Hands Down

by Hasbro

Product Features

• 3-4 Players
• Ages: 6 and Up

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.6 x 3.5 inches ; 1.2 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000IWE5
• Item model number: 4845
• Manufacturer recommended age: 6 - 9 years
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #62,401 in Toys & Games (See Top 100 in Toys & Games)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Editorial Review

Does he have a pair--or is he faking? Yes! No? What should I do?! Be right, be fast--but don't be last, or you'll end up the loser in Hands Down, Hasbro's "game of slap-happy fun." It's the perfect choice for energetic, competitive 6-to-12-year-olds who love to tease. There's not a lot of strategy involved here--it's something like an energized version of "Go Fish": players draw and combine cards to make a pair, and then--wham!--it's all hands down on the Slam-O-Matic unit (a groovy plastic playing surface sporting four spring-loaded "hands"). Last one down forfeits a card! Hands Down is a hilarious icebreaker as well as a fistful of fun. No batteries necessary. Hands Down can be played by three or four players. --Julie Ubben

Product Description

Here's a game that's hands-down fun! When a player has a pair of cards to play, everyone slaps the Slam-O-Matic. The last slapper loses a card. Full of action, it helps kids release lots of energy-and the only thing getting smacked is the game unit. Comes with Slam-O-Matic game unit, 42 cards and 4 rubber feet. For 3 or 4 players.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fun when I was young--fun now with my children, October 18, 1999

By A Customer

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hands Down (Toy)

Our family played this game a lot during the 60's. We had a blast with it. I didn't think much about it until this year when my son turned 6. It's a blast for family fun!

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Still Fun, June 29, 2005

By 

Susie Morris "Book Junkie" (Southern California) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

= Durability:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:4.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:2.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hands Down (Toy)

Hands Down is another game that has lasted generations. Originally created in the 1960's, it was so much fun that it has remained on toy store shelves and in family rooms since. It seemed when I was growing up that my parents always included at least one game when we were children. Hands Down was the game left by Santa Claus one year.

As my younger brother and I looked at the box, we wondered if it was a dud or if it would be a really cool game to play. We found it to be a blast, especially if we could talk someone else into playing with us.

Hands Down is a cross between a card game and a board game. There is a slapping machine (which has a lever facing each of the four players) and is make of sturdy plastic. When the lever is pushed down, a plastic hand that is the same color as the lever goes down on the card, which is placed in the middle of the machine. Luckily for most parents this machine is already put together so there is no assembly nightmare! A deck of cards is the other component of this game.

The play begins by each player choosing a colored hand (blue, green, yellow or red). Then the cards are dealt - each player receives four cards and the remaining cards are placed face down in a "draw" pile. Each player takes turns drawing a card from the pile - if you get a match, you slap your colored hand down. The last person to slap gets one of his cards taken by the first person that slapped. The slapping machine decides the order because the lever and colored hand are color coordinated and the "hands" lay on top of each other in the order they were depressed. So the colored hand on top is the one who gets a card taken away.

Here's the tricky part - if you draw a card and it doesn't match, you can fake out your opponents and pretend to slap the machine. If one of the other players slaps the machine, then you have succeeded in faking them out and get to draw a card from them. Boy was my brother good at faking everyone out - he was the master faker! The card taken from the one who was faked out is placed on the bottom of the draw pile.

The winner is the one with the most matches at the end of the game. The end of the game is when there are no more cards in the draw pile.

But let us not forget those special cards that have been added to keep the game interesting. The happy joker card is a wild card and can be matched with any other card to form a pair. The sad joker card will cost you points at the end of the game, so if you have it, hope someone draws it out of your hand!

The simple game concept is fun but can get quite loud. When you're slapping the machine, laughing, yelling and carrying on, the neighbors can hear you at times. If you don't mind the high noise level and want to play a game that children as young as six-years-old can play (but older "kids" like it too!), then this is the game for you! If you have quick reflexes you might even be the Hands Down champion!

13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars more fun than I thought - couldn't wait to play again!, October 11, 2004

By 

ella "ee" (marlboro, nj) - See all my reviews

= Durability:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars  = Educational:3.0 out of 5 stars 

This review is from: Hands Down (Toy)

A friend brought this to our house to play with my daughter and her daughter. I'm not much of a game person so I sat out the first round while the three of them played - and laughed a lot! Then they drafted me into the second round - it was so much fun I couldn't wait to play again.

It's primarily a game of luck, but you do have to be quick on the "hands down". You don't need any skill, and it's not what I would call an educational game, but for a VERY fun game with friends or family, it's a sure winner!