The great TV board game play off

Judy Yorke and her family test out and rate six games based on popular television shows

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel (£27.99, Amazon)

THIS new game does its best tomimic the show, with a wheel you spin to decide if you get a hard or easy question – or land on red and don’t get a question at all. A second wheel decides whose go it is if you lose control of the wheel by getting a question wrong. Sadly there are no spinning celebrities. Questions are multiple choice and categories include social media, history and TV. We liked the flexibility in the game – you choose seven of the 14 categories, so you can select which will appeal to the players. You can play individually or in teams, and there’s a quick-play version too. We loved the main spinny wheel, which seriously whizzes round. SCORE: 9/10

Tipping Point (£22.49, Ryman)

THE star of this is the batteryoperated Tipping Point machine which, if you haven’t seen it, resembles a coin pusher arcade game. Just like the TV programme, the more general knowledge questions you get right, the more counters you earn to drop in and the more you can win. In the home version, you physically drop them in at the top. There’s a good range of questions, many of them not too tricky, and the machine is great, with tension building up throughout the game. SCORE: 8/10

Call the Midwife (£28.99, rachel lowe. co.uk)

WITH no trivia questions or batteries required, this easy-tolearn board game for four people is different to many we tested. It will make a fun time-filler if you have half an hour between TV shows.

You pick up a card that tells you where to go on the board to deliver a baby, and then return to Nonnatus House to learn your next destination. But ready to trip you up are chance-style cards. You may have to divert (for example to report your stolen bike to the police) or miss a turn. But good things also happen and you might find yourself delivering twins, or nipping straight to your next delivery because it’s snowing. The winner is whoever delivers the most babies. SCORE: 7/10

The Cube Family Challenge Game (£30.99, Smyths Toys)

YOUR living room becomes The Cube as you complete challenges against an electronic timer. For instance, you have to bounce a ball into a clear box, or pick up balls from the top of the cubes, put them in a tube and then put them back on the cubes, all in 10 seconds (we failed).

We found some of the challenges a bit fiddly to set up. Around a third are played on a phone, tablet or the game’s website. These were great, but it did mean more screen time. The game is officially for ages eight and up but younger kids could join in too. SCORE: 6.5/10

Taskmaster (£19.99, Prezzybox)

WE ALL – yes, even the teenagers – loved this game.

It’s funny, competitive, silly and kept us all entertained. The game is based on challenges. You take it in turns to be the taskmaster, who awards points for each activity.

There’s a secret activity you have to do throughout the game and see if anyone notices – funnily enough, I didn’t get away with shouting “moist” repeatedly.

Tasks included getting upstairs and into bed in the fewest steps, writing a poem, throwing a teabag into a cup and drawing what was in the taskmaster’s head.

There were heated debates about some of the scores awarded, which only added to the fun. SCORE: 10/10

The Chase (£24.99, ryman.co.uk)

THIS is another quiz game, but there’s an added element here as you have to beat both your opponents and the chaser.

There are three varied rounds, which keeps interest levels high.

Questions are wide-ranging and fairly tricky, although one round is multiple choice.

The game comes with an electronic timer, which beeps every 10 seconds, and more quickly right at the end, heightening the tension. We really enjoyed this one, which took about 40 minutes for the three of us to play. SCORE: 8.5/10