Say Anything Family!

A little while back, the kind folks over at Northstar Games sponsored our very first contest by sending a copy of Say Anything Family to one of our lucky blog readers, and as a bonus they sent one to us too! We had high hopes for Say Anything Family because as some of you may remember we absolutely LOVED Wits and Wagers Family. Let me tell you up front that this game did not disappoint, it is one of the funnest family party games I’ve ever played.

 

It’s Really That Simple

The game is easy to learn and explain. One person draws a card and selects a question from it to read out loud. Everyone else writes down an answer that they think the reader will think is the best answer. All of the answers are played face up, and the reader secretly selects the one they like best. The other players now try to guess which one the reader picked. Players score points for writing the winning answer, voting on the winning answer, and the reader gets points for people guessing right. It kind of reminds me of a cross between Apples to Apples (the playing and picking answers), Wits and Wagers Family (the betting aspect), and any one of a number of party games that rewards you for knowing the other players well or provides an opportunity to get to know each other better. While that may sound like a bit of a mash-up, it plays very smooth and really hit the sweet spot for us.

Looking Under the Hood

This game is about the experience, but here’s a few quick thoughts about the rules/components/etc. I appreciate that this game is easy to teach, and that you really can just jump right in and play. No one seems to have any questions, it’s nice when the rules just blend into the background and the focus is on fun. I really like that each card has three possible questions and the reader gets to choose which one to pick. Aside from increasing replayability, this is an opportunity to direct the game a bit, avoid something you don’t want to talk about, or explore what the other players might think you think on a fun topic.  This is the type of game you could really play for any length of time, but the scoring system seems to have the game play out for just the right amount of time. I did miss the meeples though! We love betting with the meeples in Wits & Wagers Family, and with the art of the game showing meeple images I found myself looking through the box a couple times to try to find them. There are tokens that are used instead, but I like the meeples better and wish they had been included in this game as well.

Say What?

Wits and Wagers Family was a big hit with my extended family over the holidays, so I was really excited to give Say Anything Family a try at a recent family get together. I was able to easily convince my mom and grandma, my aunt Judy, and my uncle Rob to give it a try. This game had us laughing, groaning, telling stories, and having fun together right from the get go. We were grossed out by the idea of kissing a urinal, imagining what the best part of being a dog is, pondering how lottery winnings would be spent, discussing who would be the most fun to have dinner with (Gene Simmons in full costume?!!?), and laughing about what the weirdest family secret might be. We kept a causal pace throughout the game, with lots of conversation and smiles. It really was an amazing experience, and I’m looking forward to many more plays. It was a big hit, and we ended up with a phenomenal 12 thumbs up, everyone loved it!

Good ol' family fun!

Up Next…

We’re going to try to play this game with Katie soon. Reading is the biggest barrier here, but I think it will be possible to help her through it, or to have her team up with a grown-up reading buddy. I’m sure her ideas will amuse and delight everyone playing, kids say the most interesting things!

by Angie

GIVEAWAY: Say Anything Family!

Image courtesy of North Star Games

Hey, all! We here at Growing Up Gamers are very excited; we're having our first giveaway! The wonderful people at North Star Games are providing a copy of Say Anything Family, the latest game by designer Dominic Crapuchettes (designer of Wits & Wagers and Wits & Wagers Family)! The game is a family-oriented version of their popular Say Anything adult party game, and features questions like "Which celebrity would make the worst babysitter?" and "What magical power would be the coolest to have?". That sounds like a ton of laughs to me! I, for one, cannot wait to try this out. This sounds like a great game game to pull out after dinner to entertain the whole family.

