SNAP Review – The Game of WOLF

Awooo! This trivia game pits players against each other. Will you pick the right pack to brainstorm answers? Or are you confident in your ability as the lone wolf?

Listen to our review and find out!

The Game of Wolf is a party trivia game from Gray Matters Games, designed by Joe Barron. You’ll need 4-6 players (or teams), ages 14+, and a full game takes 30-45 minutes, depending on the number of players.

How to Play

Each player will get a turn as the Wolf, once per round.

First, the player to the left of the Wolf picks a question card and reads ONLY the subject out to all players.

Then the Wolf decides whether to choose a pack or play this turn as a Lone Wolf. They can choose a pack member who they think knows this subject – but if they stay alone, they could double their points. Anyone not selected for the wolf pack will play together as a team against the Wolf.

(With more than six players, The Game of Wolf can be played in teams. So each team decides whether to go alone or grab another team to form a larger pack.)

The reader reads aloud the five questions from the question card. The Wolf (or Wolf Pack) write down their answers on a whiteboard, and so does the opposing team.

After both teams have written down their guesses, the reader reveals the answers. The team (or Lone Wolf) with the most correct answers (out of five) wins points. Points awarded depend on whether the Wolf is playing alone or not (and which round you’re in).

Now the reader becomes the new Wolf. The person to their left picks a new question card and reads out the subject. Keep playing in this manner until all players have had a chance to be the Wolf.

A full game lasts three rounds, with increasing points each round.

Impressions

We were amazed at how much useless trivia could be found in our heads.

The Game of Wolf has a great mix of trivia subjects. Everything from “NFL Quarterbacks” to “Stock Symbols” to “TV Dads” and even “Ice Cream Flavors” and “Musical Instruments”.

Because of the wide array of domain knowledge needed to compete, the recommended age of 14+ is not far off. We tried with our kids (selecting categories that seemed to make sense for our 9 & 11 year olds), and it resulted in a lot of cries of “unfair” because there were adults playing who had better domain knowledge. The kids who were really clever teamed with a parent when it was their turn to be the Wolf, since they figured they’d be more likely to win points that way.

However, in a party setting, The Game of Wolf is great. We’ve played with 18 players (six groups of 3) and everyone had a great time.

The card holders are very clever, with just the right height to allow easy reading of the subject before removing a card.

However, the erasable boards included aren’t great. They didn’t erase cleanly, instead there was a LOT of black residue left behind. We’re not entirely sure whether this was due to the boards, the included markers, or both. It’s not actually an obstacle to using them, but it bothered us a lot. (I cleaned them after every game with glass cleaner.) If it bothers you as much as it bothered us, you could throw away the boards and still enjoy this game with paper and pencils.

We do not recommend The Game of Wolf for young families like ours, but we’d tentatively recommend it for parents with pre-teens and teenagers.

For all-adult (or mostly-adult) groups, it’s great. We’d highly recommend it for ice breakers and extended family gatherings.

We rate The Game of Wolf 3 out of 5 howls for adult gatherings.

Find The Game of Wolf on Amazon or ask for it at your local game store.

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The Family Gamers received a copy of The Game of Wolf from Gray Matters Games for this review.

This post contains affiliate links, which do not change your price, but help support The Family Gamers.

SNAP review music is Avalanche, provided courtesy of You Bred Raptors?