Game: Operation

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zefquaavius — 2008-07-23T10:50:52+00:00

Even a 3-year-old can be a surgeon!

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handofachlys — 2008-05-13T15:38:09+00:00

Operation Wall Clock by Eric at IMOTIME

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cdefrisco — 2008-04-18T17:39:58+00:00

Operation Shrek Promo shot (w/permission from publisher)

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Themer — 2008-02-06T11:20:33+00:00

Pocket edition of the Dutch Operation for vacation trips

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Themer — 2008-02-06T11:18:57+00:00

Pocket edition of the Dutch Operation for vacation trips

Thread: Re: It Freaked Me In My Youth And It Still Freaks Me Now

Sagrilarus — 2008-01-31T13:59:52+00:00

    I was just plain awful at this game when I was a kid, and pretty much have shunned it for the last forty years. However my kids just got Junkyard Jalopy for Christmas and I got the opportunity to play.

    I crushed them! When I started the game I was playing for all I was worth, because I knew I was awful at it and had the stress and caffeine of adult life to manage into the mix. Well, I landed the first three parts with little trouble, and had to start backing off quickly so my kids wouldn't get too discouraged. Apparently my fine motor skills have gotten much better.

    Junkyard Jalopy works on a truck instead of a person, and the noise it makes is a car horn, so it's not quite so freaky to play. My kids love it.

    I'm glad we got it, as the kids have really enjoyed playing it since. Marvin Glass belongs in the BGG Designer Hall of Fame for creating such an enduring concept.

    Loved the review by the way. Thanks for taking the time.

             Sag.

Thread: It Freaked Me In My Youth And It Still Freaks Me Now

Wyll — 2008-01-30T21:04:20+00:00

Remember when I wrote my review of Jaws and I mentioned things that freaked me out when I was young? Well, I just remembered something else that freaked me out when I was young.. and still does today to a degree.

I remember being about six the first time I had my encounter with a little thing called Operation. I was at a cousin’s house and we were looking for a game to play. He pulled the game out of his closet and put it on the floor between us. The art looked funny to me and I never had any idea horror lay within the box.

“My mom doesn’t like me playing this game.” My cousin said with the deadpan of a B-movie actor in a C-list horror film. “It gives me nightmares.”

“Really? Why?” I asked.

“Because it does this.” My cousin said and he proceed to touch the probe to one of the metal edges.

The buzzer sounded, the nose lit up and my cousin and I were off like a pair of bats out of hell. Out of the room, down the hall and behind the couch we went.

As we crouched behind it panting, my cousin looks at me and says with all dead seriousness…

“So, you want to play?”

Initial Thoughts

I think I can say that the original Operation is a dexterity based game that is not good for people with bad nerves or who are easily startled.

To be honest, the game is unique in its method of play and has withstood the test of time. It has even spun off many “themed” versions such as Simpsons and Shrek.

Object Of The Game

The player with the most money when all 12 objects are removed from the playing board is declared the winner.

Components

Inside the box, you get the playing board (known as Cavity Sam), 12 Funatomy objects, 24 cards (12 Doctor, 12 Specialist) and some money.

Not really much to say about the art except the frown on Cavity Sam doesn’t give one a good feeling about the game.

I do have to mention a slight difference between the original and the themed versions. The original game has the rubber band piece that you must connect to be successful while the themed versions use another piece that simply needs to be removed. I can remember the rubber band use to take forever to connect and it made for a long and frustrating game at times.

Gameplay

The setup of the game is fairly simple. All 12 Funatomy pieces are dropped into the proper slots of Cavity Sam, each player is dealt a Specialist card and a random method is used to pick the first player.

On a player’s turn, they turn over the top card of the Doctor deck. The card will tell the player what piece they must try for and how much they will get for removing it successfully.

The player will take the tweezers and attempt to remove the Funatomy object. If successful, the player is give the money indicated on the Doctor card and the card is removed from the game. If unsuccessful, the player holding the Specialist card may try. If the specialist is unsuccessful, the Doctor card is placed on the bottom of the deck and play proceeds to the player’s left.

When all 12 operations are successfully completed, the game is over and the player with the most money wins.

