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  • Home
  • Why You Should Visit The Isle Of Wight
  • Ferry travel advice & discounts
    • Discount Isle of Wight Ferry Travel
    • Isle Of Wight Ferry Beginners Guide
    • Wightlink's Tesco Clubcard deal – is it the best discount?
    • Using Wightlink’s Multilink deal for cheap ferry travel
    • Cheap Isle of Wight Ferry Travel For Caravans
    • 5 Isle Of Wight Holidays Including Ferry Travel
  • Holiday parks, hotels, camping & cottages
    • Family holiday parks & caravans >
      • 10 Of The Best Isle of Wight Caravan Holiday Parks
      • Parkdean Resorts Isle of Wight Holiday Parks (formerly Park Resorts)
      • Which Isle Of Wight Holiday Park Should I Stay In?
      • Last Minute Deals And Discounts At Holiday Parks
      • Is There A Haven Holiday Park On The Isle Of Wight?
      • Whitecliff Bay Holiday Park Reviews and Facilities
      • Lower Hyde And Landguard Holiday Park Review
      • 6 Tricks To Save Money At Isle Of Wight Caravan Holiday Parks
    • Hotels & guest houses >
      • Isle of Wight Hotels - a beginner's guide
      • 10 Best Isle Of Wight Luxury Hotels
      • Warner's Bembridge Coast & Norton Grange hotels
      • 5 Best Isle of Wight Coach Tour Holidays And Trips
      • Isle of Wight Hotels With A Sea View
      • 5 Ventnor Hotels And Guest Houses
    • Spa Breaks & Romantic >
      • 3 Best Isle Of Wight Spa Break Hotels And Spa Days
      • Romantic Isle Of Wight Holidays For Couples
    • Camping & glamping >
      • 20 Isle Of Wight Camping And Touring Parks
      • Isle of Wight Glamping
    • Cottages & self catering >
      • 10 Best Places To Stay In Shanklin
      • 10 Best Places To Stay In Cowes
      • 10 Best Places To Stay In Newport
      • 10 Best Places To Stay In Sandown
      • 10 Isle Of Wight Wheelchair Accessible & Disabled Friendly Holidays
      • Brambles Chine And Linstone Chine Self Catering
    • Lodges & hot tub holidays >
      • 5 Best Isle Of Wight Holiday Lodges
      • 10 Best Isle Of Wight Hot Tub Holidays
      • 10 Best Isle Of Wight Holidays With Swimming Pools
    • Quirky & AirBnbs >
      • 20 Quirky Places To Stay On The Isle Of Wight
      • 10 Best Isle of Wight Airbnb Holiday Homes
    • Group accommodation >
      • 10 Best Places To Stay For Large Groups
      • 8 Best Isle Of Wight Manor Houses For Hire
    • Accommodation advice >
      • What Time Of Year Should I Visit The Isle Of Wight?
      • Which Isle of Wight Town Should I Stay In?
      • Where Is The Cheapest Place To Stay?
  • Festivals, days out & attractions
    • Festivals & carnivals >
      • Major Festivals And Carnivals
      • Isle of Wight Festival 2023 Lineup And Tickets
      • 10 Unforgettable Isle of Wight Festival Moments
      • Isle of Wight Festival History
      • Cowes Week - Attractions And Accommodation
    • Free days out & attraction discounts >
      • Free Days Out On The Isle Of Wight
      • Discounts To Isle Of Wight Attractions
      • Itinerary For A Budget Isle of Wight Holiday
      • 10 Ways To Save Money On Isle Of Wight Holidays
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      • Activities For Toddlers On The Isle Of Wight
      • Activities For Children And Families On The Isle Of Wight
      • Activities For Teenagers On The Isle Of Wight
      • Activities For Adults On The Isle Of Wight
      • Activities For An Isle Of Wight Stag Do
      • Surviving An Isle Of Wight Holiday With A Toddler
    • Quirky days out >
      • 10 Quirky Days Out On The Isle Of Wight
      • 10 Things You Can't Do On The Isle Of Wight
      • 10 Things You Can Only Visit On The Isle Of Wight
      • Isle Of Wight TV & Movie Tour
      • 10 Reasons To Visit The Isle Of Wight
    • Days out in Ryde, Sandown, Shanklin, Ventnor >
      • 10 Things To Do In Bembridge, St Helen's and Seaview
      • 10 Things To Do In Cowes And East Cowes
      • 10 Things To Do In Newport and Carisbrooke
      • 15 Things To Do In Ryde
      • 15 Things To Do In Shanklin And Sandown
      • 15 Things To Do In Ventnor And South Wight
      • 15 Things To Do In Yarmouth And West Wight
    • Rainy day & winter attractions >
      • Rainy Day Activities On The Isle Of Wight
      • Itinerary For A Rainy Isle Of Wight Holiday
      • Winter Days Out On The Isle Of Wight
    • Zoos, historic attractions, gardens >
      • Isle of Wight Zoos And Animal Attractions
      • Historic Attractions On The Isle Of Wight
      • 10 Isle of Wight Gardens And Parks
    • Day trip itineraries >
      • Day Trips From Portsmouth To The Isle of Wight
      • Day Trips From Southampton To The Isle of Wight
      • Day Trips From Lymington To The Isle of Wight
    • Car journey games & viewpoints >
      • 5 Isle Of Wight Car Journey Games
      • 15 Best Isle Of Wight Car Park Viewpoints
      • The Isle Spy Car Journey Game
  • Beaches, tides, watersports & weather
    • Which Is The Best Isle Of Wight Beach For...
    • Isle of Wight Beaches Interactive Map
    • Isle Of Wight Tide Times
    • Isle of Wight Weather Forecast
    • Isle Of Wight Surf Forecast
    • Isle of Wight Watersports
    • The Beach Holiday Checklist - 5 Accessories
    • Mobile Version Of Isle Of Wight Best Beaches
  • Walking, Cycling, Driving & Public Transport
    • Walking >
      • Walking The Isle of Wight Coastal Path
      • 10 Best Isle of Wight Walks (Circular, 3-9 miles)
      • 10 Isle of Wight Short Walks For Children (1 Mile)
      • Isle of Wight Themed Walks
      • Isle of Wight Treasure Trails and Treasure Hunts
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    • Wighty 90 Driving Route
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      • Which Mobile Phone Network Has The Best Signal On The Isle Of Wight?
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Isle of Wight Guru

