Customer Reviews

The Joke Game

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

 

 

I played this game over the holidays with some friends. It's from the same company that makes Words of Wiz Dumb and The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Game. Unlike those two games, this one did not go over as well. The box says ages 16 and up, and I think that's appropriate. There are jokes with sexual innuendo and ethnic references, so those who are offended by those will probably not like this game. The concept itself is okay.

Basically, you write down the punch line to a joke. The person whose turn it is picks his or her favorite, and the person who wrote it advances on the board. You also move on the board if you should happen to know the correct punch line to the joke, but trust me, that won't happen often. There's one category based on making up your own joke with no actual punch line given. One joke was "What's the worst job for a blind person?" I wrote down "being Stevie Wonder's chauffeur." I should have written "proofreader" which is my occupation, by the way.

The president of the company that makes this game e-mailed me and said this game will not be published anymore. My gaming group is pretty open minded and aren't members of the Holy Name Society, so we weren't offended by any of the material. You can get as downright raunchy or funny as you want, but this game is NOT for little kids or people easily offended. For more family oriented game similar to this, get Words of Wiz Dumb or the New Yorker Cartoon Caption Game, both made by the same company (All Things Equal).

The truth is, to write good, witty, funny jokes is very hard to do! This game assumes people can come up with creative, funny answers over the course of a 45 minute game and maintain interest and humor for everyone. It certainly didn't work for us.

Don't buy this game if you don't find humor in off-color jokes, harsh putdowns about husbands and wives, constant sex-topics, and jokes that are intentionally demeaning to various ethnic groups. You'll find most of the jokes are in those categories.

We tried to play this game twice. Each time with a different couple. One couple lasted 15 minutes and then refused to put up with it. Even Jay Leno's one liners are better, more creative and funny. It's a great idea, but I suggest to not play this game unless there has been a lot of drinking going on so you don't really have any worthwhile judgment or sense of humor. Then you'll laugh yourselves silly.

But, that's my take. Anyone else ever try this game? I'd like to read your review!

-A Minnesotan who loves to laugh.

The joke cards are filled with outdated trivia, corny jokes, poor grammar, and 90% sex related content. It's more enjoyable if you're consuming alcoholic beverages.

We bought this game thinking that it was The New Yorker Cartoon Caption Game, which is another fun game. When it is your turn, you roll the dice to advance. You are given the written start of a joke, and everyone writes the punchline. The person whose turn it is decides whose joke was funniest, and that person moves ahead. Also, anyone who matches the game's punchline moves ahead. You have all the time you need to come up with a joke, and write it down.

This Joke Game itself is enjoyable (hearing the jokes, creating a joke) and this de-emphasizes the "winning" aspect. The use of dice means that everyone moves ahead, and the difficulty of writing a joke is surprisingly random from day to day. Coming up with something is fairly easy and non-threatening for everyone who tries. In three ways this Joke game is better than the New York game: (1) there is no convoluted method to hide "who said what", (2) you are given sufficient time to think through what you want to say, and (3) very little waiting around, which is a downright pleasure.

A word of warning, though, is in order. Some of the jokes are not suitable for young children (e.g., "What did the man with five penises say to the waitress?"). This is easy enough to fix. If you don't like a joke, skip it! Ta, da! Problem solved.

This is a fun game for teens and adults, very low stress (surprisingly so) and enjoyable.

The product came before it was scheduled to and in great condition. The jokes, however, were very adult and definitely for a mature group which the description never specified. I was a little surprised at the content of some of the jokes. It was still a good product, just needed more specific description.