Strategy v.s. Luck Factor

It’s all about who has the steadiest hand and gets the best “picks” from the Doctor deck.

I’ve talked to a few Operation freaks (that’s what I call them, but I suppose they are fans) and they tell me that the secret to winning the game is knowing how to grab the pieces. For example, the Spare Ribs has a ridge in the middle that you can grab and the Broken Heart can be grabbed by the crack for easy removal.

Anyone with a heavy hand or who is impatient will be out of luck playing this game.

Closing Thoughts

All I can say is “know your children”.

Some kids may appreciate this game while others may be freaked out by it. Now, the themed versions have a good idea by spouting funny sayings when a player touches the side as opposed to the industrial strength buzzer that vibrates the entire board and your hand (well, the older versions did, but they have toned it down).

One of the pluses about this game is that it can be technically played solo. A player can see how long it takes him to remove all the pieces and then attempt to beat the score… if the player is old enough to tell time.

I know that Lady X doesn’t like this game. She prefers to get her scares from Crocodile Dentist or even Perfection. Still, if you think your kids would like it and the price is fair, pick it up and give a whirl.

Recommendation Summary

Wyll's Recommendation:

Fun Factor (5 Point Scale):

Rule Clarity (5 Point Scale):

Bang For Buck Factor (5 Point Scale):

One Line Summary: A dexterity based game that could frighten young children, but is meant to be played by ages 7 and up.

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alhazared — 2008-01-29T21:01:19+00:00

Operation - Happy Meal version

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cheetor — 2008-01-15T10:04:24+00:00

Spideys ailments

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cheetor — 2008-01-15T10:02:34+00:00

Operation: Spider-Man Origins Edition

Thread: Re: Daddy-Daughters Gaming

gb1469 — 2008-01-03T07:01:02+00:00

Toothpicks work great for aligning pieces for the younger players...

Thread: Daddy-Daughters Gaming

Jim Williams — 2008-01-03T02:31:26+00:00

This is a Session Report for a game played 12/29/07. The participants were myself (35), my older daughter Rachel (8), and my younger daughter Madison (6). Total play time was one hour and 45 minutes(!).

The game was entertaining, especially in the early going, as we would all jump with the buzzer. Madison in particular would say "It startled me!" Unfortunately, the length of the game led to a loss of interest to the point that Madison bowed out after over an hour. There was a flurry of successful operations after Madison forfeited and the game was wrapped up relatively quickly after that. The game ended with Madison with $600, Rachel with $2400, and myself with $3200.

Needless to say, the play time was nowhere close to the ten minutes suggested by the game's BGG entry. The biggest problem was that I just pulled the game out of the box so some of the components had settled in hard to reach places, greatly extending play...I will not make that mistake again.

Regardless, and despite the length of time required to play the game, we had a few hours of fun daddy-daughters time!

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sbauer9 — 2007-12-29T18:02:13+00:00

Operating on a TRex, for budding Vets

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Kabong — 2007-12-26T19:35:42+00:00

The Doctor Who variant of the game from England

Thread: Accidently Cheating

Helenoftroy — 2007-05-21T15:15:34+00:00

A while back, I picked up a copy of Operation during the Toys R Us sale for the boys. Bailey won't come near the game after he first heard the little buzzer go off which is unfortunately because he was interested in playing.

So yesterday after many months of sitting on the shelf, Operation finally made it to the game table after some husband convincing. I have actually never played Operation because it was an expensive game when I was little. It was one of the few on the market that was electronic. Hilary looked through the rules because evidently we didn't just take turns using the little tweezers to take out "organs" like I had planned.

First, we deal out specialist cards and took turns drawing doctor cards. The doctor cards tell each player their action in rhyme along with the amount of money earned. If a player does not take out the organ without the buzzer going off, then the player who has the specialist card for that organ gets a try, even if it allows the first player a second chance to take out the organ. Specialists get more money than the doctor.

Hilary did extremely well and won the game by a couple thousand dollars. I actually found myself cheating without realizing it. When I was trying to take out the Adam's apple, the buzzer barely went off when I removed it. Hilary laughed and said, "What? Did he hiccup?" and I had to put the Adam's Apple back.

