A girder however might have to touch two girders of different colours to itself, or might have to balance on a single other girder.

Men at Work fits the bill perfectly: easy to learn, cards that can be read and understood by my 6 year old and a level of difficulty that means nobody is immune to screwing up and bringing a fledgling building site crumbling. The winner is determined by safety certificates and Worker of the Month awards depending on the condition that ended the game. The idea of stacking objects while maintaining their structural integrity isn’t the reason I play board games, but any time I play a game where I have resources or tokens in my supply, I find myself stacking them anyway, so why not put that skill to the test in a way I can laugh at and be laughed at right back? When the Boss Rita card is reveal, she begins handing out “Worker of the Month” awards to players who stack their pieces at the highest point in the work site - urging players to press their luck and attempt risky stacks! Everybody impales the occasional pedestrian with a dropped beam, sometimes even as early as the first turn.Men at Work knows this, which is why any failure, from a single dropped brick to the tower raining girders onto the unsuspecting city below, has two consequences that have nothing to do with the game immediately ending. Now place one of each of the different coloured girders however you like, as long as each of the supports has at least one girder touching it.

Each piece is addictive to touch and beautiful to look at, especially once you have a messy tower of pieces stacked up and you can appreciate the chaotic artistry.

I love the way they break down barriers between geeks like me, and people who would never normally play a board game. Men at Work is an absolute blast, and one of the only games my group begs me to bring week after week. However, I do often play games with non-gamer friends and family; having something that will draw them in or work well for a wide range of ages is a plus. The game could also end if you run out of construction materials, but this is unlikely; if it were to happen the player with the largest combination of safety certificates and Worker of the Month awards would win. If you ever played something like Rhino Hero, or built a house of cards, and enjoy creating these teetering erections, you’re really going to like Men At Work.

If they cause an accident during clean up, they will also give up a safety certificate and miss their go. The back of the rule book has a full of explanation for each of these rules, and every card is numbered, so finding the one you’re looking-up is nice and quick while you’re learning. If you’re not sure what constitutes a dexterity game, I think of them as any game where the physical movement of pieces constitutes the game, not necessarily what happens when they get there. Their arms have little indents in them just to make balancing beams and bricks that little bit harder. Some dexterity games can be all action and thin themes, but Men at Work does an excellent job supporting the construction site in theme and pieces that you will interact with.If you can get past those minor shortcomings, Men at Work has a lot to offer for anyone looking for a game that’ll have everyone around the table laughing and having a good time, regardless of who wins or loses.