Board games come in all shapes and sizes and with a plethora of themes, but one of my favourite types is trivia games. Trivia games are great, sitting around the table with your friends and family, being able to test your knowledge and delving into the depths of your brain to recall all that useless knowledge you might have amassed over the years. Yes, trivia games are lots of fun, but trivia games with a twist are fantastic, such as Out of Order from Gibsons Games.
Out of Order is a party trivia game for 2-6 players, suitable for players aged 14+ and with a playing time of 15-30 minutes. But Out of Order is a trivia game with a twist, a twist that makes it quite funny and really rather enjoyable.
In the box:
- 100 doubled-sided quirky question cards (5 questions on each side of the card)
- 1 Rule Card (instructions)
- 6 Scoring Arrows (various colours)
- Scoring Board (the box doubles as the scoring board)
Out of Order is a question-and-answer trivia game, nothing new there I hear you say, but there is, it has a big twist – the answer that you give isn’t for the question that has just been asked but for the previous question! It is a very simple game to understand and play, and one that requires good memory skills and concentration to win.
What I loved about this game is that there is no complicated setup, and it can be played anywhere as the box itself is the “game board”. The question cards stay in the box and the only thing needed by the players is a clip-on scoring arrow.
I have said that the box is the “game board” but as this isn’t a board game that isn’t entirely correct, whilst the box is used to play the game it is actually the score board. Around the edges of the box are numbers to mark how many questions each player has answered correctly (you use your coloured scoring arrow to clip-on on to the side of the box to mark your progress). The first player to the finish is the winner. Simple, isn’t it. Well not so simple, as the game has a twist – when a player is asked a question, they must give the answer for the PREVIOUS question asked. This results in some hilarious answers (especially when one question asked was what Little Jack Horner stuck in a pie and the answer became sausage).
Playing the game is easy, just trying to remember the previous answer can be harder than you think. Each player is given a scoring arrow, they are all different colours, so each player knows where they are when they get on the scoring board. The cards are shuffled and placed back into the box, within easy reach of all players. One player becomes the Quizmaster to start (usually the one reading the rule card). The Quizmaster begins by picking the first card out of the box and asking the player to their left the first question. As this question can’t be answered using the previous question, they have to give the answer “Out of Order” and then the second question is asked, and this is where the fun begins. Once the next question is read the answer has to be the correct answer from the previous question (the correct answers are shown in brackets under the question) – for example (I’m not using real questions from the cards) if the first question asked was “What day comes after Monday?” we all know (at least, I hope everybody knows) that the correct answer is Tuesday but as this is the first question the answer given is Out of Order. When the second question is read out of “What day comes after Tuesday?”, we all know that the answer is Wednesday but as you must give the answer to the previous question the player replies with Tuesday and so on until an answer is given incorrectly or all question on the card are answered. Any correct answers are awarded 1 point and marked with the players scoring arrow by clipping it to the correct scoring position on the box. Play then continues around the table with the next player. It might sound a bit complicated, but it is easy and obviously the questions and the correct answers on the cards are better, and funnier, than my example. The first player to reach the end marker on the box is the winner.
Overall, I loved playing Out of Order. It is a bit different from the usual question and answer trivia party games which gives it a unique enjoyable and funny twist. A great game for putting memory and concentration skills to the test and even though you are giving the correct answers to the questions, the answers are Out of Order resulting in some hilarious answers. It has a gameplay of around 15 to 30 minutes, so nobody loses interest, and several rounds can be played fairly easily and quickly.
I found that to get the best out of the game, it is better to play with as many players as you can. I played it as a 2 player and 4 player game, and with 4 players it was much more enjoyable.
Whilst I love this game, I did have one slight niggle and one that could be a problem if the game is played a lot. The scoring arrows are made of thin cardboard and after the few games I have played they are already starting to show signs of wear and tear whilst starting to look and feel that they won’t last. Maybe something stronger and more durable could have been used to construct the arrows (due to the Gibsons commitment to improving their impact on the environment Out of Order is completely plastic free and made sustainably in the UK, using FSC paper – you can read more about the Gibsons Green Game Plan here so plastic arrows are not an option).
I think that Out of Order is an excellent party game. It is simple to play, plenty of fun and perfect for family and friends game nights. Will you be able to answer the question you are hearing with the answer to the previous question? How good is your memory and trivia skills? Play Out of Order to find out and have lots of fun.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £14.99
For more information, visit gibsonsgames.co.uk. Also available to buy from Amazon here.
Disclosure: I received this item for free for the purposes of writing an honest and impartial review. All thoughts and opinions are my own. This review uses an affiliate link which I may receive a small commission from if you purchase through the link.
