Review: Asmodee Board Games – Picture Show*

Although the weather as been pretty good during lockdown there are still moments when its too cold, rainy or windy to play out, so a great way to entertain the kids if with board games! Asmodee‘s Picture Show is the second one of the three board games we have been sent by Asmodee.  Today my kids were excited to see how this shadow puppet game worked. Having a variety of different types of games makes those ‘board gaming’ days all the more fun.

During the lockdown my three have been able to kick off their love of board games, we have been playing BrainBox Animals (which we reviewed the other week), pairs, fraction bingo (which is a pizza fraction game this one has been helping them with home learning), and a banana word game amongst just some. Whether you have one or three kids like me there are plenty of games out there to suit any size family.

Asmodee who ask to review all three of the games are a huge board game distributor, which makes them the real deal in terms of their knowledge of games. They are constantly launching new products that will then reach shelves in all our favourite toy stores and supermarkets. So if you want to know what we thought of one of the games they distribute, read on…

What we thought of Picture Show

Again, as usual with most of the kid’s toy reviews I do, my three were super excited to get their hands on this game! Picture Show is a shadow puppet game which has been inspired by the shadow puppet traditions of the East, where this is a much-loved way of storytelling.

The game comes in a sturdy box has to be set up and fixed together before you can play and also requires some batteries for the light to create the shadows. The set up was straight forward, I didn’t need to help my eight and ten-year-old to do it. They managed quite well between them.

They played this game just the three of them together, and the older two completely grasped the concept but my youngest who is six, couldn’t quite understand that he wasn’t to tell people what his shadows were doing, it was for the other people to guess, this is where the recommended age of 7+ is pretty accurate. However, the other two did fine and took over and Simeon was in charge of the shadows throughout the game.

They did enjoy this game although having to use the card suggestions they said they were quickly board. They did, however, begin to make up their own images for the other player to guess, which they said made it more fun. The game overall is a nice game and they played it for around 30 minutes, I suspect with more players you could make it last longer.

The shadow pieces are great, in that they are a magnet so sit onto the end of the shadow puppet stick, and that way you can wave them onto the screen to create your shadows easily. There are plenty to choose from too and there are 200 shadow quite cards with three possibilities on each card, so you have plenty of ideas to work with.

Overall, I would say this game is ok, its a guessing game and would be fun for a party or sleepover. The shadows can be created in the day time too – which is when we played the game – but as my kids suggested its probably best as a winter game, as it would get dark sooner and have a better effect. But check out our pictures and you can see how it works well even without having to stay awake until it goes dark!

Where can you buy Picture Show and how much does it cost?

You can buy the Picture Show from Amazon here and this costs £24.54

About Asmodee

Asmodee are specialist Distributors for the hobby and gaming product market and are the UK and European leaders. Some of the types of games they distribute include card games, board games, trading cards, collectable card games and role-playing games. As well as being distributors they are also game publishers and have exclusive agreements with other big publishers in the industry including, Fantasy Flight Games, AEG, Z-Man, and Wizkids amongst just some.

Having been established for over 30 years their knowledge in the board gaming field is unquestionable and they are there to assist every gaming need of their retail clients and board game café owners. They provide help on what to stock so that their clients don’t end up with games that they can’t sell. Exactly the kind of service you want from a large scale distributor.

Final Thoughts

Being able to sit down and play games to take time out from the boredom we sometimes find ourselves in at the moment is a lifesaver, and this game is one of those, that will save you from a moment where you can’t find what to do. I also love my three to have variety in play and I don’t always want them stuck playing the same thing or stuck on their Nintendo, or arguing over lego – games give them the time to work together and chat which is what I love to see them doing and I hope you find that sense of peace too when yours get out a board game!

Review by: Lex Ward

Review: The Amazing Recycling Project Book by Sara Stanford

Children’s Toy Review: Jazwares Frozen 2 Domez Collectibles

Children’s Book Review – Sparky the Dragon Bus by Sue Wickstead