Ideal 10820 Stare Off, Multicolour

Thank you

fulfilled its purpose

Part of the fun here is the credibility that this game attempts to give to the act of staring at someone and trying not to blink. The game is designed for 3+ players: at least two players and a referee, it’s more fun with bigger groups though. There are two c-shaped pieces of plastic that players wear on the head and three spacers that go between them that define the staring distance. Games are in three rounds. Each round ends when the referee spots a blink and shows the “blinker” the red card. One of the spacers is then removed to reduce the staring distance and a new round begins. Each player gets one distraction card per game which they can use strategically - meow like a cat, make a fart sound, that sort of thing. I’m laughing as I type this because it’s completely ridiculous, but it is great fun. At the end of the day it’s a party game and in the right company it can be pretty hilarious.

You could, of course, have a staring contest without the equipment of this game, but children like some bits and pieces to give them a framework.All you have to do is out-stare your opponent, without blinking. Your headset is connected to your opponent’s headset by the pole and your arms are folded. That’s it. However, in official staring contests you’re usually allowed to do nothing but stare (yes, I have Googled this, how sad), but in this version, you can “talk trash” whenever you want, and also use one “distraction card” during the game, e.g. “pick your nose” (with your arms folded???)This sounds as if you won’t get much peace, but it’s probably quite hard to do anything else, including “talking trash”, when you’re concentrating to avoid blinking. Possibly some good training here in how to multi-task.Each round consists of a series of matches best-of-three between two players drawn at random. At the end of each round, the winners’ names are returned to the hat, and the process continues until the last two winners fight it out. Those not playing at the time could, of course, try to distract one or other of the starers to make them blink.Not the world’s most original game, or the most educational, but kids will love it. Whether it’s worth £13 for a few cheap bits of plastic and a small pack of cards is another matter.

I get the idea of staring each other out...that works for me,,, just buying a really poor quality plastic kit that is designed to give you a headache by grasping your head too tightly DOESN'T WORK for me.This is a crazy kit of self assembly plastic that is probably worth £1 comes with a set of cards (another £1) that make non-clever suggestions for putting off your opponent. You can have more fun playing this without the kit than you will with it. When I re-read this I recognise it sounds like I am just a Grinch, but frankly this is an appalling game that will inevitably end up in landfill and damage our environment further. I have bought 3 new games this week that are about the same price and I give each of them 5 stars - this is just insane (in a criminal sense!) and you shouldn't consider it further

We love a good boardgame at Christmas in my family, but there seem to be fewer boardgames around and more event packs. Why play ‘Monopoly’ when you can have a kit that teaches you how to play charades or a gimmicky plastic gymnast that you need to flip about? Ideal’s ‘Stare Off’ certainly falls under this camp of being gimmicky and is essential a kit to play stares. However, it is all done with a wry sense of humour and fun rules that make it more of an organised parlour game.The kit comes with a tool that attaches itself to two players heads so that they are facing one another. You require a third player to be the referee. The first to blink loses the round. You then shorten the tool so that the players are closer. Best of three wins. To justify this being packed in a box you also get red card for the ref and a series of bluff cards that can be used once by the players to try and make the others blink.It is all very daft, but well done. The amusing illustrations and comedy tone played straight means that it works well as a game for those with a silly sense of humour. For family members in the 8-14 year range, it proved popular. ‘Stare Off’ is a fun idea that you need to be willing to get involved with if you are to justify a purchase. For an extended family gathering where the day often turns to tomfoolery, this will fit in nicely.

This is a fairly basic game, all the parts feel a bit cheap but the idea is quite entertaining.You compete against your opponent to see who can out stare the other.The stare off headset is quite uncomfortable, it’s hard plastic and you really wouldn’t want to wear it any longer than possible. You can alter the length of the stick, so your heads are closer but once assembled the sticks are quite hard to pull apart, not sure how long it will be before one snaps whilst trying to part them.You need 3 players, as one person needs to be the referee and determine who blinked first.There are 23 distraction cards, with various actions on them to help you make your opponent blink such as meow like cat, flex your muscles and show your teeth like an angry dog.It’s easy to play and can be quite fun but it does feel a bit overpriced for what you get in the box, you could probably make something similar at home for next to nothing.Hope you found my review helpful

This is a real fun, gimmicky piece and ideal gift for someone who has everything or a person that you find it hard to buy for. I would buy this for one of the men in the family just for a laugh...but the price obviously is prohibitive if it is meant purely as a joke. This is basically taking the idea of 'staring someone out' to a different level, someone has made it into a real game! The box has awful cartoon graphics and that makes it look very homemade. Inside you have a few items to help with the stare-off. Aimed at ages 8+ and 3+ players. 'Competitive staring at its very best'. There are stare-off headsets that give a measured distance between you and your opponent, a blocking screen, distraction cards, and a red card! I'm sure we will have more than one bash at this game and it would be fun after the shots of sherry.