Board games are a big thing in our house, we love to sit around the table as a family and play something together. It is not only good entertainment, it can be lots of fun and an excellent way to spend quality family time together. What better way to spend those cold, dark winter evenings than with some good friends or family, letting your competitive streak loose but mostly enjoying an evening of fun.
We have lots of board and tabletop games to choose from for our family game nights, but as much as we love playing family games with the kids, as adults we do like playing something just that bit more grown up occasionally. We recently received the Out of Order card game from Gibsons Games, a party trivia game for 2-6 players suitable for players aged 14+. But this is a trivia game with a twist, a twist that makes it quite funny.
The box contains:
- 100 doubled-sided quirky question cards (5 questions on each side of the card)
- 1 Rule Card (instructions)
- 6 Scoring Arrows (various colours)
- Scoring Board (the box doubles as the scoring board)
It is a question-and-answer trivia game but has a big twist – the answer that you give isn’t for the question that has just been asked! A very simple game to understand and play, and one that requires good memory skills and concentration to win.
There is no complicated setup with this game, and it can be played anywhere as the box itself is the “game board”. The question cards stay in the box and the only piece given to each player is a clip-on scoring arrow.
I have said that the box is the “game board” but to be completely correct, it is actually the score board. Around the four edges of the box are numbers to mark how many questions each player has answered correctly (you use your coloured arrow to clip-on to the side of the box to mark your position). The first to the finish is the winner. Simple. Well not so simple, as when asked a question you have to give the answer from the PREVIOUS question asked – call out the answer you missed. This does result in some hilarious answers (especially when one question asked what Little Jack Horner stuck in a pie and the answer became sausage).
Gameplay is easy. Each player is given a scoring arrow, they are all different colours, so each player knows where they are when they get on the scoring board. Shuffle the cards and place them back in the box, within easy reach of all players. Then pick a Quizmaster to start (usually the one reading the rule card). The Quizmaster begins by picking the first card out of the box and asking the player to their left the first question. Obviously for this question that player cannot answer with the previous answer so they have to give the answer a “Out of Order” and then the second question is asked and this is where the fun begins. Once the next question is read the answer has to be the correct answer from the previous question (the correct answers are shown in brackets under the question) – for example (I’m not using real questions from the cards) if the first question asked was What day comes after Monday? we all know that the correct answer is Tuesday but as this is the first question the answer given is Out of Order. When the second question is read out, What day comes after Tuesday?, we all know that the answer is Wednesday but as you have to give the answer to the previous question the player replies with Tuesday and so on until an answer is given incorrectly or all question on the card are answered. Play then continues around the board. Any correct answers are awarded 1 point and marked with the players scoring arrow by clipping it to box. It might sound a bit complicated but it is really easy and obviously the questions and the correct answers on the cards are better than my example. The first player to reach the end marker on the box is the winner.
Overall, we have really enjoyed this game. It is a bit different from the usual question and answer trivia party games we have played and enjoyed. It is good for putting memory and concentration skills to the test and even though you are giving the correct answers to the questions, the answers are just Out of Order resulting in some hilarious answers. With a gameplay of around 15 to 30 minutes, nobody loses interest, and several rounds can be played fairly easily and quickly.
To get the best out of the game, it is better to have the full complement of six players. We enjoyed it with 2 and 4 players but the more the merrier.
The only slight issue we have found with the game is with the scoring arrows, as they are made of thin cardboard, they are already starting to show signs of wear and tear and feel that they won’t last and maybe something stronger and more durable could have been used to construct the arrows. (Due to the Gibsons commitment to improving their impact on the environment Out of Order is completely plastic free and made sustainably in the UK, using FSC paper – you can read more about the Gibsons Green Game Plan here).
An excellent party game that is simple to play, great fun and perfect for Christmas get-togethers, birthdays, game nights or any other gathering/festivity where you have your friends and family around.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £17
For more information or to buy, visit gibsonsgames.co.uk.
