‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire’ is one of the most iconic gameshows in the history of television. It’s had viewers hooked since it first debuted in the UK in 1998 with Chris Tarrant at the helm. Former ‘Top Gear’ star Jeremy Clarkson is the current host and even though the show isn’t on air as frequently as it used to be, it still draws a huge audience every time it returns. If you’ve ever fancied going on the show yourself but are too scared to go on television, then you can now play it in the comfort of your own home with the release of ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: The Board Game’.
Perfect for the family this Christmas (the age guidance suggests 14+), ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: The Board Game’ does a fantastic job of recreating the television series but fleshes the gameplay out a little so you can compete against other members of your family or your friends. The board features the 12 different cash prize thresholds that you need to work your way through and unlike the television series, a wrong answer doesn’t immediately count you out (I’ll come on to that later).
With six different colour player tokens available, you can play as individuals or in teams and everyone starts at the bottom of the board. The question is read out by the host (this changes every round so everyone is the host at some point during the game) and all players, including the host, must use their answer tokens featuring letters A to D to play their answer. Once the question is read out, each player puts their answer token face down at the bottom of the board and the host reveals them along with the answer.
Players who get the correct answer progress to the next stage and those who get the answer wrong drop back down to the board (either to the start or the place where they’ve indicated a safe haven – this is chosen by each player before play begins). Those who get it wrong then continue to play but they answer questions from the higher cash threshold that other players are on, making it harder for them to progress.
As with the TV show, there are lifelines to be used should you need them during the game. You scan a QR code at the bottom of the question card using your phone and then select your lifeline on the page that comes up. There’s 50:50, Phone a Friend, Ask the Audience and Ask The Host, the latter allowing a player to see what answer the host has given. It’s a nice touch that makes the game feel even more like the TV show but for me, the Phone a Friend option lets it down slightly as you’re reliant on someone answering your call at the moment you need help!
Of course, the first person to hit £1 million wins the game but be prepared for this to take a while. In the games I’ve played, it was an average of 90-120 mins before someone clinched the top prize. That’s double the amount of time the box suggests but it’ll very much depend on the knowledge of the people playing and will vary with every single game.
‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: The Board Game’ is a faithful recreation of the television show and with some truly challenging questions, it will put your general knowledge to the test. What’s great about the game is there are so many questions that the repeat play value is high and that’s really important. There are too many games on the market that you tire of after a handful of plays but this isn’t one of them. It’s also incredibly simple to pick up. The instructions are short and it won’t take you very long to get going once you start playing. It’s perfect for the festive season and beyond, and I can already tell it’s going to get a lot of use with my family over the coming weeks.
Publisher: Ginger Fox Games Release date: 16th September 2021 Buy ‘Who Wants To Be A Millionaire: The Board Game’ now
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