So here's how it works: you must email us at growingupgamers@gmail.com with a subject of Say Anything Family, and you are entered once in the drawing. Additionally, doing each of these things will get you one more entry each:

Image courtesy of North Star Games

-Follow us on Twitter, Like us on Facebook or follow us via Google Connect: (+1 entry for each)
-Follow North Star Games on Twitter, Like them on Facebook or follow their Blog (+1 entry each)
-Post this giveaway on Facebook (+1 entry)
-Tweet this giveaway to your Twitter followers (+1 entry)
-Leave a meaningful comment on one of our blog posts (+1 entry, only count once)
-Add up your entries in your email (+1 entry)

So... altogether, that's a total of eleven possible entries; make sure that's all in the email! Don't worry, though... email addresses will only be used to announce the winner of this contest; we will not share it, sell it or spam you.  We will accept entries until 12pm PST Wednesday, April 20th; the winner will be chosen at random and the results will be posted on or by Friday, April 22nd. This contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only. So... good luck, everyone! We here at Growing up Gamers are excited to be able to offer you this opportunity! Here's a big shout-out to the great people at North Star Games: Thank You!

Update: The entries are all in, and we have a winner! Congratulations to Lance Coffee, winner of our first giveaway! Thanks to everyone who entered!

Image courtesy of boardgamegeek.com's Endersgame

Of all the luck!

Over the last couple weeks, I have had a few interactions with the customer service people for several game companies. Invariably, I have been treated very well and received prompt replies. I think that it reflects well on the industry that companies are eager to keep us, the gamers, happy. So let me share a little with you.

Over the 8-1/2 years my wife and I have been together, we have bought an enormous load of games. That's what we do. Some people go clubbing, some people take frequent little vacations... we game. And we love it. But back to the point, we have bought a lot of games. And until a few weeks ago, we haven't had any issues with components.

It seems quite uncanny that over the last month, all the games we purchased had some issue. That's four games from four separate companies. Yeesh! Crazy luck that we've had. I guess if you buy enough games, you're eventually going to get one with a minor defect. It just happens. And you contact customer support, because they just make it all better. Anyway, here are the companies that we have contacted, and our responses:

1. North Star Games
Our copy of Wits & Wagers Family had a single wet-erase marker that didn't write. We were able to play the game fine, it's just that we didn't have had a marker for the fifth player. This did indeed come up in our first game. I contacted the company, and a nice fellow by the name of Andrew contacted me very quickly. He explained that there was a defective batch of markers. I received a set of replacements, plus a couple extra cards for the standard version of Wits & Wagers. Top notch service, guys!



2. Z-Man Games
Our Christmas present to ourselves, Neuroshima Hex!, suffered from having a board that had an extra slice through the middle. After the first play, we had a sliver of the board between the standard middle fold of the board and this cut (probably 2-3mm wide)peel off, leaving a noticeable eyesore. My wife contacted Z-Man Games, and Zev (the Z-Man of Z-Man!) contacted her personally to address the issue. Within a few days, we had received a new board. Thank you, Z-Man!



3. Gamewright
Gamewright publishes, among other things, Forbidden Island. If you haven't tried it, please do! Expect a review from us soon. Anyway, upon opening the tin, we found one of the island space tiles, the Whispering Garden, had a tear across it. Since their tiles are prepunched, it likely happened when it was separated from the boardstock, since sometimes the paper top hangs to the sprue. Upon being contacted, Gamewright immediately sent a replacement. I would like to thank Emily, the woman who handled my issue. Thanks!



4. Gary Games
Yesterday, we picked up Ascension: Chronicle of the Godslayer from Gary Games. As with Forbidden Island, definitely expect a review of this game. We found upon opening that we were missing one of the Apprentice cards. These are particularly important because they make up your starting deck. It hasn't yet come up, but that makes it unplayable for four players. It's a bit preemptive for me to discuss their customer service, but I have sent a message to them and am awaiting a reply. I fully believe that they'll do the industry proud and ship out a replacement card soon. Update: Replacement card received, plus a promo! Thank you!



So... that is that. I wanted to thank the customer service people at these companies. Way to go.  So... of all the luck, eh? It is truly bizarre that after buying so many games without issue, that four in a row have either missing or defective parts! Crazy!