5 Second Rule is a fun family board game, suitable for children from 8+, made famous by The Ellen DeGeneres Show. The game involves having to name 3 things in a category with only 5 seconds available! It’s a very simple concept, so is easy to grasp, and is lots of fun.
It should be easy to name three breeds of dog – but can you do it under the pressure of 5 seconds twisting down and with the other players staring, waiting for you to get flustered? Time is not on your side, so just say what comes to mind and risk ridiculous answers slipping out as time twirls down on the spiral timer. It’s all in good fun with the fast paced family board game.
The game includes:
- Board
- Playing pieces
- Question cards
- Pass and switch cards
- Timer
- Instruction booklet
One thing I really like about this game is how many question cards there are. The game provides even more cards than will fit into the question card box, which is not something I have seen in any game before! This means it will take a lot of plays before you get through all of the cards, and it will keep the game challenging, and stop it from getting predictable as you recognise questions from previous games. Each of the cards are double sided too, so that is a lot of questions!
To play the game, each player takes turns to answer a question card while the timer is running. The timer is large and has a sound effect as well as balls running down it, so it’s more interesting than a typical sand timer. If the player gets it wrong, then the card is passed to the next player but that player won’t be able to use any of the answers that had been tried by the previous player. So, if the previous player thought of 2 answers before the time ran out, the 2nd player will have to come up with 3 totally new ones!
There are also pass cards and switch cards which you can use if you find your question impossible to answer.
Here are some of the question cards to give you an idea of level of difficulty.
We found the questions are manageable, although a few are trickier for younger players – and of course when you get flustered with the short time it does become trickier!
The quick pace makes the game fun and we all enjoyed playing. As well as playing with older kids, this game is good fun for grown ups if you have a family game night played. It will work well for family gatherings.
Five Second Rule is suitable for ages 8+ years, and cab be played by groups of 3-6 players.
Five Second Rule is from University Games who have lots of other fun board games for all ages, including the ones below.
5 Second Rule is available for around RRP 19.99. Click here to see more and buy on Amazon
Anna Marikar, mum of four and seasoned blogger, has spent over a decade sharing her parenting journey and passion for kid-friendly crafts and free printables.
Her easy-to-follow craft ideas and practical parenting advice have transformed In The Playroom into a cherished resource for parents.
Great game. My family and I played this the other day and we laughed so hard. Thanks for the review.