Customer Reviews

Words of Wiz-dumb

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Words of Wiz Dumb" shares a similarity to "Things: Humor in a Box", "Wise and Otherwise" and to a lesser extent "Balderdash." Specifically, players are asked to submit answers in response to a card prompt. There are four characters representing four potential types of advice per card. The statement you read or answer-depending on whose turn it is-is determined by the guessing player's spot on the board (players' pawns move along color-coded spaces that correspond to an advice-giving character on the statement cards).

Each card features four statements. Advice givers include "Dear Gabby says..." (an advice columnist), "Mr. Know-it-All says..." (the "expert"), "Mama Says..." (a parental figure) and "Wise Man Says..." (a sage representing ancient wisdom). Each advice statement contains a blank. Players submit responses that complete a statement of advice. There are many laughs to follow upon reading and guessing who wrote what response. Unlike "Balderdash" or "Wise and Otherwise" there is NO right answer. Players ascend the mountain of knowledge illustrated on the game board according to how many statements they correctly match to the player who wrote them.

IMPRESSION

"Words of Wiz Dumb" sounded promising for its ability to deliver laughs; nevertheless, my initial concern was that the cartoon caricatures offering statements of advice would appear too cheesy to appeal to the five adults with whom I initially played the game. Notably, the game leaves out an important category of advice givers: friends and coworkers. On the other hand, it includes a parental figure, which may give the impression that the game is slanted slightly toward a teenage audience. To its credit, however, it didn't include "classmates" as an advice-giving category; clearly, there was no intent by the game's developer to put off adult participants.

PLAYING THE GAME

"Words of Wiz Dumb" delivered even more fun and laughter than expected. The advice has the potential to be as serious or hilarious as the player who completes it. Most players opted to complete the blank in the most humorous way possible. To add a hint of strategy, players also opted to throw off other players' guesses by filling in an answer they believed would be misattributed to someone else. Additionally, "Words of Wiz Dumb" lends itself well to theme-based answers and inside jokes, depending on how players fill in the blanks. Our game produced a number of laughs revolving around answers that involved players' occupations or interests.

Correctly matching answers to players is significantly more challenging than one may at first expect. The game is designed to take roughly 60 minutes, but with six players present and only an average of one correct match per turn, our ascent on the mountain of knowledge slowed to a crawl-despite the fact that our group consisted of folks who are well acquainted. When it became clear after the first hour that the game was not about to end before midnight, we agreed to begin rolling the included die. If a player matched one or more response correctly, he/she was permitted to roll the die ONCE and move forward a corresponding number of spaces in addition to the usual number of advances earned for correctly matching players' answers. This introduced an added element of luck into the game. Introducing "House Rules" also enabled us to fit the remainder of our responses onto our answer sheets before running out of space. More importantly, it permitted us to complete the game before using up the statement cards. (My main complaint in this regard is that the game should have included more scoring sheets and double the amount of statement cards.)

CONCLUSION

I would rate "Words of Wiz Dumb" as a five-star party game but for the fact it does not provide an alternate "fast play" set of rules AND ships with too few statement cards. Still, for game enthusiasts looking for laughs and a unique theme, "Words of Wiz Dumb" can't be beat. This one will definitely come out of the game closet again-but we'll know better than to get a late start!

I got this game based on the review written here. When I brought it to my Wednesday gaming group, it was a SMASH HIT!! Though I had another game scheduled to play, we played this game for the rest of the evening by popular demand. I don't recall that ever happening before. The questions are designed so you can be clever, funny or dowright dirty. We managed to do all three. My gaming group hasn't had this many laughs since I brought Man Bites Dog for them to play. This game definitely will be part of the regular rotation of games I bring to my Wednesday game group.

All Things Equal is the name of the company that makes this game, but it's now out of print. My advice is if you want a good time and laughs at your next game night, GET THIS GAME. I'm also looking into getting Loaded Questions, The Joke Game and The New Yorker Picture Game, also made by this same company.

I was given this game as a gift several Christmases ago and it's been a perennial favorite amongst my assorted groups of friends ever since. The games always go long and even the most reserved among the group are brought out of their shells every time. If you want to spend the evening laughing until you cry, I can't recommend this game enough. I agree with everything NewsView and Mike C said about it. Lots of fun.

this was a gift aswell to someone who enjoys games of this sort.
theyre truly pleased w. it and i couldnt be happier either !