The game took quite a while to the point that I got tired of trying to take out the same organs with not much luck. I think it would be interesting to see this as a drinking game or it could make a decent party game.

Thread: Re: Review: So, you want to be a surgeon huh?

matt71 — 2006-03-08T22:37:27+00:00

Yaaaa-hooooeeeee!

Thread: Re: Review: So, you want to be a surgeon huh?

Mozbink — 2006-03-08T21:54:17+00:00

Operation becomes an adult game when you have play with the shot drinking variant.

Thread: Re: Review: So, you want to be a surgeon huh?

matt71 — 2006-03-05T16:31:38+00:00

Oh man, I was crying when I read your post!

Hey, you think Yale Medical School should consider making Operation a part of the core curriculum?

Thread: Re: Review: So, you want to be a surgeon huh?

queequeg — 2006-03-04T18:27:51+00:00

Being a surgeon, I can personally vouch for the educational aspects of this game. Why, just last week I had to remove a real person's breadbasket and in order to get his permission for the operation, I demonstrated how it would be done using the Operation guy. I set off the buzzer a few times, though. Nevertheless, he consented to the breadbasket-ectomy and I am happy to say walked out of the hospital soon thereafter.

Thread: Review: So, You Want to be a Surgeon Huh?

matt71 — 2006-03-03T19:00:37+00:00

Rank: 7

Objective: To have the most money at the end of the game by successfully removing various body parts from the patient.

Mechanics: The game has a deck of cards that are placed face down. On a players turn, they take the top card which will tell that player what body part must be removed and how much money they will win if they perform the operation successfully. That operation is completed successfully if the player removes the body part without setting off the buzzer (which also lights up the patients nose) while trying to remove it using the pair of tweezers that are wired to the “operating table”.

Operation is a skill building game for children in two ways:

1. A child playing this game will learn something about focus and concentration while they try to remove each body part. There really is not much room for error while using the tweezers and because of that, it forces children to concentrate on what they are attempting to do.

2. It will also help build children's dexterity. They have to learn to manipulate the tweezers and keep their hand steady as they attempt to remove each body part.

I would recommend that younger children be given a couple of chances to complete each operation. You don't want to frustrate a child and turn them off to a fun game because they can't remove a body part on the first try. I never have experienced a problem like that, but every child is different so it’s a point that I thought I should make.

The buzzer is a fun element of the game because it will make players of all ages jump. Since a player has to focus on the body part they are trying to remove, they sort of get "zoned in". If you set that buzzer off when in that state, you can bet that it will make you jump a bit.

I would recommend this game for any family’s collection. It's a fun challenging game for children, and parents will enjoy playing it with their kids as well. I would give it a weight of light or medium depending on the age of the child playing it simply because I am comparing it against the typical roll and move type games that children usually play.

Thread: User Review

shawn_low — 2004-12-02T13:55:20+00:00

Operation

Ahhh. One of my first boardgames. Mum went on a holiday to London and brought it back for me!

Like a lot of classic games like Twister, not much of the product has changed. Inside the box is a table-like plastic box with a cartoon image of a rather jolly looking man lying down on the ‘bed’/operating table.

Various parts of his body have little holes where you drop in plastic bits representing ailments in body parts. An example would be a plastic butterfly representing (no prizes for guessing), Butterflies in his stomach. Other inventive parts include a set of ribs (spare ribs), an apple (adams apple) and more.

There’s also an included set of tongs. A D size battery is needed to power the game.

Now onto gameplay: Players draw cards that tell them where to ‘operate’ on and how much you, as a Quack, get paid if you successfully extract the part.

Players then use the tongs to try to clip and extract the ailment. However, if they’re not careful, their tongs can accidentally touch the side of the entrance to the body part. This will result in a buzzer going off, indicating the patient’s pain at your lack of care. When this happens, the operation has failed and the body parts remains there.

Next player draws a card and operates. The person who gets the most operation money wins!

It’s a game primarily aimed at Children. MB must be selling copies as it’s old as the hills and still in production. It’s a basic dexterity game that I didn’t really enjoy much as a child. I think once you get over the shock of the buzzing, the game gets really old. The components are cheap and not really sturdy.

There’s also a silly looking Shrek variant where you operate on the Green man himself.