Matthew BaileyGame 40 of the “Now & Then Summer Marathon 2024” and technically the 6th “Then” game is “Pigs on Trampolines” played with Henry(3) Toby(6) and Jack (9).
My history with “Pigs on Trampolines” is a bit unusual. I first played it at the 2023 UK Games Expo, where I enjoyed the few minutes I spent with it and decided to order it on the spot. It arrived a few weeks later, and although we played it a little, it didn’t make much of an impact. In fact, I ended up selling my copy not long after and didn’t think much about the game over the next year.
Cut to a year later, and the game has gone from being a relatively niche title I spotted at the UK Games Expo to something fairly mainstream, now available in many high-street retailers (good on them).
During some downtime the other day, while watching children’s TV, an advert for “Pigs on Trampolines” came on.
Needless to say, a quick flick through Argos to see that it’s currently on sale for just over £10 meant that before I knew it, I had purchased it for the second time.
Cue a drive home where all of the kids wanted to hold a pig in the car.
Do other people’s kids like holding things?
I don’t know what it is with mine, but whenever we buy anything, they always want to hold something, and I find it a bit annoying. Like the other day, Henry was going around the whole supermarket holding some mince… Also, while I’m here, does anyone else hate the new vacuum-packed mince that certain supermarkets use? It doesn’t break up properly in the pan!
So, we get home, set it all up, and actually had a bit of fun playing with it. But the problem is that this is the sort of thing that’s fun to play with for about five minutes before you don’t really want to play anymore.
First and foremost, it’s actually really, really difficult. Bouncing these pigs so that they land in the designated holes is really tricky, and for the kids, this is obviously aimed at, it’s frustratingly hard.
The components themselves are actually quite nice. The little trampolines are well-made and work well, and the pigs are all vinyl, feeling like the sort of thing you could use as a bath toy. In fact, by the time you’ve read this review, Henry has probably already taken them into the bath. The only thing that’s a bit iffy is how the cardboard “mud” fits on top of the other section. It’s also surprising that they spent the time and money on tooling to ensure each pig looks different, with various colours and designs, which I do appreciate.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with “Pigs on Trampolines”; it’s just not the sort of thing that’s going to hold your attention for very long. This is the epitome of a game that’s perfect for when a friend comes over to play after dinner, and they’ve already left most of the spaghetti Bolognese you made because you didn’t use exactly the same sauce as their parents, and the garlic bread was ciabatta instead of a French stick. With about 20 minutes left until their parents arrive to pick them up, and you don’t want them just watching TV (as the parent who you don’t know super well might disapprove), so pulling out “Pigs on Trampolines” seems like a good idea. For that very specific purpose, it’s perfect—though “Sink n Sand” is normally my go-to.
So, to be honest, I don’t really recommend “Pigs on Trampolines.” It’s a fun little thing you’ll get about five minutes of playtime out of, but it definitely isn’t something with long-term appeal. However, you can pick it up pretty cheap now, and if you want a few games to have a bit of a cool factor when you’ve got non-gamer children around, it has its uses.
