Polarity

Not played it as its for my son for Christmas. Arrived sooner than expected and the quality was absolutely superb.

The idea for this game is possibly borderline cool: if you're someone who is really into magnets and who finds the sight of an object semi-hovering in a magnetic field, maybe this is the game for you. That's the USP of this game: magnets; and frankly there is nothing else positive to say about it.The instructions are spectacularly badly written: laugh-out-loud confused and confusing. For some of the rules you'd need a video-playback/referee to decide whether they've been broken or not. The game is played on a cloth mat that, to make it at all workable, must be ironed flat before you can play: when you put it back in the box, it gets too creased to be playable. Once you're playing, if someone accidentally jogs the table then that can set off magnetic reactions/interactions that totally change the game. The game is badly designed; it has a manifest flaw in its logic. You score points by making "towers", stacks of the magnetic pieces; if any player is capable of counting, they quickly work out that from a certain point in the game the only sensible thing to do is to add to their existing towers, at which point the magentism side of the game becomes wholly irrelevant.If you've played any Spiele De Jahre winner or nominee from the past 15 years or so, you can safely forget this: it is a woeful waste of money. I cannot understand why it won an award from a science museum, other than the fact it involves magnetism and somehow that's "about science". Whoever gave this an award should be ashamed of themselves.

Not a well thought out game if I'm honest, but interesting.

I bought this as a present for my father. We played it a couple of times, which we both enjoyed, and it was neat learning to balance the pieces and how the magnets will interact, often in ways that we didn't expect, but after a couple of evenings play, we never went back.The rules, were not that complicated, the rounds were of a sensible length and the sense of skill/achievement were definitely there, it just wasn't compelling. Also, we struggled to get anyone else to play, other family members were put off by it, as it looked too serious - a prejudice we were unable to break.

interesting game,needs focusing...having a lot of fun playing with friends..very hard to play if you had a drink or two...the only annoying thing is to iron the playing mat every time we take it out of the box...

What an interesting game! I have an extensive board game selection which is certainly not limited to the rubbish which regularly appears in the Argos catalogue! Among others, I have had the pleasure to play Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, Niagara, Descent, Ticket To Ride, Bang!, The Werewolves of Millers Hollow, San Juan, Conquest of the Empire, Britannia, Roborally, Shadows Over Camelot.... You get the idea - some real classics. Polarity however is very, very different. I actually found out about it from a newspaper article a few weeks ago - it recently won the Science Museum Smart Toy Award (and was their `Ultimate' winner). Now let me get one thing clear, the fact that a game had won some science award wouldn't immediately make me want to go out and buy it, but the picture in the newspaper showed 2 kids playing with magnets resting in the magnetic fields of other magnets - enlarge Amazon's image & you'll understand. Anyway, I managed to get hold of a copy, read through the rules and played a few games with a couple of friends - we also amended the rules ever so slightly so we could play with 4 players: 2 teams of 2. It's different and a whole lot of fun. Manual dexterity is not something which the average board game uses as a game mechanic - it works fantastically. Besides the fact that between games everyone is trying to balance their magnets against the largest stack possible, it just looks cool. Once you've played a few times the game becomes much more about the strategy of cutting down your opponents options, trying to get them to make the first mistake and capitalising on it rather than merely balancing magnets. Having said that, the moment you become complacent about a simple move (or you knock the table with your knee getting up to put the kettle on/get a beer), the game reminds you that it's boss with the merry snapping together of magnets.Rules: simply put, you balance your magnets in the fields of your other pieces which are laying down flat (`Leaners' and `Foundation Discs' respectively). If they snap together while still in your hand it's the end of your turn & both magnets go back on your stack (you start with c20 magnets each). If they snap together on the table, your opponent gets to pick them up, turn over to their colour and place down anywhere on the board as a stack - these are called `Towers'. It is these Towers which score points at the end of the game which happens when one of the players successfully place their last magnet. Players with magnets still in hand subtract these from their `Tower score' to get their final score. I ended my first game with a score of -4 after a disastrous final turn having been in the lead all game - GREAT FUN!There are a few more (relatively simple) rules but essentially it's a game which is fun, different, engaging enough to keep you coming back for more and has a certain "wow!" factor when people see it in progress or try the magnets out for themselves.I recommend it (as well as the rest of the games I listed earlier).

Unlike the other review above (great review by the way), my experience of games is a bit more limited to the Argos catalogue! However, having seen this on TV a while ago I came across it in a couple of places and decided to buy. It's a great game! I don't really need to go into details as G.D. Barnfather's review does a good job, but it really is fun and something which is sure to be a hit at Christmas. So, if you haven't had a chance to play those other games which he mentioned and you're more used to Monopoly and Cluedo, you should still give it a try. Having enjoyed this one so much, I might try out a couple of others which he mentioned...

Being a big kid at almost 40 (in 11 days!)I absolutely LOVE playing board games so my husband bought this game for me for Christmas having been interested by it's uniqueness (can you say that?) I am so pleased as it's great fun. After opening it I initially thought it maybe difficult to learn (perhaps due to the fact I'd had the odd glass of sherry!!) When I finally sat down to learn it, I was hooked. It reminds me of years ago, playing Operation as a kid, trying it use a steady hand. One of the other reviewers mentioned knocking the table... keep the dog away too!!!!!!!A BIG thumbs up for this cracking little game!