Month: May 2017

I have a Brain in a Box!

Or I have a BrainBox game. I’m really excited about this one, as I have had a BrainBox game for quite a while. I actually got my first one at Brookfield Zoo a while back. We kept it in the car and I would read the cards on long drives. Eventually I found out how to play and started playing with my grandmother before school.Nature BrainBox

In BrainBox, you reach into the box, choosing a card at random. Simultaneously, the other person turns the timer and you start reading the card. You have ten seconds to memorize as much as you can. When the other person says “Time” (or something similar) marking the end of the ten seconds, you hand over the card. You roll the die (eight-sided) and the other person reads you the question on the back of the card that corresponds with that number. If you answer correctly, you keep the card in your score pile. If you don’t, you put it back in the box.

I love the facts. I have a big thing for random facts, as anyone who knows me can confirm. The fun facts and little tidbits of information scattered everywhere in this game are right up my ally.

The questions can be quite random. I first found this out when I was playing the US States one a while back. I had pulled the Florida card. I read it, flipped it, rolled, and was completely confident in my ability to answer. I read the question confidently, ready to burst out the answer. “How many oranges are pictured?” Wait… what? I have since realized that a lot of the question are based on the pictures. For instance, on the Flightless Birds card of the Nature box, I once had a question that read, “Which bird has its legs crossed?”

This game is fast and can be concluded whenever it is necessary. At the peak of our playing time, Grandma and I could go through the whole box of over fifty cards in less than an hour!

Also, as I have just recently found out there is an online version, at the website linked to above.

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Time for Gym class!

Gym class… yuck. Not anymore! Introducing Gym, the card game. In Gym you pick teams based off of how good each kid is at each game. Most kids will have two games that they are moderately good at. The “brats” only have one skill each, probably because they are busy being brats. Then there is the play phase where you designate kids to games, move them around and mess with the other person’s cards in an attempt to win the tournament.Gym

I love that somebody made Gym class a card game. Now, can I pass it off as doing Gym? I doubt it. Ah, well. It’s still amusing.

I wish they tied into the actual games in gym more. They have the special powers as basketball and dodgeball and such, but I really don’t see how dictating which kid they use next constitutes as football.

It’s one of the Pack O’Games, so it is by definition small. It’s a fun game and a quick play. Some questions about the relativity to gym class withholding, it is a great game with a lot of potential.

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Devil Cat

Or, you know, Simon’s Cat. Simon’s Cat (the game) is based off of Simon’s Cat (the hilarious videos). These critters seem to have it out for poor Simon. The game is actually a lot like Crazy Eights. You are matching numbers or colors, but instead of drawing when you can’t play a card, you take the “mess”, which is the pile of cards in the center. At the end of each round, when all the cards run out, whoever has the most messes gets a Simon card. Whoever has three Simon cards first loses.Simon's Cat

I love the Simon’s cat pictures and general mechanics. The whole idea is that Simon gets blamed for the messes made by all of the critters.

You don’t have to know the Simon’s Cat storyline to play this either. It can be played just as well without the context, though dialogue is quite amusing with the full context. (“Kitten!” “Yes, it’s a kitten.” “No, as in, its name is Kitten.” “Oh.”)

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Wait… What? Are You Phrazy?

Are You Phrazy is a fast-paced conversation game. In it, you are racing to get rid of all of your cards by interrupting people. You can interrupt if you have the same card as the last one played or if you are the person clockwise of the previous player.Are You Phrazy?

It is hilarious because everyone reads their card off as they play it, and the conversation is so random it makes no sense. “Hello, how are you?” “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” “Hubba, hubba!” “I know you are, but what am I?” “Can the chatter!”

If you do not like fast-paced games, do not play this. It is very fast moving, as well as strategic. Finding the cards in your hand can be a challenge, choosing when to play a “stop” card is strategy that has to be carefully done, and you have to do it all before someone else.

On the other hand, fast-paced makes it good for points when you may need to leave anytime, like when you are waiting for a ride to pick you up.

 

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