What a Piece of Kit! – Travel Sorry!

My family and I recently visited my mom.  It was my son’s first time visiting grammy’s house, and she was ready.  One thing about my mom, she does not throw anything away.  She’s not a hoarder, but if something is well-built and still functioning, she will keep it in storage.  That is how I got to pass on to my son all my Dr. Suess books from thirty years ago.

To prepare for our arrival, grammy organized all the old toys my brother and I played with way back in the day.  When we arrived and I saw what was available, I noticed our old copy of Travel Sorry!.  Since Sorry! is easy to explain, and my son already has lots of experience playing board games, this little blue folding box of a game hit the table immediately.

To prevent any confusion, I will put it out here right now.  This game rules.  As a concept game, Sorry! is still fun to play with young kids.  I remember playing Sorry! with my grandmother on the big board.  But as a physical thing, Travel Sorry! is top-notch.

For a thirty-year-old game, our copy of Travel Sorry! still looks like it is almost new.  The latch still secures the folding box.  The hinges were not rusty or squeaking.  The spinner is smooth like butter.  The player pieces fit snugly in the holes around the board; you could play this thing upside down.  As a piece of plastic, this thing is so well-built.

Speaking of plastic, this version of Sorry! just feels good.  The folding, boxy design is both chunky and sleek if you can imagine.  Chunky in the sense that the plastic feels (probably because it is) solid and tough.  No flimsiness here.  Sleek in the sense that it folds into a perfect square that easily slips into a backpack.  There are no extraneous bits that might break during transit or cardboard to get crushed in an overfull bag.  The latch needs intention to operate; I am not worried at all about the game accidentally opening and spilling. 

The merits of Sorry! as a game can be debated.  The build quality of the old, blue Travel Sorry! cannot.  If found in a second-hand shop with all the player pieces, this ought to be a must-buy for any gaming family.  I think my son might end up passing the game down to his kids in thirty years.