Roll up, Roll up for 'Destination: Isle of Wight'

1/4/2019

0 Comments

 
Dice on Destination Isle of Wight
A few years ago, whilst working in radio in Somerset, a PR company came to me with a news story about a new board game. 

If I had lawyers they would at this point ask me to make very clear that it wasn't the company behind this Destination Isle of Wight game. It wasn't. 

Anyway, the company told us they were launching a game and wanted to do a poll to decide which local town to base it around.

Being an idiot, I spent several weeks promoting the poll, giving the board game a great big heap of free publicity. 

When the poll finally closed, the PR company revealed that they'd had a change of heart and would be releasing a countywide edition instead. The public votes had meant nothing but they were grateful to me for doing my bit. ​

​A week later I spoke to a friend working at a newspaper in the north east who said he had been taken in by the same 'competition' which had been changed at the last minute in exactly the same way. 

I still kick myself that I didn't pick up on the PR company's dubious games earlier and hadn't taken the opportunity to take them to task live on air. 

I've since held a slightly unfair suspicion of local board games and probably wouldn't have bothered with Destination Isle of Wight unless I'd been given it as a birthday present. (Let me make clear again that the board game I mentioned earlier wasn't this one).
Destination Isle of Wight box
With a couple of hours to fill at 6am I gave it a go, along with my early rising 5 year old. 

The general idea is that you play the part of an Isle of Wight taxi driver. Every time you fulfil a request to drop someone off at Blackgang Chine, Shanklin Chine or wherever you pick up some cash and perhaps a tip. 

There are added complications such as red lights, speeding fines and log books. To really get into the swing of things I switched on Talk Sport, told my daughter my poorly thought out views on Brexit and kept looking over my shoulder. 

In my view, a good board game is a balance between making it complicated enough that you aren't just rolling dice and plodding around a circle whilst not making it so complicated that the rule book resembles a photocopier manual. 

Destination Isle of Wight was just about simple enough that my impatient competitor let me read the first half of the rules. I quickly realised that some bits could be dropped so we attempted a basic version which was just about right (the game is really aimed at 8+).

And so we drove our taxis around the Island, picking up fares ranging from £30 and upwards. Whoever paid £100 to visit the Isle of Wight College must have been unfamiliar with the local currency. 

A few of the attractions had closed since the game was made (Seaview Wildlife Encounter, Colemans Farm) and some other new ones were missing (Tapnell Farm Park most notably). This gave it a melancholic feeling as I imagined myself dropping off a family of holidaymakers at an abandoned attraction before skidding away in my Ford Mondeo.

After an hour I was getting hungry so I discreetly removed a big wadge of the cards to speed things along. 

Half an hour later we were involved in a frantic race to get our cabs back to the taxi rank. I put my metaphorical foot down as I raced to my final stop - LA Bowl in Ryde - whilst my contestant headed for Waltzing Waters (Rest In Peace).

I punched the air as my double six got me back home first and gave me the £250 bonus. I then remembered that it's much easier to lose a board game with a 5 year old. 

Luckily, she won anyway thanks to an earlier triple drop off at Cineworld, Carisbrooke Castle and the Visit Isle of Wight office. 

After consulting with my contestant we've given the games a thumbs up, particularly if you simplify it a bit and ensure that the youngest player wins.

You can buy Destination: Isle of Wight from Amazon, and no-doubt from various local retailers on the Island.
Cards from Destination Isle of Wight
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