Ultra PRO has released their latest Pokémon Electronic Guessing Game – the Unova Edition! The Electronic Guessing Game is designed for players 6-years-old and up.
By now, everyone is likely very familiar with websites, apps, and games that focus on a specific fandom or theme and ask the player to “think” of a specific thing, and it will “read their mind.” Obviously, no psychic abilities are necessary, but the programming is limited to a set of features that help it guess a specific outcome base on those features – in the case of the Pokémon Trainer Guess games – a subset of Pokémon based on attributes like color, arms and legs, type, weaknesses, wings, etc.
Like the previous versions, the Unova Edition comes with a Trainer Field Guide of all of the possible Pokémon the trainer can guess and to keep track of which ones have already been guessed so you can ensure you, yep, Catch ‘Em All! (There is a reset button behind the screwed down battery door if you want or need to start the collection over for any reason).
Play is very straightforward and simple. Just press the button on the Poké Ball, and the trainer will aks the player to think of a Pokémon. It will ask a yes or no question like ‘Does your Pokémon have arms and legs?”. There are four possible player responses : “Yes,” “No,” “I Don’t Know,” or “It Depends.” Players can also say “Say It Again” to have the trainer repeat the question or “Go Back” to change a previous answer.
At the time of writing this review, we have captured about half of the Pokémon, and the trainer got the correct Pokémon almost everytime. There were a few times when either the trainer or one of the kids misheard a question or answer, and the trainer could not figure out the correct Pokémon. If it guesses incorrectly, it will try to course correct if possible, but there will be a point at which it will inform the player that it cannot figure out which Pokémon they are thinking of and start over. (A few times our kids intentionally answered incorrectly or just said “It Depends” to every question just to see what would happen, which inevitably always led to the trainer being unable to guess properly).
The trainer is a fun little game that will likely appeal to most younger Pokémon fans. One minor thing to note is that there is a minor subset of questions about what types your Pokémon is weak to that is not explicitly stated in the guide. Eventhough my son is a rabid Pokémon fan, there were a few times where even he wasn’t sure of a Pokémon’s weakness. This definitely isn’t a deal breaker as answering “I Don’t Know” usually means the trainer will ask a different question to get to the correct answer, but it can potentially be frustrating for kids who don’t like being unable to know the answers to every question.
Lastly, just a tiny warning, as a parent who sometimes enjoys peace and quiet, after about 30 minutes or so of listening to the trainer, it may be necessary to tell your kids to go play with it in a different room or to put on your headphones as, like with just about any electronic toy, the repetitious sounds and voice can get a wee bit grating.
The Unova Edition, as well as several of the previous editions, are all available on Amazon for around $25 each.
Note: I was sent this game for review purposes but all thoughts and opinions above are my own. As an Amazon affiliate, I may receive a small commission on qualified purchases.
Source: geekdad.com