Episode 394 – 7 Party Game Favorites

0:00 We’re out of town this weekend. A perfect time to talk about our favorite party games.

394 fact

Tony Gwynn is recognized as having the highest single season batting average in the modern era – He hit .394 for the San Diego Padres in 1994.

If you’re not a sports person, here’s a dumb record for you.

The most spins of a Guinness World Records book on the finger in one minute is 394, and was achieved by Arun Kumar Mahanta (India) in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, India, on 11 August 2022.

03:11 Sponsor message

Who is First Move Financial? Well, First Move Financial is a financial services firm started by Donnie Carpenter, and his focus is to help normal families work with their finances. This isn’t just investing, it can include investing, but also spending every dollar wisely, knowing when to transition from debt payments to making other important purchases.

But mostly, intellegently navigating the money world. Donnie is a board gamer just like us, so he completely understands the shelf of shame. You can go to firstmovefinancial . com / familygamers to find out more.

04:15 What We’ve Been Playing

Little Alchemists (review coming soon!)
Mezen (solo mode)
Donald Duck in Happy Camper
In the Footsteps of Marie Curie
Medieval Academy (solo)
Cabanga!
Jekyll vs. Hyde

18:00 Backtalk

We’re waiting another week for more deep dives into board game terms. But we had to share this Nidavellir pronunciation guide from Stephan.

19:20 SNAP Review – Mezen

Mezen is a side-by-side puzzle game based on a traditional Russian/Nordic art form. How does it chalk up?

Read the transcript or watch our Mezen review.

26:00 Top Party Games

What do we mean by a party game?

A party game works well at four or more players.

It has simple rules – easy to teach, easy to learn.

It’s something very casual and low-commitment. People can drop in or drop out (or a super fast playtime, which allows someone to join in next time).

Party games are usually silly and based around guessing or giving clues (but not always).

Most (but not all) party games are based on a deck or two of specialized cards.

And while there is nothing wrong with a more “adult” game, all of our favorites are ones that you can play with kids in the mix.

30:00 Our Seven Favorite Party Games

In alphabetical order:

Anomia – A favorite for over a decade. Also available in an adults-only version, called Anomia X. See our reviews for Anomia Pop Culture and Anomia Kids.

Green Team Wins – A game of friendly “religious arguments” for lots of players. See our review.

Secret Identity – A game of guessing other players’ secret identities. But surprisingly strategic (you have a limited number of clues to use in the entire game) and family friendly (the eight possible secret identities are all known). See our review of this hidden gem.

Similo – One clue giver, everyone else is trying to guess (an asymmetric cooperative game) the selected character by slowly whittling down the choices based on what the clue giver indicates. Incredibly easy to drop in, and even playable by just two people! There are a ton of different themed variations available. See our review of Similo.

Smug Owls – This game of programmed riddles ends up sometimes silly, sometimes deep. You can feel clever, and also reward or recognize that cleverness in other people. There are new expansions available: Smut Owls, Pompous Owls, and Poseur Owls. See our review of Smug Owls.

Trio – Neither a word game, nor a clueing game, but rather a game of memory and deduction. Our copy is almost worn out. Trio tops out at six players, but it’s very fast, so it’s easy to let a new player step in “next time”. Look for sets of three matching cards by asking for highest or lowest cards in players’ hands (or face-down on the table). See our review of Trio.

Wavelength – The only game on this list we’ve never reviewed. One clue giver and everyone else tries to figure out if they’re “on the same wavelength.” The clue giver has a location on the wheel and a spectrum (example: cat name vs dog name), and must give a clue to try to get everyone else to position the marker at the proper location. Wavelength can be played in two teams or as a fully cooperative game.

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