Christmas is just around the corner so that means the family get together for a good old catch-up and if you’re like my family we love a board game. It gets the blood pumping, and I just love beating the rest of the family.

In this review, we look at “Michael McIntyres The Wheel” which is based on the Saturday night game show on BBC1. Now we have all been there shouting at the TV with the answer. Now this board game puts you in the hotseat just like the contestants on the show!

First Impressions

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel Board Game is currently available for £28 and is aimed at those 10 and above. The game aims to race to complete your own set of seven questions and make it through to the end game with one final question between you and victory and bragging rights with the family.

Now, if you have a large family, you can get into teams or play alone—the choice is yours. The Wheel contains over 570 questions across 14 different categories. The game also comes with a free web app that allows you to play the theme tune we all love singing to when watching the show.

Unboxing

The packaging of this boardgame is all about the show with a picture of Michael on the front. Open the packaging and you are provided with everything you need to get playing:

  • A Large Spinning Wheel with a unique push-down mechanism
  • Contestant spinner board
  • 256 category question cards comprised of 14 categories – Food & Drink, social media, Sport, Pop Music, TV, Numbers, Superheroes, Science, Animals, Video games, Travel, Movies, History & Celebrities.
  • 39 end game cards
  • Rule Sheet

Board Game Setup

Setting up The Wheel could not be simpler you simply placed The Wheel on a hard flat surface we used our dining room table. You select 7 question categories and place these cards face down in piles around The Wheel. Next place the end game cards facedown near the wheel and place the contestant spinner board the correct way around near the wheel.

You can have three coloured chairs on it for 3 players/teams or two-coloured chairs it if you’re playing with two players or like our family girls vs boys.

How to Play

Each player chooses a coloured chair from the contestant spinner board. The board is then spun and whichever player-coloured chair it lands on takes control of The Wheel and goes first.

The player in control chooses a category from the 7 options around the board and spins The Wheel by pushing down the button in the middle of the Wheel. (Just Like the TV Show!) Its worth knowing you do not need to provide a heavy spin overwise it will go on for ages. Also to add a little extra why not add the theme music by going to www.thewheelboardgame.com and following the simple instructions?

The Wheel has 3 colours around it that the arrow could land on blue, gold or red. If you watch the TV show you will know what happens next but for those who don’t:

  • Red- Shutdown the player loses control of The Wheel, and the contestant spinner board is spun again to see who takes control.
  • Gold- The player is asked an easy question from the selected category card.
  • Blue- The Player is asked a harder question from the selected category card.

Now if the player answers incorrectly then they lose control of The Wheel, and the contestant spinner is spun again. If the player answers correctly they keep the category card as proof of clearing that category. They then choose another category and repeat the process to clear more categories.

Just like the TV show they remain in control of The Wheel until they answer incorrectly, or spin red. Play continues until a player has cleared all 7 categories by answering questions correctly for each category. Once you complete The Wheel you then immediately go to the End game. Then to win you need to answer just one End Game question correctly. If the player answers correctly they win but if not, the contestant spinner is spun again for control of The Wheel.

You can also play a quickplay version the difference is that whenever a category is answered correctly all the remaining cards for that category are removed from the game. The plan then becomes the player aiming to complete the same wheel rather than each completing their own wheel. Once all 7 categories have been cleared from The Wheel they get to play in the End Game.

Verdict

My family loves a good old boardgame especially this time of year and the more we played the game we soon discovered a few small improvements could be made for example if you do not have the app. There no theme tune whenever the Wheel is spun maybe they could have included something. (Yes you have a link to the website but something in the spinner would be nice)

You will also notice you are only provided with 19 cards per category so if you have played this game a few times you might find your repeating questions.

Michael McIntyre's The Wheel Board Game

That said we played in two teams and did not get though all the question cards so I expect you could dig this out for many more game nights to come and have Friends over next time who have not played before to give the game a more fresh feel.

Now we played as a family boys vs girls and found the game very enjoyable the questions are not too hard so maybe having easy, medium and hard-level questions. The questions are not impossible to answer so it’s perfect for kids 10 and above and for the adults in the family.

If you are looking to get your competitive juices flowing and just have a good laugh with friends or family, then this boardgame ticks that box. Just remember to use the website link so you can play the theme tune so you can all dance like the celebrities on the show.

Product Rating    

Overall ranking: 5.0 out of 5.0 stars – 5 stars

Michael McIntyre’s The Wheel Boardgame is available via Amazon for £28.40

 

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