Baffled the game by Cheatwell Games

We love finding new games that are suitable for the whole family so when I was asked to review Baffled by Cheatwell Games I couldn’t wait to get started. Baffled is for 2 to 4 players and is suitable for ages 8 to adult.

The box contains the playing board, 12 symbol tiles, 12 covering pieces, 4 elephant playing counters, 28 life cards and dice. The 12 symbol tiles include 3 blue tiles, 3 green tiles, 3 yellow tiles and 3 red tiles. These feature four number tiles (1, 2, 3 and 4), four animal tiles (Dolphin, Frog, Ladybird and Lion) and four fruit tiles ( Plum, Apple, Strawberry and Lemon).

To be fair when I first saw the board I was a little bit baffled but it soon started to make sense. The aim of the game is to stay in the game longer than any other player by correctly memorising the positions of the twelve hidden symbols. The symbols swap and change positions around the board as you play.

You start the game by each placing your life cards tick side up in front of you (five for a short game and seven for a longer game). You can give more lives to less experienced or younger players if you wish. All the symbol tiles are placed in the centre of the board and the 12 covering pieces placed on top.  They are shuffled around and each one placed in the white square in front of the letters on the board. The covering pieces are lifted off the symbol tiles and the players have 60 seconds to memorise the positions of the symbols. The covering pieces are then replaced and each player places their elephant counter on a different starting point.

The oldest player goes first and they roll the dice, moving clockwise around the board and follow the instructions on the squares they land on. If you land on the symbol square you have to find that symbol by lifting the covering piece, if you are wrong you lose a life. If you land on a “find three…” squares then you must find three of the four pieces matching the description. As soon as you don’t find one you lose a life and it is the next players turn. Ask squares allow you to ask another player to either name the symbol in a particular location or find the location of a symbol of your choice. If they are right you lose a life, if they are wrong they lose a life. Swap squares tell you to swap the pieces in those locations without looking. After the swap you get to have another turn. Name squares mean you must name the pieces on the locations indicated. If you lose all your life cards you are out of the game.

The winner is the last player with lives remaining.

This is a fun, fast-paced game which helps to improve memory skills and gets everyone feeling a little bit Baffled.