get certain body parts out with a small pair of tweezers without touching the metal sides of the spots. If you hit the sides, then you make your patient, Spongebob, scream! The winner is able to complete the most operations, which makes them the most money in the process.

Setting up the game is a snap. When you open the box the board is already in one piece. You will need to unwrap the money and the Doctor and Specialist cards from the plastic wrapping. You will also need to take the body parts off of the runner (they pop off with a little twist) so you can pop them into the correct spots on the body board. These are small parts so be careful you do not drop and/or lose them.

When you are ready to play, everyone will get an equal amount of Specialist cards. If you have any extras that prohibit everyone from getting an equal amount just keep those to the side. The Doctor cards remain face down in a pile until someone picks one up during their turn. The Doctor card will let you know which part on Spongebob you will be trying to remove. Each card has a dollar amount listed that shows you how much you make for your fee after a successful operation. You will know if the operation is a success if you get the item out without touching the sides.

The minute you touch the sides, Spongebob’s nose lights up and he lets out a honking screech that says your time with the tweezers is over! If you are unable to remove the item, everyone gets to look through their Specialist cards to see who can try and go in for the extra dollars, permitting they can manage to get the item out. If the person who played has the Specialist card then it’s their lucky day and they get another chance to get the goods from Spongebob. The person who gets out the most body parts is most likely going to be the one to win. In the end, the winner is the one with the most moolah.

The body parts for the Spongebob version of Operation have the most adorable names. The body parts include Evil Thoughts, Spark of Brilliance, Barnacle Brain, Thinking Cap, Patty Pleasure Center, Wrench in the Plan, Head Case, Elbow Grease, Heart Burn, Clammy Hands, Truth Serum, and Shoe Horn.

Milton Bradley lists this game as being acceptable for children ages six and over. Based on the game I would have to agree with this assessment. I don’t think that children in the 5-6 year old range will have any problem with Operation. Additionally, I think they will love the Spongebob theme of this particular version. You will want to avoid letting children younger play this game because the small pieces could be incredibly easy to swallow should a younger child decide to put a piece in their mouth.

Operation Spongebob has a listed retail price of $19.99. This game is loads of fun and continues to be fun each time that you play. We highly recommend Operation Spongebob to families that are looking to find a classic game that both parents and children will love.

Rating:

Highly Recommended!

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