Lately I’ve been spending more time playing video games. Did you see our Nintendo game preview video? But board games are really fun too and I’ve got another great game for the family. It’s called Suspend and it is a balance game. It’s not one of those games made of plastic, looking like something that will break after one game. The rods are metal with rubber covering the ends.
EASY SET UP
Most games have lots of pieces to set up like Monopoly but this game is different. There is no board, money, or cards. All you need to do to get the game ready is set up the balance pole and distribute the rods to each player.
EASY TO LEARN
When you want to play a game you don’t want to spend more time learning how to play than actually playing. This is a very straight forward game and it is not super complex to learn. The main purpose is to balance the rods off of the balance pole. See, you’ve learned how to play it already.
EVERYONE CAN ENJOY THE GAME
This game can be fun for everyone because everyone is on equal footing. You don’t need any special skills or knowledge. You don’t even need to know how to read. The only talent you need is the ability to balance a rod without knocking over the whole structure. That’s what makes this fun for everyone, from little kids right up to parents.
DIFFERENT DIFFICULTIES
Don’t let the idea of Suspend’s easy to learn game to trick you into thinking it’s boring. I love that the game offers different challenge levels depending on the skill level of everyone playing:
- Beginner version has everyone taking turns to balance their rods on the structure, trying to not knock the whole tower down.
- Intermediate version ads in roLling a colour die. Instead of choosing a random rod from your pile, you have to use one that matches the colour on the die. If you don’t have the colour you have to play a rod from one of the other players benefiting them, not you.
- Expert version is like the intermediate version but if you knock the tower over, you keep all the rods and have to play them all until one player has no rods left.
The different difficulty levels also give you options for a shorter versus longer game
SINGLE PLAYER
The game is much more fun when played with other people but it can also work as a single player game. It’s more of a challenge game, where you try to use up a fixed number of rods without knocking down your structure. You can also have a little mini competition between players seeing who using more rods in their structure before it topples over.
Suspend is a fun game that is great for practicing your hand skills, having a light touch, balancing and a little strategic thinking around where to place your rods. It’s a perfect quick set-up and easy fun to add to your family game night.
Who do you think would win a balancing game in your family?
Game On,
Mannix