We bought Suspend on a whim. We thought it would be a nice filler game, but let me tell you, this game is the main event.
You could be so close to winning, putting your last piece on the iron rack, when all the other pieces come tumbling down and you must own all of them shamefully.
The object of the game is to hang each of the metal curved pieces in balance on the metal rack without knocking them down and not placing them where a piece is already resting. You own any piece that you knock down and you don’t win until you get rid of all of the pieces, one piece per turn. A colored die determines what kind of piece you may place on your turn. If it lands on a color you don’t have, you’re out of a turn.
Trying to balance the pieces is difficult at times in the most extraordinarily fun way. Every time someone balances a piece in a seemingly impossible way it will emit cheers from the rest of the table.
Although there is a lot of repetition in this game, for us it didn’t get tedious. Everyone at the table just became more competitive as the stakes were raised to balance more and more difficult pieces and that is the beauty of this game. It accomplishes so much with a bunch of metal sticks to get you immersed into the game.
Language Barrier Playability: Easy peasy! No language required.
Replayability: We bring out this game fairly often with our family.
Artwork: The pieces themselves look like an art sculpture when they are hanging, like a mesh of twisted wire on a metal tree. One small frustration we encounter is the orange and red pieces look nearly identical. Also, we are not colorblind so it may be harder for the colorblind community to distinguish.
Quality: Great! The metal pieces are crafted in a way that is structurally significant, as all of the bends in the pieces help or hinder you as you try and balance them. There is a pleasant, light wood die with a single color spiral on each side.
Strategy: More than you’d think! We found strategy would improve as you play more games. Placing the pieces is tricky and you might find you are holding your breath and shakily hanging the piece at times trying to strategize perfectly.
Instruction Manual: Very little instruction is needed! It still comes with a simple guide that fits well inside the container.
Organization: The game comes in a plastic tube. It looks neat to store but sometimes you have to place the pieces in it just right so it closes. This wasn’t a major point of contention for us.
Sushiball Games 