Sunday, February 28, 2010

Apples to Apples (4 stars)

Apples to apples is a great party game. Its really a card game rather than a board game, and even people who shrug at board games generally like it. Typical playing time is 30 minutes. While any number of people could play it, its best for 5-7 people. There are two sets of cards: one with nouns and the other with adjectives (the nouns also have some associated text and the adjectives have synonyms). Players take turns being the dealer. The dealer places an adjective face up. The players then choose a noun from their hand (of 7 - replenishable at the end of each turn) that they feel matches the round best and place it face down. When all have done that, the dealer gathers those, mixes them up and chooses the best in her opinion. The players can debate the selection a bit to add some spice to the proceedings.

The opposite viz. crab apples can also be played - place a noun and match it with adjectives. Extension packs and a set for children is also available.


Seven of us once played it recently, and what different people got as correct made for interesting discussion:
  • One who got the least, a female, won "Masculine".
  • Then one had: Nerdy, Stunning and Patriotic.
  • Another had: Animated, Desperate, Soft, Speedy.
  • Next it was: Ordinary, Expensive, Horrifying, Obnoxious
  • The fifth had: Delicious, Charming, Colorful, Talented, Cuddly
  • Sixth got: Perfect, Sensitive, Sweet, Rich, Handsome
  • Finally, the winner had: Luscious, Radical, Wicked, Corrupt, Scary, and Odd.
Though the clustering seems odd, hopefully a man (or a woman) is not known by the adjectives he (or she) wins at apples and apples. Hope you enjoy the game.

It can be a fun project to convert the game into other languages.

No comments:

Post a Comment