Aggravation Board Game Review – review of the family board game Aggravation by Parker Brothers. Aggravation is recommended for ages 6 and older.
My family loves board games and we have quite a collection. It was my son’s turn to pick the game on a recent “family board game night” and he opted for the family to play the Parker Brothers game Aggravation. I decided to review the game.
Aggravation is a board game where up to six players try to move their marbles (four) via dice rolls around a semi-complicated board that offers short cuts. Aggravations’ shortcuts involve a little strategy to maneuver so players can try to land on the shortcuts to get their marbles to their safe “home” quickly. Players are also encouraged to land on opposing marbles and sending them back to their base to start all over. Aggravation is recommended for ages six and older.
From a strategy standpoint – Aggravation is very similar to more popular board games like Trouble and Sorry!. That said, I prefer Trouble and Sorry! over Aggravation for a few different reasons. The board maze you lead your marbles through on Aggravation is a bit too complex and the rules for using the shortcuts are a bit complicated for younger kids. Aggravation could sorely use a “Trouble Bubble” type dice system for rolls. Because marbles are placed all over the board, it’s pretty difficult to roll the dice without sending marbles rolling all over the board. My family quickly figured out that it’s much more productive to “camp” the marbles near the shortcut zones and waiting for the perfect roll instead of playing cutthroat and sending opposing marbles home. The somewhat complex (and long) maze makes for a long game.
I’m going to trash Aggravation completely. It’s still an enjoyable game. Aggravation is especially nice for larger families to play as six can play at a time. We found the “mad dash” aspect of Trouble and the “kill at all costs” game play of Trouble and Sorry! much more fun. I hope you find this Aggravation board game review helpful.
