3 of a Kind: Kinda-Like This!

Chances are we all have a favorite carnival ride. But can we agree on which is the most romantic? Or the one most likely to be arrested? That’s what you and your fellow players will be trying to agree on in 3 of a Kind, a party game for 2-8 players by Tim Eisner of Weird City Games.

Setup

To play 3 Of A Kind, give each player an answer card (it’s an erasable booklet) and a dry-erase marker. On the top flap of this answer card, players track their scores and the current round. On the bottom flap, players write their answers. Put the Adjective and Category cards on the table in reach of all players.

Gameplay

At the start of each round, the dealer chooses between the top two cards from the Category deck, placing their chosen card face up in the center of the table. They then deal two adjective cards to each of the three players to their left (which includes the dealer at two or three players). Each player with adjective cards looks at those cards and chooses one to place on the table with the category and reads it aloud as they do so.

Once a category and three adjectives are placed and announced, everyone writes something for each adjective on their answer card. Answers can be anything as long as it does not use any words on the current category or adjective cards. Each of the three answers must be unique from each other.

Scoring

The way to score points in 3 of a Kind is to match answers with other players. Unique is fun, but if answers are too unusual, they might stand alone.

After everyone finishes writing their answer, the person who chose each adjective card reads their adjective and each player reads their answer. Each matching player gets points equal to how many players are matched. If there are no matches to an adjective, the person that chose the adjective can award a style point to their favorite answer. Play for six rounds. Whoever has the most points wins!

Impressions

3 Of A Kind taglines itself as “a party game of creative connections” and we expected a silly good time. We found in playing the game that this is exactly what happened.

Sometimes.

Some members of the family loved the silly adjective and category combinations and came up with really wild answers. Others couldn’t get past the frustration when combinations like “angriest school supplies” didn’t make sense. Combinations that were too far out of the box were just too hard for them.

We found that playing with four or more players was the most fun, as long as all of the players were strong readers and could stay focused for the entire game. Also, because of the scoring structure, it works best when all players are of similar age or at least have a similar frame of reference.

Family Party Game for Two?

As odd as it may sound, playing 3 Of A Kind with two players worked well; especially with one parent and one child, it was fun to try to get on one wavelength and discuss why we each thought of the answers we did. It can also be fun for spouses to have creative debates.

Less Scoring, More Laughing

We enjoyed 3 Of A Kind with the right group and at certain player counts, but it did not work as universally as we hoped. The forced combinations of adjectives and categories didn’t work for some in the family. And those who were more free-flowing often didn’t want to try to match answers.

We had the most fun when not worrying about the score. Everyone could enjoy coming up with creative answers and get a good laugh as a group experience.

If your family loves word party games or simply enjoys the chance to come up with goofy answers, 3 Of A Kind could be for you.

You can get your own copy of 3 of a Kind directly from Weird City Games or at your friendly local game store.

---

The Family Gamers received a promotional copy of 3 of a Kind for this review.