Frustration

PROLOGUE;

I love games, the classics are the best. I go through little phases in which a particular game is my favourite of the moment; the game is inflicted upon my husband and played until exhaustion or until a new game captures my interest. As it stands the game of the moment is frustration …
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FRUSTRATION (MB games):

Frustration is a game that fulfils its name … ‘frustration by name; frustrating by nature’. A Timeless game that takes little time to master and provides ample fun!
If you are hugely competitive, like me, then the game can be more than frustrating, it can be downright annoying as the outcome is largely determined by luck, we as players have little - no control!
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Directions;

This is a game for 2 – 4 players and is recommended for 4 years & up.

You start off having 4 coloured pegs …you can chose your colour from; red, yellow, green or blue.

The pegs are placed in your starting corner of the board in allocated spaces. (The board is sectioned into 4 colours … each section representing the colour of the pegs.)

In the middle of the board, there is a clear dome containing a dice (the technical term being ‘pop – o – matic dice’). You press on the dome to roll the dice.
The game starts with everyone rolling the dice to see who rolls the highest. The highest roll determines he/she who rolls first to commence the game.

For the game to get in motion, someone is required to roll a 6.

Having rolled a 6, you can release your first peg out of the starting corner ready to begin its trip around the board.
(You bring the peg to a predetermined space, highlighted by an arrow on the board just outside your starting corner.)
(As with a lot of games … if you roll a six … you get to roll again)

To navigate around the board … you each take turns rolling the dice and moving the peg the appropriate number of spaces.

(NOTE; you cannot release any peg until you have rolled a 6 … with the condition that the ‘space’ for new pegs is not occupied by one of your own pegs.)
(ANOTHER NOTE; If you don’t have a peg in play and are unlucky in your roll… you do nothing besides wish for a 6 next turn !!!)
(YET ANOTHER NOTE; if the only space you can land on is occupied by one of your own pegs; you stay where you are and wait until your next turn!)

With the trip around the board near completion, you will see the destination … ‘home’! You follow your coloured arrow to 4 numbered spaces leading inwards towards the dome (Directly behind the space you started at.) You can land in any order but the roll has to be exact.

The intention is to get all four of your pegs ‘home’ before your opponent(s).

Ahhhhh … BUT … it is not that easy !!!

If you roll enough to land on a space occupied by one of your opponents pegs (or vice versa); that peg is sent all the way back into captivity … ‘the starting corner’ … only to be released by the roll of a 6; to begin the trip around the board all over again.

oH the frustration !
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The game is great fun but can get incredibly ‘frustrating’ largely because there is no time limit to the game. Therefore dependant on the roll’s of the dice; the game can go on and on and on and on and on.
As mentioned before, it is a very easy game to master. Although there are a few strategic tactics … for example; try not to get in front of your opponent as you are increasing your chance of being landed on and being banished back to the starting corner.
Instead; stay closely behind your opponent, so that should the dice roll in your favour, you can land yourself on them and send them all the way back to the start. (HA HA HA!)
Try to keep your pegs in play to a minimum; the fewer amounts of pegs you have in play the less chance you have of getting landed on.
Another hint that may seem obvious is trying not to land on an opponent’s space that they would initially bring their peg to after rolling a 6!
Of course the frustrating thing about this game is that you can have all the tactics in the world … but it is mostly down to good fortune. Your tactics could just as easily have reverse effect and be the cause of your downfall.
The more people playing generally determine the greater length of the game and it is not so easy to implement the above stated tactics.
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The game is priced at around £7.99 in most places. The board is very hardy and durable as the card board backing is contained within a thick plastic shell.
It can be purchased from most shops where games are sold such as 'toys 'r' us', woolworths, WHsmiths etc... aswell as leading supermarkets and retail outlets.
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EPILOGUE;

A great many battles are resolved for me and my husband through games … the winner takes the glory !!! ‘Frustration’ is a great one for this as skill has little place within this game … therefore there is no decided winner from the start.
As I mentioned earlier; I am hugely competitive … this is where ‘Frustration’ has its drawbacks; It is so hard to control the outcome and the more people that play … the harder it becomes.
It is a great game for all ages; kids love it as do adults. With luck being so predominant in this game … adults do not have any advantage over children … so it is a great family game as well.
Overall it is a terrific game and is ridiculously easy to master. I recommend it to all !!!
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