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Fantastic Gymnastics is an innovative competitive family game (equally comfortable for children only or adults only as well). It handles one to many players (perfect for a Christmas get together!) that combines dexterity and rhythm for a focused tense and funny activity when you fancy either practising (solo) or playing in a group, especially on a cosy winter afternoon.
Playing Fantastic Gymnastics
The game is a balancing game from Hasbro involving a Fantastic Gymnast that you attach to a balance beam via the hands and you assemble a mat in front of the beam with a target zone (with various points in each zone).
You have a button to press which bends the Gymnasts legs. As you vary the speed/frequency and power of the button you can build momentum. Do it enough and the Gymnastic will loop round the balance beam.
When you are comfortable with the momentum and the position of the Gymnastic, press the button and hold it and it will release the Gymnast. Get it right and it will somersault and ideally land upright. Then aim to perfect this to land in the best scoring zone possible.
Components
The gymnast is fantastic. A thick, sturdy tall character and a robust frame and mechanism for the product to operative on. I sometimes worry about some games, mainly cards and choose to sleeve them for certain clumsy players (even then they still bend them). This game, I would say, even a heavy-fisted boxer wouldn’t break.
The mat however is think card. A neoprene playmat would have been excellent. However – for the Gymnast to stand – needs a firm sold surface for them to stay up right.
Final Thoughts on Fantastic Gymnastics
Fantastic Gymnastic is a highly interactive game, seeing firstly if they can land a jump and then secondly how successfully. Equally, seeing the gymnastic fail and go elsewhere keeps those engaged as they need to, in some instances, find where he flew!
The game is one of the shortest I can think of. With the difficulty of landing a jump, frustration (and tension) can take over if you are thinking of getting a first to “x” points. Thus, the replay-ability is relatively low, although you will certainly draw a crowd. In fact, when I first saw it, there were more than 20 people crowding round seeming people attempt it. For this reason, you will find the light, party game portable to many places and groups where you game. Including pubs, offices and dining room tables due to the robust quality of the components.
