Adults face off at Operation world championship in Paris

By Sejal Mandal

Hundreds gathered for the World Championship of Doctor Maboul - the French version of the classic board game Operation.

The contest was hosted by Joachim Charlot in with the help of Hasbro, the game's current manufacturer.

The 2025 edition took place on June 14 at the Wagram Pavilion near the Champs-Élysées in Paris.

What began as a lighthearted event has now evolved into a full-scale tournament complete with referees, medals and a giant trophy for the winner.

This year’s tournament - the fourth edition - saw 256 players, all dressed in medical-style outfits, test their surgical skills.

Sabine Aurore Lezeau, 27, competed in the event and described it as "absolutely hilarious and ridiculously tense".

Sabine, an author and comedian from Paris, France said: "It started as a joke but now it’s a real competition with a real title at the end.

"It’s 256 not-serious people, not doing something serious but doing it seriously.

"It’s a silly game but people take it so seriously.

"There’s shouting, stress and real sadness when they lose.

"It was absolutely hilarious and ridiculously tense.

The inaugural world championship took place in 2021 with just 18 participants.

Since then, the event has seen rapid growth, expanding to 64 competitors in 2022 and an impressive 160 in 2023.

The game is played in five-minute rounds with two opponents.

A round begins with rock-paper-scissors to determine who gets first pick or table side.

Players then take turns trying to remove pieces from the board game without triggering the buzzer.

If both fail after three tries each, a new card is drawn. The player with the most points moves on to the next round.

The competition is taken seriously with 20 referees on hand to oversee the event and ensure fair play.

Sabine said: "It’s a really visual game so it works great for competition.

"The tension is real. It’s actually hard to play!

"Even though everyone is there to have fun, you really want to win."

Sabine added: "I didn’t win but I got a special prize for the best blouse.

"I played it loads as a kid and even practiced a week before!

"I’ll absolutely do it again next year.

"It’s just brilliant to see so many adults taking it so seriously while playing a kids’ game."