Misfits

 When my sons were small - over twenty-five years ago - I looked for simple board games that they could play, to introduce the ideas of taking turns and of observing specific ‘rules’ for the course of a game. One of our favourites was called ‘Misfits’. I gave it away when my sons outgrew it, but a couple of years ago I managed to find an updated edition inexpensively, and bought it to play with a friend’s young children. It was an instant success.

COMPONENTS OF MISFITS

Inside the box, if it’s bought new, are cartoon depictions of twelve differently costumed ‘people’. These include, a ballet dancer in a pink tutu, an astronaut dressed to walk on the moon, a cheerful clown, a warty witch and a white-garbed chef. They’re caricatured, of course, so instantly recognisable by adults and older children; it’s not hard for little ones of two or three to learn what they are if they don’t know. 

There is also a single sheet with instructions, explaining that this game is for 3-6 players, aged three and above.

AIM OF MISFITS

Each of the twelve caricatured people is made up of five thick pieces of card that are easily separated: a ‘hat’ (or other headgear) of some kind, a face, a body, and two individual legs. The aim of the game is to create individuals with the correct number of body parts - but as ‘misfits’. So, for instance, a pirate’s hat can be on a witch’s head, with a chef’s body and a pair of ballerina legs.  And there’s the catch: the legs must be in a matching pair. 

PLAYING MISFITS

The cards are placed face down on the table or floor, and muddled together in a pile. Each player takes seven of the cards and looks at them. With little children, of course, it’s easier just to lay them out on the table in front so older players can help them, but they’re supposed to be kept private.  

The first person to find a hat card places it on the table, and play then continue clockwise. The person on the left of the starting player can either play another hat, if they have one, or they can play a face card directly underneath the hat that has been played. The person to their left can then play a hat, or (if the second player placed a hat) a face, or (if the second player placed a face) a body. It takes longer to type than to explain; the idea is that each ‘misfit’ is built up a piece at a time, starting at the top. 

At the end of the round each player draws another card from the pile, and play continues until all cards are used up. If a player cannot play a card, they pass their turn and do not draw an extra piece from the pile.

Whoever finishes a misfit creation (by playing the second leg) takes it, and it counts as one point.  Thus the only ‘strategy’ to the game is to avoid playing a leg when there are other options, in the hope that someone else plays the matching one first. Of course, if a player has a matching pair of legs, then winning that misfit creation is guaranteed. 

CHILDREN’S OPINIONS

My sons, and more recently my friends’ children (three girls) all liked this game when it was first introduced to them, and understood the rules quickly. It’s actually suitable for children younger than three so long as they don’t put the pieces in their mouths; I assume the 3+ recommendation is for safety reasons. My sons would have been about four and two when they first played it; the youngest of my friend’s daughters was nearly three. Even at two the idea of taking turns was familiar to them, although there were a few complaints, now and again: ‘But I want to play two pieces!’ or ‘He’s taking too long!’

I thought at first that having only twelve characters would make the game too quick, but in fact it’s about the right length; there are 60 pieces in all, so with four players that’s fifteen rounds - more than enough for a small child. Occasionally they’ve got bored part-way through and we’ve then just put the pieces away; other times (particularly with the girls) they want to make up the ‘real’ characters with the correct body parts, so that’s usually another five minutes of entertainment at the end.

ADULTS’ OPINIONS

This is not a very interesting game for anybody over the age of about six, although I’ve had children of eight or nine play it with younger children. However, played once or twice per month it’s not too irritating, and since part of the fun is making silly characters, nobody seems to mind who wins. 

Since there is no reading involved, and no counting, it’s playable by any child who is able to take turns and who has some idea of how bodies go together. It’s a great way to introduce the concept of following specific rules in a game - useful in helping children understand the concept that different people have different ‘house rules’. It’s also easy enough for an adult to manipulate the winnings slightly - by choosing when to play or withhold a leg - and since it’s mostly luck, a very small child has just as much chance of winning as an adult. 

The pieces are big enough that they’re unlikely to get lost, and since we don’t allow food with games, and always have hands washed before playing, the cards have remained in good condition. 

POLITICAL INCORRECTNESS

Misfits is, of course, not a game to be taken seriously. In the version my sons had, there were slightly different characters including a kilted Scotsman and a South Sea island girl in a grass skirt. These do not feature in our current edition, so I can only assume that they were withdrawn due to perceived problems with racial stereotyping. Fair enough, I suppose, although small children are unlikely to be prejudiced. However there are now only three female characters amongst the twelve, and since the evil-looking witch and mermaid are not real, I feel that the danger of sexism is possibly worse; the only ‘real’ woman is the skinny ballerina.