This would seem like a simple question to answer. If, like me, you love how a well-placed comma can alter meaning in a sentence then the answer is probably – yes. However, if you are still struggling with your vs you’re then you may fall into the ‘no’ camp. For you, grammar games are not fun.
Last minute present ideas
I thought I’d try out a grammar game and give my honest feedback. I bought it just before Father’s Day when I realised my failure to get my husband a card from our son. Tempting me in my favourite card shop was Grammar Police. The strapline on the publisher’s website read, ‘The team game for smug grammar Nazis’. I admit it: I was intrigued.
Who wants to play?
“Who wants to play?” met with a silence I rarely enjoy in my house. Each time I asked the husband or child if they wanted to join me in a quick game, I faced indifference. Undeterred, I thought I’d try it out on some keen 10 year olds. I chose my target audience well: confident girls who read all the time, and enjoyed spelling words for others in class. Essentially, small versions of me at the same age.
It’s okay to be competitive with children, isn’t it?
We sat around a long narrow table. I was hunched low like a card player in a saloon bar. The girls, who were sat across from me, formed a witches coven huddled together. We started off with low stakes and eased ourselves in with one and two point questions.
Confident faces radiated from the girls and their smiles were just a little too pleased. At this moment, I knew what I had to do: start in with the tougher questions. I’m aware I don’t come across as very sympathetic in this story, but in my defence, the girls agreed to play and know how competitive I am.
We began with brimming confidence all round. According to the rules of the game, the cards need to be shuffled and placed on the table. I get it. It should be random, but I wasn’t sure how ‘fun’ it would be if we were all struggling from the start.
Read through the cards first!
So, some of the cards were potentially offensive and/or unsuitable for children. I do usually read through resources before handing them out for this reason. In my defence, I was tired and it was the end of a very long day. That’s not a good enough excuse. I wanted to try it out for my blog and well…
Sample card to work through: CAUTION! DON’T TOUCH THE STAFF WILL HELP. There is one mistake in this card. As they report on the card, it’s the difference between touching the staff and something else!
I would recommend this for children aged 12 and older as recommended on the box. I was a little surprised to find a couple of errors. As this is a grammar game it seems they probably should have had it proofread before releasing it. They could have tried Clear Copy UK. After all, this is our core business.
Is it enjoyable?
I would say this could be a lot of fun with a few friends and some beers on a Friday night. I am aware that for some this could seem like hell but there are hints to help the players. For extra support and a deduction in points you could explain how many grammar, spelling mistakes or missing words there are for each clue.
Who won?
No one in the end. After reading one particular card I realised that perhaps Grammar Police might be better suited for a more mature audience!
Will I play again?
Definitely.