TOS Crew: Say Anything! from Northstar Games

Some reviews practically write themselves (especially when we're enthused about a project!) and some are difficult to write -- either we're really excited about something and I'm afraid the written word won't do it justice, or it didn't work for our family... but let's not go there, because that certainly isn't the case today!

When the TOS Crew learned that Northstar Games would be participating in this year's cruise, you should have heard the cheers!

You see, last year our family reviewed Wits and Wagers, and had a blast doing it. What fun!

 (Don't just take our word for it. You can find this year's Crew impressions of Wits and Wagers at this link, by the way.)

It was a different kind of game, in that it evened out the playing field. Youngest had just as good a chance of winning as anyone, and sometimes better! (She knew, not guessed, the number of Disney princesses... and other unique trivia questions, and when she guessed, her guesses were as good as anyone else's, and she soon figured out a strategy that worked very well for racking up the points.)

One fun thing about NorthStar Games is the Meeples. We've fallen in like with these cute little "people" who populate the games, serving as game tokens, or decorating the boards (more about the boards in a minute). They make fun mascots!

Say Anything! -- a new family pastime -- is another game where you don't have to have a storehouse of trivia at your fingertips, and if (like Youngest) you struggle with spelling, it's okay because creativity trumps spelling in this game. In other words, even if your handwriting is hard to read, or your words are oddly spelled, just so long as other players can read your writing, you can play. Younger players may want to team up with older players to get around the "8 and up" (which helps assure the player can write) suggestion.

Here's how the game works. You each have a dry erase writing board and pen. The person who's "It" (the "Judge") draws a question from the stack of cards and reads a question aloud. ("What's the best way to spend a rainy day?" is an example I just thought up out of my head, but with the stack of questions included with the game, it may well be in there. There are six questions on each card. Having a choice of more than one question gives the reader a little latitude. For example, if you'd be uncomfortable with the topic "What would be the weirdest secret to hear about my mother?" or you don't know what an A-list celebrity is ("Which A-list celebrity is most likely to be forgotten in 10 years?"), you can fall back on "What's the best thing about living in the country?" -- a sampling of one card.)

All the other players write down an answer to the question, wacky or serious as you wish. The Judge secretly selects one of the answers and then everyone else tries to guess which answer the Judge likes best. You place your tokens on one or two of the answers and when all bets are placed, the Judge reveals the winning choice.

You get points for choosing the winning answer and also for writing the winning answer. There can be a lot of jockeying for position and strategy involved. Knowing the Judge well (and everyone gets to take a turn at judging) is a definite help!

Materials are sturdy (well, fairly sturdy -- we almost wrecked the Judge's secret choice recording device until we realized it wasn't supposed to be used as a spinner -- memo to self: read the directions before trying to play the game for the first time and don't count on a kid who says she read the directions already...), colorful, and convenient. All play is done on dry erase boards, even scorekeeping! Pens are provided with the game, but when they run out (and ours haven't yet), you can probably use dry erase crayons or any dry erase markers. However, if you've had the game for less than a year, they have a fantastic replacement policy.

From the Northstar Games website:

Free Parts Replacement - Don’t let a lost or broken component stop you from playing. If any of our game component(s) should fail (or even be lost) within the first year of ownership, we will deliver an identical or comparable replacement to your door free of charge! Requesting replacement parts is a breeze... simply e-mail us the requested part(s) along with your mailing address. We’ll send the parts out within two weeks.

Suited for 3-6 players (and you can have more if you play in teams), ages 8 and up (but again, younger players can team up with older players) Say Anything is available where games are sold and retails for $19.99.

Be warned. This game is addictive. (And fun!)

Check out more TOS Crew reviews of Say Anything here.

Disclaimer: Our family received a free copy of Say Anything for review purposes. No additional compensation was involved.