Whoever loses does the dishes: board game recommendations for the duel over the dishes

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Duel games: Fast rounds that usually require skill

Photo: Diana Doert / DER SPIEGEL

The dinner was delicious, the group was cozy, now the questions inevitably arise: Who wins? Who last turned on the dishwasher or washed the dishes? If you are familiar with this situation, try a (board game) duel instead of a discussion. We tried out five games that help you quickly decide everyday questions at the gaming table. Whoever loses, flushes!

“Baskettack”

Basketball meets table football: Yes, the playing field may not look particularly aesthetic. But who needs beauty when it comes to the boring question of who takes out the trash? The playing field has a small basketball hoop on each side, in front of which there is a playing figure with rotating arms on the left and right. It is equipped with movable gripping arms. It takes skill to use them to catch the numerous balls on the game board.

Once the match starts, it goes quickly: we use the handles to control our own figure and its moving hands. Let's grab one of the balls and try to sink it into the opponent's basket. The game ends when there is no ball left on the field. Whoever scores more baskets wins.

Fast and silly. Even without excellent fine motor skills, one or two hits can be achieved.

Hasbro; 2 players; from 8 years

»Game Bounce Party«

“Four in a row” has been around since the early 1970s. This game is also great when it comes to dividing up unpleasant tasks. But the ping pong version “Game Bounce Party” makes it a little bit more fun.

The game board forms a grid with 36 holes into which our colored balls can fall. The rules are simple: Both sides have eight balls, one yellow and one light blue. On your turn, you throw a ball so that it bounces at least once in front of the board and then remains on the playing field in one of the holes. Whoever manages to form a row of four balls of their own color first can curl up comfortably on the sofa. The loser grabs the trash bag.

You can also compete in teams of two, so the game is ideal for household tasks that require multiple hands: washing up and drying, for example.

Kingso Toys; 2 or 4 players; from age 6

»Tinderblox«

Even when you're on holiday at the campsite or in your holiday apartment, it doesn't hurt to have a little dishwashing game in your luggage. With “Tinderblox” you can even play around doing the dishes around a small table campfire. In the small tin can there is a fire pit card, 20 logs and 20 fire blocks in yellow and red. You will also find tweezers and 23 task cards for our fire.

First you place three logs on the campfire card. On your turn, you reveal one of the task cards and grab the tweezers. With this you now have to place the logs and fire blocks shown on the map on the campfire. To make it not always so easy, you sometimes have to do it with your weaker hand. Whoever causes the campfire stacks to collapse loses - and can immediately grab the rag to wash up with.

The tension can also be increased: Since a round of “Tinderblox” goes quite quickly, it is better to play several rounds. Whoever concedes three defeats first gets the dishwashing done.

The Game Builders; 2 to 6 players; from age 6

“Bellz!”

As soon as you unpack the game material you can hear them ringing: 40 colorful bells of different sizes. The glittering noisemakers lie neatly mixed up on a round play plate. There is also a magnetic stick in the box, with a weak magnet at one end and a strong magnet at the other.

On your turn, you try to carefully pick up bells of one color from the plate with the stick without letting bells of a different color get stuck. If you're successful, you ring the bells and it's your fellow player's turn. This goes on until one person manages to collect all the bells of their own color. Whoever manages that can distribute the dirty work. With more than two players you collect bells until only one person remains.

Spin Master; 2 to 4 players; from age 6

»Disney: Mad Tea Party«

If the tinkling is too annoying for you, you might be more interested in a nice cup of tea. Plastic tea cups of different sizes and colors are stacked on the extra wobbly table. To make the game a little more difficult, there are cards with tasks that you have to play and complete.

Depending on the size of the tea round, everyone gets a certain number of cards in their hand. Whoever's turn it is must play one of these cards and complete the respective task. For example: Stack any yellow cup on the tea table or place a small purple cup on top of a medium blue one. If the cups fall off the table, you have to draw cards from your hand. As soon as one person manages to play the last card in their hand without making a mistake, the game ends and the duel for the washing up is decided.

Funko Games; 2 to 10 players; from 5 years

If you still have your children's old games in the cupboard, it's also worth checking to see if there are one or two games that you can use to help you decide when to wash up. Classics like “Plitsch Platsch Penguin” or “Looping Louie” are ideal for an unconventional method of distributing household tasks. If you're looking for more inspiration for thrilling duels, you might find what you're looking for on the Games4two YouTube channel.

And if none of that is for you, you still have the good old Nerfgun battle. Equipped with foam ammunition, you can go on epic chases across the entire apartment. And when everything needs to be cleaned up afterwards, taking out the trash suddenly becomes the easiest task on the to-do list.