Two years ago here at borg, we talked about Hasbro′s turn at offering its classic games in mash-up form, with Monopoly, Clue, Taboo, Scrabble, and Speak Out colliding with former Milton Bradley games Candy Land, Connect 4, Guess Who?, Jenga, and Twister.  Hasbro’s next line of classic games takes your favorite board games outside.  They’re in the form of beach towel backpacks that transform into a giant board to stretch out on the beach or at a park, at last giving you something to do when you’re enjoying this summer.  We tried out Beach Towel Backpack Clue and found lots of reasons why this could be your new version of choice (check out our review below), Connect 4, Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders, and a new take on one you’ve probably seen in a giant towel version before: Twister.

Even better, we found them for less than $15.

 

We found them only at WalMart, and the store had a good supply in stock.  The Clue edition came with a giant, nearly five-foot square game board as beach towel, full-color with all the standard rooms and hall tile squares.  A net bag includes game cards, colored foam tokens for each character, a pair of dice, and foam squares showing each of the six weapons.  And it all fits into a polyester towel fabric backpack kids can easily transport to your play area.

A few foibles include lack of game instructions–only a website is referenced but the site doesn’t actually show this version of the game.  Those that already know the game still will need to figure out a way to determine when to use the magnifying glass cards–a new feature for most players, that Dr. Orchid replaced Mrs. White, that the Revolver is the weapon list on the playing card but the foam playing piece marker shows a magnifying glass, and you need to make your own notepad sheets to keep track of your accusations.  That’s actually a lot for new players–especially young ones–to figure out, so hopefully quality control at Hasbro makes some corrections going forward.

Once you establish your rules or modify the standard rules online to account for the above quirks, the game is great fun on the giant board, whether you play inside on the floor, on the grass at a park, or on the beach.  It’s a great way to let your cat or dog in on the fun, too.  If you get a chance, pick up a giant set of foam dice, too, as the standard dice will likely get lost at the beach.

Order your own Hasbro favorite game as a Beach Towel Backpack here at WalMart: Clue, Twister, Connect 4, Candy Land, Chutes & Ladders.

C.J. Bunce / Editor / borg