Cranium Hullabaloo Review

I have two small children. They are that impressionable young age when, if I am not careful, they could turn out to be – I don’t know … normal, or something. Luckily, there are loads of games out there that will allow me to mould them into something much better than that: Gamers!

It has to be said that most of these games are not of English design, and you would have to look to other places to find games that suit the younger generation. One of my favourites is Zicke Zacke Huhnercacke, for example (Chicken Cha Cha Cha in English), which pits mind to mind a battle of wits and … oh, just go and check it out; it’s fun!
But this review focuses on a much more different game – a cross between Twister, musical chairs, Simon says and Advanced Squad Leader (note: one or more of the games just mentioned may not feature).

The game comes with twelve pads, each of which is in a different shape, colour and picture. So you might have a green square with an elephant on it, or a red circle with spaghetti, and so on. There are four special Cranium pads (purple) with odd words like Data Head and Word Worm. There is also the … electronic thingy … that dictates the pace of the game. And the extensive, clear and easy-to-follow eighteen page rulebook. No, not eighteen – sorry, two. Two pages. And most of that is one big picture as an example.

To play, you spread the pads out on the floor, put the … electronic thingy … nearby, and push the big red button. Then you have to follow the directions. The … thingy … tells you what you need to do, such as “walk to a green”, “spin to a triangle”, “bounce to a food”, “put your nose on a red, and put your elbow on a triangle, and touch your foot to a green, and say ‘oogedy-boogedy-boogedy-boo!’, and give high-fives to as many players as you can reach”. At some point, the … thingy … will say “freeze!” It will then tell you who has won – whoever is touching the winning pad – and that player will get to bow, or do a victory jump, or a funky dance, or whatever, as dictated by the thingy.

The whole thing then starts again, and as the games go on, the tasks get harder (see example above) and the pace gets quicker, until everyone is completely knackered and doesn’t want to play any more. In theory. The reality is, of course, that the little ones want to dance and spin and skip and hop until the universe explodes, and the adults are left as a boneless heap of worn out gristle being dragged in an endless game of Hullabaloo until they die. But it’s good fun! (Honest!) The game will do its best to tire out the players, and with any luck any small children playing will just fall asleep at some point. As a serious, tactical game, it fails on all counts, as there is no clear winning strategy to winning, except to avoid playing at all costs. But if you have little children anywhere in your vicinity, they will love it.

The pads are pretty tough, and will resist creasing and tearing (unless you try really hard…!), and the electronic thingy is pretty robust as well. It will break if you throw it or tread on it, but it seems to stand up pretty well to being handled by small hands.
My one major gripe with the thing is that the voice issuing from the electronic thingy is really really American. It may not bug some people as much as me, but some of the words are quite mangled when you factor in the electronic distortion, the screams of youngsters doing their best to balance on two toes and a nostril, and the Americanised version of the words. There is a volume control on the thingy to help, but it doesn’t go up that loud, and sometimes, the players are left guessing what they were supposed to do to get to the next pad (and what the next pad actually is).

Summary

Presentation: The pads are bright and colourful (although the blue isn’t quite as blue as I would have liked), and the pictures on the pad are cartoony and fun. The electronic thingy is brightly-coloured and almost organic-looking, being all curves and strange shapes All good fun and eye-ctaching. 7.9/10

Clarity of Rules: Yes, the rule is easy to understand… I would have wanted more variety, and maybe so extra rules to avoid the kingmaking scenarios that occur towards the end of a lengthy session, but the designers have done their best to keep the game as balanced as they can! 9/10

Game Length: You can play a game in about two minutes. And then you can play as many games as you want. The game is tailored so that any preferred style of play can be used – from quick-and-easy filler games, to the Game of the Night that Swallows All the Time You Have. 8/10

Value: At twenty quid, you get a babysitter, and you wear the kids out. If that isn’t value for money, I don’t know what is! 9/10

Overall: An fantastic introduction to wargaming but also suitable for experienced gamers who are looking for something a little lighter. No, hang on, that was Memoire ’44, wasn’t it…? Hullabaloo is a great game, that involves kids of all ages, and that adults (who don’t mind looking a bit of a pratt) can join in with as well (to boost the prestige and admiration that said kids dole out). Mine haven’t stopped playing it since Christmas, and we’re gonna need some new batteries soon! 9/10 (not an average)

Review by David Plank

Buy Hullabaloo at Infinity Games UK