Board game review : Disney Pictopia

With the nights drawing in and temperatures plummetting, we were delighted to receive some new board games to try out at The Madhouse. After the manic (but hilarious) mayhem of Jungle Speed, we settled down for a much more sedate game of Disney Pictopia.

As soon as we opened the box, the Disney-branding was instantly apparent - the kids loved the Mickey Mouse head-shaped playing pieces and the Disney character-themed question cards, as well as the playing board leading to Sleeping Beauty's castle.

Juliette set up the board while I tried to get to grips with the fairly long set of rules. There's quite a lot to take in but it's not really as complicated as it initially sounds. Each player or team of players picks a colour and takes an answer selector (the Mickey Mouse heads) along with five numbered discs. You use these discs for betting a number of points before answering each question, based on the pictures on the back of the card.

The question cards all focus on different Disney characters (or sometimes Disney theme parks) with a common theme and the pictures on the back of the card can help younger players understand some of the trickier questions. Here, for example, you have to decide which three of these characters are skilled in archery.

This time the question is : Which two of these characters spend most of their time underwater? Not that easy when you only have their eyes to go on ! There's always lots of whispered discussions going on along the lines of "the last one is that fish out of Nemo ... the first one looks like a crab or an octopus ... isn't number 2 Dumbo ? ... no idea who the third one is though !"

The great thing is, the questions use a real mix of old Disney classics and the newer releases that the older generations of Disney fans are less familiar with, so it's often the younger players who know most of the answers ! Here for example : Which one of these characters has a sister with magical powers?  Hmmmm let me ponder for a moment !

Some cards even require the question-asker to select his own personal answer, meaning it's total pot luck as to whether you get the right answer or not, but it does give you the chance to find out more about your opponents !

It's quite a complicated game to get to grips with at first becase of all the different rules, so it took us a few goes to work it all out. Once you've got the hang of it though, it's a fun game that the whole family can enjoy together, especially if you can rope in the grandparents because mixing up the generations is the best way to cover all bases within each team. It's nice to work together as a family and it's great to find a game that adults and children can enjoy together (rather than the adults joining in purely to keep the kids happy !).

star rating : 4/5

RRP : £18.99

Disclosure : We received the product in order to write an honest review.