SAY IT, SEE IT … SLAM IT!
We have a large collection of board games which we love to play as a family, but sometimes we just want to play something that is quick and easy but still plenty of fun. We recently played and loved the memory and matching card game Sneak Peek and the matching grabbing game Grabolo so decided to try another pick up and play game – Slam It!
Slam It! from John Adams is a fast-paced card matching game, a bizarre version of Snap. It is a game for 2-8 players, aged 6+ with a playing time of between 10 and 20 minutes.
In the box:
- Slam It! Storage Box
- 100x Cards, made up of
– 60x Basic Cards (10x each of Blue, Green, Orange, Purple, Red and Yellow Cards)
– 8x Next Level Cards (4x Reverse Cards and 4x Skip Cards)
– 27x Pro Cards (4x Bomb, 22x Rule Cards, 1x Game Over Card)
– 2x Blank Cards
– 3x Different Levels Instructions Cards (Basic, Next Level and Pro) - Instructions Leaflet
Slam It! is a tabletop card game that comes in its own compartmentalised box holding 100 game cards. There are three compartments in the box so you can easily split the cards for the three different levels of play. The box is hard plastic, seems quite sturdy and is small enough to make it a perfect travel game as well.
Slam It! has 3 different difficulty levels to play, something to suit all ages and abilities. The idea of the game is to get rid of as many of your cards as possible by playing a card and counting in sequence from 0 to 9. Watch out though, when the card played matches the number spoken, players must slam their hands on the pile of cards. The last person to slam their hand down keeps the pile of cards! Say it, see it … SLAM IT! And if you think it sounds far too easy or even boring … it is anything but!
Playing the basic level is quite straightforward, perfect for learning the game and young players, but once you start adding in Next Level card or even Pro cards it starts to get tricky.
Playing Level 1, the BASIC level, uses the 60 coloured numbered cards only, these are the white-backed cards. These are shuffled and dealt out to each player (coloured number side face-down). The cards do not have to be equal between all players, as long as they are all dealt out to all players. The player going first turns over the top card from their pile, places it in the middle of the table and says “Zero” – if doesn’t actually matter what the number on the card is. The next player turns over a card, lays it on top of the other and says “One”. Then play then continues around the table, with the number called out increasing by one with on each turn. It doesn’t matter what the number on the card is, you just have to call out the numbers from 0 to 9 in sequence.
But the fun begins when someone says a number and then lays down a card with that number on it – for example, if someone says 5 and then lays a 5 card, players should slam their hands onto the pile of cards. The player who has their hand on top of everyone else’s (the last player to slam) picks up the entire pile of cards and adds them to the bottom of their deck. The game then restarts from the count of zero.
Playing Level 2, the NEXT level, adds in 4 Reverse cards and 4 Skip cards to the deck to changes the difficulty level. When someone plays a Skip card, play skips to the next player. When a Reverse card is played, the order of play changes direction. This adds a small level of extra difficulty without changing the game too much and just makes that bit more interesting and fun.
Playing Level 3, the PRO level, adds in the NEXT level Reverse and Skip cards plus Bomb cards, a Game Over card and Rule cards. Using all these cards adds in a greater degree of difficulty to the game and takes a bit of figuring out to completely understand the gameplay – it is definitely a game for the pros. This was our least favourite level of the game, as we all had a bit of difficulty completely understanding the new playing method (it is going to take a fair bit of practice). That said, it does add an extra element of fun, especially with the Rule cards: e.g., if a yellow card is played, that player has to maintain a cheesy grin for the rest of the game or having players speak like pirates to ones that make the game far more difficult like treating blue cards as twos and two cards as blues! You can see why it takes a bit more time to understand and grasp how to play.
In all three games, the first person to get rid of their cards (the ones they were dealt and any that they have ‘won’) is the winner.
Overall, Slam It! is an excellent fun and enjoyable quick pick up and play game. The added extra difficulty levels give a greater challenge for players. Level 1 is perfect for 2 or more players, and we found that levels 2 and 3 worked better when all four of us played together – the more the merrier!
Levels 1 and 2 were easy to for the adults and children understand and play, but we found that Level 3 with the addition of new cards and new combinations of rules to the game (they can be cumulative) are a bit tricky and can take a bit of understanding for the adults, never mind the children. We would say levels 1 and 2 are perfect for children aged 6 and upwards with level 3 probably at least 10 years plus.
We enjoyed the first 2 levels of Slam It! They are good and fun for all the family that requires quick thinking and quick hands (although be prepared for sore and possibly bruised hands if you have a teenager in the house who takes slam it quite literally and smashes her hand down as hard as she can). Level 3, we think will be enjoyable once we get the hang of it.
Rating: 4.5/5
RRP: £12.99
For more information, visit www.johnadams.co.uk. 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.
