Get A Grip Game Review (age 8+) for Hasbro

Get A Grip is the 'no-thumbs challenge' game from Hasbro. Recommended for 2 of more players aged around 8+, this is a fairly active family game in which players wear special gloves and then face their opponents in a head-to-head battle - without using thumbs.

Inside the box you have:
4 no-thumb bands (100% polyester, machine washable)
2 jars of sculpting clay
2 drawing pads
60 challenge cards
Instructions

The two active players both wear the special No-Thumb Bands, which fit anyone and are fastened with velcro style infinitely adjustable fastening. They're actually really comfortable and although you can't use your thumb, your fingers are all free to move.

Get A Grip suggests older players use only 2 fingers, younger all 4. As we were playing against our 7 1/2 and almost 9 year old children we used this to level the playing field.

Players take a card from the top of the pile and then choose an opponent. Both then attempt to depict the words shown in Draw It, Sculpt It or Do It challenges using with paper and pencil, soft dough or objects found around the house. The winner takes the card and the first person to collect 3 cards is the overall game winner.

The 'Draw It' Challenge is my favourite, although I'm no artist. I love the pictures though. Players have time limits for a lot of the challenges, these are shown on the cards. Some challenges simply continue until one player has finished.

The other players decide by vote who wins in challenges like this - that was hard! Sometimes 2 drawings have equal merit and it's very hard to choose between them. Probably especially so when you are a parent.

It can be handy to get things for 'Do It' challenges ready before you start just in case, although we found that we barely needed any of them, so unless you are up for a pitched battle, and as long as you have an idea of where things might be, it's probably as easy to just pause your game and fetch them if the card comes up.

My boys had the Do It Challenge to Button A Shirt. We had a false start because neither of them could put it on without thumbs, so we helped and started the challenge from there.

It was very funny watching them. Having no thumbs really does make everyday activities very hard. It took them ages!

The Sculpt It Challenges were great. The results were universally awful and we all laughed a lot at attempts to depict such simple items as 'a piece of fruit'. It's a lot harder without thumbs.

Get A Grip is a good game that we had fun playing. It didn't interest my teenagers to join in with us, although I can imagine them playing with other young people and having a great laugh. It actually would make a great drinking game for players 18+.

The age suggestion of 8+ is right, anyone younger than my 7 1/2 year old would be at a disadvantage with speed and the fact that by the time you are my age, you've burnt, stung and sliced open the end of a thumb a few times, so you've actually practised this one...

Get A Grip is by Hasbro and available now from all good toy shops instore and online, including Smyths rrp £23.99.

We were sent our copy of Get-A-Grip for review by Hasbro.