Order’s Up! – Gamewright – Review

This was one of those games we have been waiting for with anticipation since Toy Fair 2010.  My wife put a whipping on me when we demoed the game while at the show, I needed some payback, and I would get my chance.  I also played with my 4- and 6-year-old, as I knew the game was going to be a winner with the bell.

So the first thing you do is give out the guest checks; we do use some house rules, so while you are supposed to shuffle them and deal 2 to each player, we usually allow the boys to pick two to play with.  Then you have to put the bell in an area where everyone can reach it, as well as setting up the food tiles and playing them in 4 stacks around the bell.  Now we get to the die.  Again, while the first person to start should be the last player to eat pie per box rules, we allow the youngest to go first in our house.  Once the die is rolled, you can have five different options. 

• Order’s Up! where all the players try to be the first player to ring the bell.  You then get to add one tile from the serving area to your guest check if it matches.  Now, they make a note in the instructions, and we had to keep reminding our older child, Hands may never hover over the bell!  It took some time for that to sink in.
• Free Meal where you can take a tile from the serving area and add it to your check. 
• Add Two Tiles where you take two tiles and add them to the serving area. 
• Order Mix Up! where you have to swap guest checks (incomplete ones) with an opponent
• Break! where you may not try and ring the bell when the next Order Up! is rolled.  If you ring wrong, as in ring the bell when it is not an Order’s UP! you must take one tile from your guest check and return it to the serving area.  Once again we did play that way sometimes, but also with our younger player allowed him to have to sit out the next Order Up! just like if he had rolled a Break!  Both ways seem to work well for the game. 

You become the winner when you have matched all the items on your check.

The kids love the game; they find the ringing of the bell to be fun, and they can relate to the different food items and being at a restaurant.  Did I mention they love ringing the bell?  Whoever came up with the bell idea for the game needs a pat on the back.  They are also very fond of fast-moving games, and Order’s Up! is a fast game.  It is nice, though, because even when it is not your turn, you have to be ready in case the other person rolls Order Up!  This is what keeps the kids interested and not daydreaming or causing trouble when it is not their turn like in other games.  I also like the Order Mix Up!, because you just never know what may happen next.  It keeps someone who may be falling behind on their check always in the game.  As always, the quality of the game, cards, and bell is top notch–Gamewright does know how to make a quality game.  The artwork is also very engaging for the children, and I sure wouldn’t mind a piece of that pie that they were serving.

There was only one issue that I had with the game, and I just do not know if there is any elegant solution for it.  When you get to swap checks when a Order Mix Up! is rolled and you have a few things on your card already covered, it can make for a bit of a mess because the tiles will come sliding off as you transfer the checks back and forth.  I think the best solution is to remove the tiles off before swapping and then hand the other person the tiles that go with the card.  A fairly minor inconvenience, though.

On this past vacation my boys were allowed to bring two games with them for the whole two weeks to play while away.  Their two picks this year were Orders Up! and Bingo Link, so Gamewright is definitely doing well it our household.  I am always a fan of Gamewright and how they can keep a game simple and entertaining at the same time.  Again kudos to a game that keeps everyone paying attention as you never know when it is time to ring that bell!  A game you should pick up. While the box says ages 6 and up, our 4-year-old does very well with this game and does not get frustrated at all.  Now if I could just beat my wife to that darn bell every once in a while….