We were sent Giant Pass the Pugs for review. All images and opinions are our own.

My son has always loved anything to do with dogs, he’s got lots of dog themed games and puzzles, so when I spotted Giant Pass the Pugs, I knew that it would be something he would enjoy. It looked like an excellent garden game for the summer!

As a child, I used to play Pass the Pigs almost weekly with my Grandma. It was, and still is a brilliant pocket sized game you could take and play anywhere with a flat surface. The rules were easy, toss your pair of pigs into the air and score points depending on how they land. Pass the Pugs is exactly the same, but my version came with two giant inflatable pugs.

Giant Pass the Pugs includes two pugs, a bag to keep them in once deflated and a score book. It’s suitable for people aged 6+, but it’s really not that difficult to play, so I don’t see why someone younger couldn’t join in the fun if they’re game! It’s for two or more players, and I reckon could be a great outdoor party game for the right crowd.

The pugs took a bit of inflating. I tried blowing them up but I didn’t have enough puff, so we used a pump, which worked well. Within minutes we were ready to play.

As I’ve already mentioned, the rules are quite simple; throw your pugs into the air and you score points, or lose points depending on how they land. I’m not great with games with lots of rules, so this is very much on my level. The game comes with a scorebook, with the prize winning pug positions pictured on the front. It took me less than a minute to explain the rules to my son, and then we just got stuck in.

It’s definitely a game best played outside in the garden. No one wants a pair of inflatable pugs flying around their living room. Thankfully, the sun was shining, and there was very little wind; so the conditions were just right for a game of pug tossing.

They do warn you that your pugs might need pumping up a bit during game play, but ours stayed firm throughout.

I really liked that they’ve released a dog version of this game. I know my son was probably 100% more interested and engaged with the dog version, purely because dogs are his favourite thing ever. Who can blame him, this pair of inflatable pugs as as cute as anything.

We spent a good hour chucking them about in the garden. They are well balanced, in that they fell in different positions, which made the game quite interesting. Of course, there’s a bit of a knack to throwing them. If you throw them too hard they just land on their low scoring sides, but once you get the hang of it, you can try and throw some higher scoring rounds.

Inflatable Giant Pass the Pugs is really great fun and the ideal outdoor game for the summer. I know that this will be played regularly this summer, and he’s already making plans to have a Giant Pass the Pugs party with some of his friends.

Giant Pass the Pugs is widely available and costs around £14.99 online and in good toy shops.