Because there's nothing quite like winning at menstruation
You're 30 years old, and sitting cross-legged on the floor of your living room with your friends. 'I've got my period!' yells your mate Ciaran, who's perched to your left. 'You're always on your period,' grumbles Liam from across the room as he picks up a tiny pair of white plastic knickers and moves them three spaces along a circular piece of cardboard. 'I haven't had mine for ages.' On the other side of the coffee table, somebody learns forward and twists one of two bafflingly proportioned 'plastic ovaries' in the centre of the board until a red marble plops out. 'YEAH! I'm bleeding!' they yell.
Welcome to Every Single Saturday Night For The Rest Of Your Life, following the release of the most questionably brilliant game since somebody went temporarily insane and invented Mouse Trap.
Called 'The Period Game', and created by two design students in America - Daniela Gilsanz and Ryan Murphy, the game was created in order to raise awareness of periods and destigmatise menstruation. Which is a lovely, lovely idea.
And entirely hilarious.
'The Period Game strives to turn a typically uneasy situation into a fun, positive, learning experience,' explains the website. 'It is designed to teach participants about what is happening within the female body and how to “go with the flow.”'
'The act of playing creates an open and engaging environment where players can learn and say words like “period” and “tampon” without the usual discomfort and taboos found in society.'
The rules of the game are pretty straightforward (just like periods! COINCIDENCE?). Simply twist one of those aforementioned plastic ovaries in the centre of the board until your body seizes up in cramps and you accidentally eat a 200g block of cheddar cheese in an attempt to numb the pain with dairy produce / a red marble falls out the bottom, and then move your counter around the board. Along the way you might find yourself picking up a tampon card, or a pad card. And then you might find yourself questioning all of the life choices that have landed you here - at the age of 30, clutching a tiny plastic tampon in the first place.
Either way, the entire thing is wonderful. And we're ordering it immediately.