Out
of the Box Publishing is today's BERNIE-award winner.
Instead of drawing, you use any combination
of Shape Cards to construct your clue.
Since it's so Pictionaryish, it's really
easy to understand how to play. Until, that is, you
actually try. And then it seems impossible. Until you
keep trying. And, oddly enough, it is quite possible.
Challenging, you bet. But surprisingly possible. As
the game goes on, and people become more familiar with
the shapes and what you can do with them (you can even
"animate" them by sliding sections back and forth),
it gets more and more intriguing. It definitely requires
ingenuity, creativity and good imagination. Which makes
the experience all that much more compelling.
There are three different words or phrases
to try to guess on each of the 168 Squint cards (well,
six if you count both sides). The role of a die determines
which of the three you must use. (We decided not to
use the die, and leave the choice up to the clue-giver.
The challenge is deep enough at first, and, even though
the three different choices are assigned different levels
of difficulty - and point value - what may be difficult
for one person to communicate can prove easier for the
next.) The scoring is exceptionally compassionate. Both
the guesser and guesser get points for a correct response.
Rounds are timed, so gameplay is fast
and tense. The longer you play, the more adept you become
at giving and interpreting clues. Eventually, you astonish
each other with your collective brilliance.
We learned to use a ruler to indicate
the bottom of the construct. We also seriously contemplated
looking for a white surface upon which to arrange the
cards. But, as the manufacturers so eponymously explain,
squinting really helps.
Squint is a unique,
brilliantly challenging guessing game that makes people
feel good about their individual and collective genius.
For 3-6 players, ages 12 and up.
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