Matthew BaileyToday, we are going to have 2 reviews, the first of which is quite an unexpected inclusion. Please note that some of the images have been edited to remove content that might be flagged on Facebook, which I want to avoid.
With that said…
Game 37 of the “Bailey Family Summer 2023 Board Game Bonanza” is “Dad’s Army: The Board Game,” (I never thought this would be included) played by Jack (8.), Toby (5), and myself.
“Dad’s Army” is a beloved British sitcom originally aired in the late 60s/ early 70s, focusing on a home front army of retired men deemed too old for active duty. The show garnered immense popularity and is occasionally broadcast even today but due to the aforementioned German iconography is often edited.
This board game was released in 1974, and amusingly, my wife’s parents still own a copy that, as far as I understand, dates back to her mum’s first marriage. This game was marketed as a family game, with an age rating of eight plus on the box. However, this game faced criticism in the last decade due to a high-profile news article that led to its banning from eBay. The reason was the German army iconography featured on the box art and bomb tokens in the game.
This was enough to make me hesitate about featuring it, but my research revealed that the game has been re-released as an anniversary edition since 2021 and is actually available to buy today! This new edition is identical, with the only change being the removal of the German symbols. Upon discovering this, I knew this unique piece of board game history had to be featured in this year’s summer collection.
I approached this game with zero expectations, as we all know that games from the mid-20th century often haven’t aged well. However, despite my reservations, I didn’t actually dislike this game as much as I could have done.
In the game, each player selects a colour representing two characters from the show, which start at predetermined locations on the map. I was positively surprised by this arrangement, as it spreads out the characters and balances the gameplay. Players then draw a black card and a red card at random, which provide the coordinates their team must reach to win. While there’s some randomness involved, this is mitigated by the initial character positions.
The game involves rolling a dice and moving one of your characters towards the goal. The strategy emerges when, instead of merely advancing toward your target coordinates, you can enter buildings that allow you to draw a top-secret card. These cards grant you powers such as laying Union Jack symbols that act as speed boosters, dropping bombs that move characters to the nearest air shelter, and playing the Hodges card, which requires swapping one character with the Hodges character wherever they are on the board.
If your characters are closer to the goal coordinates, there’s an obvious temptation to race for the finish (which might be the best strategy for some characters). However, for other characters, your focus will likely be on hindering their progress.
While I wouldn’t label it as tactical, there’s definitely a lot of decision-making involved. Moving the characters around and using the game’s mechanics to impede opponents’ progress was genuinely enjoyable.
We only played the game once, and it didn’t take much time, about 15 minutes. However, I’ve seen other reviews mentioning that if players get into a cycle of dropping bombs, the middle portion of the game can become prolonged.
Considering that this game was produced in 1974, based on a popular property license, targeting fans of “Dad’s Army,” I’m pleasantly surprised by how competent it is. I would easily choose to play this over Monopoly any day of the week.
I can’t recommend buying this game under any metric. However, if you had told me that number 37 on my list this year would be the “Dad’s Army” board game, I would have laughed. Nonetheless, as a historical curio, it provided a bit of fun and if Grandad (or Dad, sorry Dan Hughes) happens to be a “Dad’s Army” fan, I can think of worse games to play with the grandparents during Christmas.
