Friday’s Top 10 New Games for 1993 includes tests of strategy, mind-bending trivia questions, wacky word translations, vocabulary challenges, several races against time and one nasty computer virus.
If you can’t find a terrific game in this bunch, you aren’t trying hard enough.
Prices listed are manufacturer’s suggested retail; chances are good you’ll be able to find these games priced even lower.
Not all these games are in Chicago stores; if you can’t find a particular game, check our list of game makers (see index, Page 3).
Articulation Jr./Sr. Edition, Word Origin Inc., $26. A word and vocabulary game designed to let younger (12 and under) and older play at the same time. Questions are different for juniors and seniors; on one card the kids have to spell eighth, while the seniors must spell ecclesiastical. If you’re playing against a bright 12-year-old, you may be in trouble.
Babble On, Tyco, $20. About the only thing we don’t like about this game is the ugly box. Otherwise, Babble On is a hoot. Object is to translate seeming nonsense into common names or phrases. Law sand jealous, obviously, is Los Angeles. But Europe lay sore mine? That’s Your Place Or Mine. You get only 60 seconds to solve six clues. Boring? Dawn bees hilly.
Char, Bechter Productions, $64. Object of this two-player strategy game is to arrange four like pieces in a row on the four-plane game board. But the three types of playing pieces must be played exactly in order, which limits your options on any given move. Excellent, challenging strategy game. High-quality, laser-cut acrylic game board is pretty enough to display.
Crazy Talk, Crazy Talk, $30. You can do just about anything to get your teammates to guess what you’re trying to be. But the situations are so bizarre that it’s tough just the same. John Wilkes Booth applying Kabuki makeup? Desi Arnaz contemplating the meaning of life? Ozzie Nelson having an erotic dream? It’s all possible-and sometimes impossible. Our players loved it.
Inklings, Mattel, $26. Perhaps the most creative party game of the year. Players write clues on a dry-erase board to help partners guess the thematically linked words. Gimmick is that the fewer letters or symbols you use, the higher the score-but you don’t score if your partner doesn’t guess correctly, so you don’t want to be TOO clever.
Omega Virus, Milton Bradley, $36. Terrific sci-fi game accessible to just about anyone. Players are trying to find a computer virus that threatens their space station; finding the virus entails searching rooms and acquiring key virus-fighting tools. What makes the game, however, is the talking electronic computer, which taunts players, disrupts the action and, at the end of the 30-minute time limit, declares itself the winner if no one has destroyed the virus. Terrific game pieces.
Oodles, Milton Bradley, $25. Fast-paced party game that gets everyone involved all the time. Each card has 10 clues; each answer on a card begins with the same letter. The guesser has 10 seconds to answer the first question and retain control of the card; if he fails, another player can answer correctly and steal control. The card belongs to the player who answers the last question correctly, so maintaining control is crucial; first player/team to acquire five cards wins.
Perpetual Notion, Pressman, $25. Wonderful, creative game. Players each hold cards containing descriptions: “Painted.” “In many households.” “Has letters on it.” In turn, players play a card, building a series of descriptions that relate to some particular thing. At some point, you may challenge; the player who placed the last card must name something that fits ALL the descriptions played so far, or you win points. Mentally stimulating and challenging.
Play It Smart, Play it Smart Products, $30. “Trivial Pursuit for Ph.D.s” is how one of our players described this intellectually challenging “cultural literacy” game. Winner is the first to answer five questions in each of the six categories: Business & Law, Science & Technology, Literature, Art/Music/Entertainment, History and Various & Sundry. Questions and answers are contained in a thick book, making the game very portable. Trivia games have been getting dumber and dumber over the last five years; Play It Smart is a happy exception.
Sound Off, Western Publishing, $23. Think of this as the opposite of charades. You can use sounds but not words to clue your teammates to concepts like “Beehive hairdo,” “Opera singer warming up” and “Chewing the fat.” Players called it “a great party game” and, fittingly enough, “a hoot”; but some of the players said the game was too easy. That’s not always bad.
