Review Horrible Histories The Board Game

Wondering what to buy an 8-year-old for Christmas? Well, we could have the answer for you! As Autumn draws in we enjoy spending the evenings playing board games with the boys. I find that they give us all the excuses (including the adults) we need to get off of technology and spend quality time as a family. I also hope by putting in the habits now that as they grow up it will be one tradition we can keep to. We have been sent the Horrible Histories The Board Game from Wicked Uncle to try out. Charlie has loved this game from the very first roll of the dice. It is based on the popular Horrible Histories series book collection and is fabulous fun to play.

AD Gifted – We were sent this board game in return for this blog post – Review Horrible Histories The Board Game. All words and opinions are my own.

Review Horrible Histories The Board Game

The aim of the game is to be the first player to move all the way around the board to the present time to win. Only it is not that simple! In order to do this, you pass through four different time periods and answer multiple-choice questions about the awful ancients as you go. Including the vile Victorians, measly Middle Ages, sav age stone age, awful Egyptians, smashing Saxon, terrible Tudors and gorgeous Georgians.

I was so surprised by his knowledge of the historical characters, the first time we played. He got almost all his questions right and I was getting most of mine wrong! I was definitely out historied (if there is such a word) by my nine-year-old. When I asked how he knew so much it was apparently because he had watched all the episodes of Horrible Histories. Well, that told me! But it does go to show that this is a great educational board game based on the children’s fiction books.

Horrible Histories The Board Game Instructions

The Horrible Histories The Board Game is for 2-4 players aged eight and over. In the box, you get the playing board which is divided into four colour quadrants. Along with four playing pieces, four-question books (one for each historical era), horrible chance cards, game rules and three dice. One red, one blue and one white. 

Place the chance cards in their allotted space and the playing pieces on the starting point. The youngest person starts and rolls all three dice. The number on the white dice is the number of spaces the player moves forward by. If they land on a blank space play passes to the next person. If they land on a horrible chance space then they need to do as the tricky chance cards they pick off the top of the pile tell them. Such as ‘ you get a job as Winston Churchill’s speechwriter! Move forward 2 spaces.’ Beware of the cheeky Rattus who is looking to scupper you at every turn.

If you land on an illustrated space then the dice are used to identify the multiple-choice question you must answer in the relevant era question booklets by one of your opponents. Only not all of them are questions, some involve acting out an event or drawing historical figures such as Admiral Nelson. The order of the dice to work out the appropriate number is red, white, and blue. So if red = 2, white = 5 and blue = 3. The player with the booklet would need to find question number 253. 

It is all about the questions…

If it is a question and the player gets it right then they can move forward 2 spaces, if they get it wrong then they will stay on the illustrated space. If it is an action or drawing then the player with the booklet and not the player whose turn it is gets to act or draw. The player who guesses correctly moves forward 2 spaces as does the player doing the action or drawing. If there are no right guesses then everyone stays where they are. 

The winner is the first person to reach the finished space in the centre of the board and come back to modern times. But before they can be crowned the winner they must answer one last question. The other players get the chance to pick which era the question is asked from. If they do not get it right then play passes to the next person and they have to wait their turn to have another go.

What did we think about the Horrible Histories The Board Game?

It was a lot of family fun to play! And it caused a lot of laughs normally at my expense as my historical knowledge really isn’t what it should be. It has quickly become Charlie’s go-to board game. We did find it more fun when we played with four people. With two the game lasted about twenty minutes with four it lasted around thirty-five minutes. The action questions are a lot more fun when there are more people playing. 

We thought that the questions were suitable for the age range the game is aimed at. I have also found the quality and printing very good. With a foldable thick board and glossy booklets, it makes a great gift for the whole family.

How is your knowledge of our gruesome past? Have you played the educational horrible histories board game?

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