Suspend Game Melissa and Doug - A Game of Balance with Wires

Our family found a fun new balancing game…. the Suspend Game Melissa and Doug company produces is a nice little surpise.

This game is great for the whole family, from my 10 year old daughter to my mother (who would kill me dead if I revealed her age).

What is the Suspend Game?

Suspend is a simple game of balance. You take turns building a suspended tower out of colored wires… the winner gets rid of all of their wires first. And there is always the danger of the whole tower crashing down. (That would be my favorite part).

The game of Suspend comes in a tube (about the size of a Pringles can). In it you will find a few thick wires that act as a frame. They are held together by a wooden base. Also in the box are 24 of wires… different lengths, color coded, with sort of kinks bent into it.

There is also a die with colored dots that correspond to the wire colors.

The basic game is fairly straightforward…. on your turn, you roll the color coded die… and hang the corresponding wire onto the frame. The tower structure grows and grows into some sort of crazy modern art sculpture.

Wires might become unbalanced and fall (very exciting, and mostly painless). The winner is the person who hangs all of their wires on the frame first.

How to Play Suspend

(Fun For Everyone in the Family)

All levels of play start the same way. You assemble the frame using the wires and the base on a flat surface. Pass out the color coded rods evenly.
Players take turns adding the colored wires to the frames… using ONE HAND (you can kind of look away when the little guys are taking their turn). The wire must suspend from another… without touching any other wires.
If any wires fall during you turn… you must collect up the wires into your pile.
First person to use up all wires… wins.

The Suspend Wires are Color Coded and Kinked to Hook Together

There are ways to play Suspend.

Basic Game– The easy level is the best to start with. Without bothering with the dice, take turns hanging the wires onto the frame. Longest to shortest.
If they fall… you have to keep the ones that fell.

Move up a Level– Split the wires as usual. On your turn, roll the die, and hang the corresponding wire from the frame. If you don’t have the color, your turn is skipped.

More Complex– Same as before… only, if you roll a color you don’t have… you have to take it from your opponant and put it on the frame.

Tournament Play– A point system is implemented… each wire is worth points, and you play continuously until you reach a given score.

Playing Suspend Alone- My daughter likes to play Suspend all by herself… she uses the wires to make fantastic sculptures that float in the air like a Calder Mobile.

Who can Play Suspend?

Melissa and Doug suggest that it’s a game for players 8 and up… but I think younger kids could manage. If you are concerned, there is a version for younger players.