Faqir - a Tactic game of logic & strategy

Faqir is a really unusual name for a game made by Tactic, but don’t let the name put you off!  If you’ve seen films were a man lies on a bed of nails – then you already know part of what Faqir is.  Faqir is the name given to the person who lies on the nails in this game.   

The packaging is bright and fun, showing you the content you can expect on all sides of the box.  The instructions are really easy to follow for game play.  The contents were easy to put together;  I was dubious at first sight about the boards that you hide your cards behind, as are made of thick cardboard which are pre-scored and had to be made up, which didn’t take long.  They are, however, very strong and should withstand a fair amount of use.  The cards themselves are also really thick, so I should imagine this is a durable game to be played again and again.

Faqir is a game of thinking and strategy and according to the box is suitable for ages 7+.  Each player has the same number of ‘nails’ (which are plastic playing pieces in the shape of a cone), and each player has a defined number of cards, each of which determine the required placement of their nails every round.  The aim of the game is to place your nails on the board to be able to line up the holes in your card.  Use of other players nails once on the board is allowed, which can also be a hindrance as they also get in your way and prevent you from making the pattern needed!  Once you have the pattern you need, then your Faqir card should be able to lie over the nails, and you win that round.  

We played this as a family and our 9 year old soon got the hang of it with no help, whilst our 5 year old did exceptionally well with assistance and explanation to start with.  I must admit it took me longer to get used to getting my brain to think the right way, and put the patterns needed onto the board in the correct way.

After we had played this a couple of times, the children were happy to play together with it – and we’ve been thrilled that they’ve been found playing this on multiple occasions together without asking to play it – they’ve even played this instead of their morning ritual of the tv being on…and our 5 year old delights on beating our 9 year old as he has grasped how to play the game with ease for himself now without any assistance.

We really enjoy playing this – the children especially – I’ve yet to win at this as they love playing it so much and are far better at it than I am!  I have rated this so high as both the children love playing it, despite the age rating of 7+ our 5 year old is playing it with ease, which is lovely to see.  It's well built with thick, sturdy materials and is fun to play.

Rating 5/5 with merits

Stockists are www.carouseltoyshop.co.uk

Source - Many thanks to Tactic and Blog Match, a board game was received in return for an honest review.