The neat little box contains 15 brightly coloured wooden champagne cork shaped playing pieces (hence the name) and 56 cards that are enough to allow 14 people to participate in a game at once.

There are three different variations on the game named Classic Corks, Colour-match Corks and 5-Lives Corks. Handily, the makers Ginger Fox have the rules for all three printed on the box so they won’t go astray. They all require someone to obtain four matching colour cards before that person removes a cork from the table either sneakily or brazenly. At that point it is a mad rush for everyone else to pinch a cork.

The Classic version is the fastest of the three games and can be over in a matter of seconds.
Colour-match Corks requires the initial cork-grabber to match their cork with their cards and will take a minute or so to find a winner.

5-Lives Corks is an extension to Classic Corks where, as the name suggests, everyone begins with 5 lives and is played until the two finalists are the only ones with lives remaining.

The final round of all versions is a head-to-head battle of wits and speed given that both contestants will get a set of matching cards at the same time, at which point it is a race to nab the golden cork.

The game can become somewhat hectic with three players so I imagine a double-digit contingent could develop into a rather rowdy free for all. In my house there tended to be a bit of tug-of-war thrown in when two of us managed to snatch hold of either end of the last cork.

Suitable for ages six and over, every version of the game is easy to understand and explain, speedy to set up and fun to play. It therefore feels like this could be an ideal drinking game. Much of the enjoyment comes from the tactical nature of the final round and trying to second guess your opponent’s plans. The fast turnover of rounds does mean the joy of winning and the frustration of losing is shared between the players so all enjoy it.

If you are looking for a quick game that will bring out your competitive nature, then give Corks a pop.

Ginger Fox Corks Family Card Game For All Ages costs £14.99 from Amazon

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Based on the long-running BBC Radio 2, Pop Music Quiz hosted by Ken Bruce, that is celebrating its 23rd anniversary this year, Popmaster Quiz Card Game is a challenging test of pop chart history for two players.

As with the radio show, the questions cover any charting genre from the past 60 years. This version of the game comes with over 200 questions and they are loosely based on the original format. The question arrangement and scoring is different but the difficulty level is very similar. If you regularly score in the early 20’s when Bruce is compering, chances are you will get around 50% of the answers right here.

Every question card has three different types of question that get increasingly hard in difficulty. Fail at one though and you will not get the chance to score from the remaining questions.

Up first is always a multiple choice of three answers, so even playing against someone with no level of pop knowledge they still have a one in three chance of gaining a point. The second questions are tougher as they need the challenger to provide a straight out answer.

With it being a card based question game there are no familiar bonus rounds to listen to clips and neither is there a final round to name three top 40 tracks from an artist. The most famous style question from the broadcast is “name the year” which has been included and each card has one of these questions to allow you to exclaim, “One year out!”

The game is aimed at age 14 and over but the musical knowledge of the contestants is much more of a factor to their level of enjoyment than their age.

Your enjoyment of this game will probably depend upon the participants knowing similar levels of pop facts, otherwise the game is likely to be very one-sided and neither side will be in a rush to play again. However, if the opponents are evenly matched pop-aficionados, then you are likely to enjoy the testing questions that force you to bring back some long forgotten memories of bands, performers, albums and hits.

The Ginger Fox Popmaster Quiz Game costs £5.99 from John Lewis.

Taskmaster – The Board Game: Review

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It must have been the ultimate task for board game producers, Ginger Fox but somehow they’ve managed to transfer the daftness, randomness and enjoyable elements of the TV show, Taskmaster into a format that allows you to undertake various tasks using items found in and around the home.

It is based upon the long-running BAFTA award winning TV comedy quiz show starring Greg Davies (stand-up comedian and actor best known as the headmaster from “The Inbetweeners”) and its creator Alex Horne (band-leader of The Horne Section) currently enjoying its 10th series on Channel 4 following the successful move from Dave.

The game comes with a game board, rules sheet, pen, paper, playing pieces, Taskmaster trophy and a couple of hundred all important task cards.

Each player is given a Secret Task card to begin with and they need to surreptitiously follow the instructions throughout the game without the other players guessing their task. How could I be so blind as to not notice my wife stroking a cushion as if it were a pet for a full hour?

Players take turns performing the Davies role of Taskmaster although there is the option of one person being the sole arbiter of awarding points if they are unwilling to partake in the challenges, are feeling unsure about joining in too fully, or if they are just power hungry.

Three or more players age 8 or over are needed to play and they do not need any prior knowledge of the show to enjoy the experience. My son loved playing both a generous Taskmaster, wielding the power to award additional points, as much as he did performing the tasks. The board game takes an estimated 30 to 45 minutes to complete whereas we played two rounds on our first attempt that lasted a fun-packed hour.

The Taskmaster gets to choose the type of task the other contestants perform (Garden Task, Lab Task, Living Room Task or Kitchen Task). Limiting the game to Garden Tasks would be ideal for the current situation where people are restricted to meeting outdoors and would need to bring their improvisation and ingenuity along with their bottles.

There are plenty of opportunities to show favouritism and begin arguments with the point scoring mainly being at the discretion of the Taskmaster. The time limits on the tasks ensure the game zips along at pace as players rush around trying to find the best materials to make trophies or snazzy footwear.

For the game’s finale, there is the option to read a final task from a card or to scan a QR code to watch Horne provide a task which ties in neatly with the TV show. This is a great competitive, fun and creative way to spend an afternoon or evening, which will likely be returned to time and time again (although I’m not sure how much of a kicking my creative ego can take when faced with a 9-year-old creative genius).

The Taskmaster Board Game is suitable for 3 or more players and for ages 8+ It costs £19.99 from Smyths.

From the Deep Dark Wood to a Whole Farmyard of Fun – interview with children’s author Julia Donaldson.

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