Whac-A-Mole – the home version is actually pretty good fun and perfect for when you have a gaggle of kids around – it’s a board game yet requires no real time commitment.

What kid doesn’t love hitting something with a plastic mallet as hard as he can?

What grownup doesn’t love hitting a plastic mole with a mallet?

On the surface, it looks like it’s missing a lot from the arcade version but it’s actually pretty sophisticated even though there are only 4 moles.

You can play solo – when they light up and you hit them – the pattern is never obvious, it changes and the moles will taunt you electronically 🙂 There are two settings – hard & easy.

There is a 2-4 player mode where you just hit a specific color. You can liven it up by picking a mole away from you or making the rule you have to set your mallet down after eah hit … or picking it from the floor … or of course, drinking what’s leftover from the New Year’s party before you hit the mole.

And you get to work out your aggressions.

How can you beat that for $15?

Oh and in case you’re wondering about its durability – two boys and many drunken adults have been mashing the moles for 5 months and the thing still works – not bad for something I expected would last 20 minutes.