Cheatwell Games Baffled Board Game

Product Information

The box contains the playing board, 12 symbol tiles, 12 covering pieces, 4 elephant playing counters, 28 life cards and dice. Fun for all the family and cleverly designed so that children and adults have an equal chance of winning. It also helps reinforce many other skills alongside memory skills, such as numeracy (counting the number on the dice and moving the counters) and literacy (the tiles are placed on letters of the alphabet).

We were particularly impressed that the game even suggested strategies to help children (and grown ups) remember the tiles. As in every year, your control over your ‘Pen’ broomstick will be your main challenge against the wind, fire, and air elements of this ever changing race course. We love finding new games that are suitable for the whole family so when I was asked to review Baffled by Cheatwell Games I couldn’t wait to get started. While games aimed primarily at kids need to be bright, colourful and with easily recognisable symbols, it does not mean they should not have personalty. Other spaces have bonuses, like the four corner spaces requiring you to find three items in exchange for one of your lives back, or more interestingly, the ‘name two letters’ space, which when succeeded allows you to move an opponent to any space of your choosing.Recently Cheatwell Games asked us to review two of their games so last Friday night that’s exactly what we did. We were playing with three adults and one child, and gave the adults 3 lives each and Oskar got 5 lives. And while friends may come and go, a good board game like Baffled will more than last you a lifetime. You could argue, that it is easier to move the covers because of the handles, but then I would argue that you should just make the tiles themselves thicker.

If the challenged player gets it right then the one asking the question loses a life, so you need to choose carefully. Another issue – not one that affects my family personally, but one I can see posing a problem for some others – is that a game based mostly on having good memory could be very easy for some, and very tricky for others. If there’s one thing I that I hope everyone can take away from this review, it’s that board-gaming isn’t about owning the most popular or expensive games, it’s about trying new things and spending time with the people you love. The main focus of the game is to remember the position of tiles, hidden under the plastic covers and to be able to name them correctly as play progresses. Everyone now has one minute to look at which tiles are where and memorise as best they can, before they are re-covered and the game begins.The downside of this, however, is that more seasoned game-enthusiasts may see the game as being too shallow, and not having enough for them to sink their teeth into.

There is also a square where you can ask one of the other players to either find a specific symbol, or say what is hidden at a specific position – but choose carefully, because if they get it right, YOU lose a life! For example, King Frog and Reef Route (both I reviewed previously) are two games aimed for the same age group, both have simple, yet fun gameplay, both are bright and whimsical, both have a lot of personality in its art and design! This is a fun, fast-paced game which helps to improve memory skills and gets everyone feeling a little bit Baffled. There are a few ways you can adjust it, to play it with people of different ages, but I’ll come to that in a moment. Each time you get an answer wrong you lose a life, or if you ask a question and it is answered correctly.N.B: We have had ads in the past and will likely do so again but our editorial space is NOT for sale.