5 Second Rule!

I love playing board games! Whether it's Scrabble with a glass of wine on a Friday night or Trouble with the kids on rainy afternoons, they're the perfect way to spend time together.  It's also no secret that I often use board games in the classroom, either to focus on math or literacy skills or just to facilitate friendly play (read this post to see what I mean!).  Today I'm here to review a new game called '5 Second Rule' that fits both of those situations perfectly.

As you can probably tell from it's name, the aim of '5 Second Rule' is to answer questions within the 5 second time limit.  When I read the questions this seemed like such an easy task!  Naming 3 things that start with R should be simple, right? Um, maybe not! The fun of this game comes with the pressure of time - answers either completely evade you, or you end up blurting out something ridiculous.  Cue lots of laughs!  When you're successful you move forward 1 space on the board.  If the question is too tricky you can use one of your 'Switch' or 'Pass On' cards to relieve the pressure.

We first played together with the girls and, unlike other board games, this one was perfect for them to join in with.  When it was our 3 year old's turn we didn't flip the timer and just let her answer in her own time.  I also hand picked questions for her to make sure she would have some ideas.  For example, one of her questions was 'Name 3 places you would wear shorts' and she said kindy, the beach and the shops. :) When our 6 year old had her turn, we let her have 3 flips of the timer to have 5 seconds for each answer (she didn't always need that extra time.)

A few days later we had a family lunch, and after we'd eaten I brought out the question cards and timer (we had too many people to use the board properly).  We enjoyed a glass of wine and a hilarious hour taking turns to answer the questions using the timer.

Setting up '5 Second Rule' is quick and easy.  Unfold the board and make sure the question cards are in the box and you're pretty much ready to go!  The timer makes a funny noise that the kids thought was great - it became a toy in itself!

If you're looking for a Christmas gift for your children (or any board game fiend!), '5 Second Rule' would be a great choice.  It would also be the perfect addition to the game shelf in your classroom if you teach in the older primary grades, too!