Pictopia Disney Edition Family Game Review (age 7+)

Pictopia Disney Edition from Wonderforge is a picture trivia game recommended for age 7+. A board game that works very differently from most we have played, this isn't one for younger children as it has more complicated rules, but it's easy once you start to play and the variation in questions really adds to the gameplay.

A Disney game would not be something I'd have thought to buy before, but we love this. My partner and I have even played it when the kids aren't there. It turns out there really is plenty of Disney to suit everyone.

Inside the box we have the playing board, a pack of cards split into two, dice, tokens, counters and answer dials, plus the instructions.

Suitable for 2-6 people, players take turns to roll the dice, move their counter, and then hold up the top card in the pile showing the other players the picture side. BEFORE the appropriate question on the back of the card is read, all players except the reader wager on the possible result by placing a token numbered from 1 to 5.

If the question is then read out and answered correctly players move their counters forward the same number of spaces as they personally wagered. If the answer is wrong, no-one moves and the wagered tokens are removed from play. The winner is the first player (or players) to reach the final space on the board and answer a Solo Pick 1 question correctly.

There are several types of question that might be read out depending on the symbol shown on the board space where the readers counter lands, but all rely on the 4 pictures shown on the front of the card. 

Group Questions can be 'Pick' 1, 2 or 3. The players must give the answer as 1,2 or 3 of the pictures on the card as required. An example being "Which 2 of these characters.....?".

Individual Questions are of 2 types - In Solo Pick 1 players secretly choose the answer using the answer dials and then all reveal at once before the correct answer is read out. In Spotlight the reader answers the question secretly using the answer dial and then the other players try to match their answer. An example question would be "Which of the 4 characters shown would you most like to trade places with?"

The variation in the questions really does keep the game very exciting, and because Solo Pick 1 and Spotlight questions occur less frequently, the game plays as if you are all a team working together and is really chatty and funny.

The age range is spot on. Our 5 1/2 year old is not interested in the slightest in playing with us, but our nearly 7 year old gets really quite competitive! He plays on a pretty even level too, as the full range of  Disney movies from across the decades is included, so he can answer questions from modern movies that we don't know, and he got the hang of using the tokens to wager how confident you were about the picture clues very quickly.

Pictopia Disney Edition is a lovely game. It's great to play with friends or family. Much better with 3 or more players, and fine for youngsters (from around age 7), teenagers and for Grandma too. No special knowledge is required, you'll be amazed how questions you can answer from the 1000 included. Whether your favourite is Up, Bambi, Aladdin, Finding Nemo, Toy Story, Cinderella or Pirates Of The Caribbean, you have a fair chance of winning.

If you are technically minded, included is a bonus app. with extra content and a Lightening Round Final Challenge! We haven't tried it yet because we generally have a 'no phones' rule when we're playing games - and we keep forgetting to look! It will however extend gameplay when we feel a need for it.

Nostalgic, surprising and at times even embarrassing (which teenager really wants to admit to knowing the name of the teacup in Beauty And The Beast?) Pictopia Disney Edition is a lovely game for spending quality time together.

Pictopia Disney Edition from Wonderforge is available now from Waterstones on the high street priced £19.99, and is also available from Amazon online.

We were sent our copyof Pictopia Disney Edition for review.