Gamers Alliance Quarterly
Spring 99
Herb Levy
USA

The slightly off-center humor of Out of the Box Games, demonstrated in their first release Bosworth (Fall 1998, GA REPORT), re-emerges in their new offering, Apples to Apples, an adult/family/party game that, truly, everybody can play.

Apples to Apples, concept and original design by Matthew Kirby, comes boxed with two separate decks: 324 red apple cards, and 108 green apple cards. For 4 to 10 players, this is a game that can be explained in minutes and takes less than an hour to play.

All players begin with a hand of seven red apple cards. Red apple cards feature the name of a person, place, thing or event. The leader of the round (called the "judge") pulls out a green apple card (featuring the characteristic of a person, place, thing or event), reads it out loud and places it, face up, on the table. For example, you might draw the characteristic "Brilliant". Then the fun begins!

The other players scan their hands and place one of the apple cards, face down, on the table. The judge then scoops up the apple cards, shuffles them, and read off each one. This could result in cards such as Albert Einstein (who certainly was brilliant) to Diamonds (which have their own type of brilliance). And, if you don't have a card that seems to fit, just throw out anything and go for the weird (like "Hangnails")! The judge, and only the judge, decides which red apple cards best matches the exposed green apple card. (And sometimes weird wins!) The player who played the chosen red apple card gets the green apple card as his or her reward. All played red apple cards are discarded and hands are replenished by picking a new green apple card. The player to the left of the judge becomes the new judge for the next round.

Play continues until one player has won the needed number of green apple cards (from 4 to 10 depending on how many players) to claim victory.

The game plays quickly - helped immensely by the rule that the last player putting down a card must take it back. You won't win any green apple cards that way! The strange associations and wacky juxtapositions that result create a constant barrage of laughs! Having one judge decide what's best avoids arguments and time-consuming discussion which only adds time - not enjoyment - to play. John Kovalic's delightful artwork helps capture the fun and frenetic spirit of the game.

The idea behind Apples to Apples is so simple that you have to wonder why it hadn't been done before. But it's done now. Apples to Apples is an effort that certainly bears fruit as one of the best new family/adult/party games around!

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