Customer Reviews

Dixit

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

This was the one game I picked up at GenCon this year, and it definitely deserves it's Game of the Year award. (Spiel Des Jahres, 2010)

If you want something to compare it to, I'd liken it most to Apples to Apples.

Reasons it deserves 5 stars:

- It's shockingly easy to learn; new players of most ages understand it instantly

- It's a beer-and-pretzels party game where winning and losing are pretty irrelevant

- Players can jump in or leave at will

- The production quality of the game is high

- It's not terribly expensive

- It can lead to very fun, punchy play

- You can instantly see where expansions could come in without changing the game

- It's really fun for adults and kids alike

The reasons I only gave it 4 stars:

- It takes 4 players to play the game, below that doesn't make sense

- There isn't a whole lot of strategy, so it doesn't have years of replay value

- If you are extremely literal, the game is hard to get your head around

This is simply a great game. The play is incredibly easy to learn and there is almost no setup time. All players get a few cards and they take turns giving clues. On your turn, you give a clue to one of your cards that is neither too specific nor too vague. Once you give a clue, the other players pick a card from their hand that they think most closely fits your clue. You take all the cards, shuffle them up, and then lay them face down on the table. A player gets points whenever someone picks their card. The only exception is if you are the clue-giver and everyone picks your card, in which case you get zero points. That's why you want your clue to be good, but not perfect. The fun and the difficulty lie in figuring out the perfect clue for each card and that will change every time you play. Some kind of timing device would be useful, though there's not one included in the game.

Last note, the current Amazon price for this game is $75 from an external site. Though it is a great game, that's way too much to pay. I bought it from Amazon a few months ago at 1/3 that price. It may be high priced because it's sold out. If that's the case, let's hope the game gets a reprinting because it would be a shame if more people weren't able to play.

I am a fourth grade teacher and I use a lot of educational games in my classroom. In fact, I teach classes throughout the year on games teachers can use to spice up their lessons and increase student interest in what they are teaching. Dixit was a game that was offered to me at a discount because a local game store (CR Toys) had used it as a Demo and they marked it 60% off the MSRP.

At any rate, it sat at the bottom of my class games pile for quite awhile until I decided to just step up and use it. In my class, we always start with me giving the students a demonstration of how to play the game and then I have a few students play with me while the others watch and, together, we learn by doing.

In the beginning, the students seemed to not like the game. The basic rule of how to play seemed a bit strange to them and they had a hard time latching onto the idea. However, as the game rolled on, everyone was enjoying the game and realized how much fun it truly is. It is the first game students want to play during indoor recess now or if they finish work early.

The game comes with 84 large cards. Each card has a beautiful, bizzare, interesting, amazing, or simple painting by artist Marie Cardouat. Each player gets six cards and one player begins as the "storyteller". What the storyteller does is creates a sentence, phrase, title, sound effect, word, etc. to go with ONE of the images in their hand. For example, I might look at one of my cards and think "Aesop's Fractured Fables". I then pull that card out without showing anyone. Everyone else looks at their cards and tries to pick an image that closely matches what the storyteller said and gives that card to the storyteller (without anyone, including the storyteller) seeing.

The storyteller shuffles the cards and flips them face up on the table. Each person (except the storyteller) secretly votes on which image they think belongs to the storyteller. If EVERYBODY or NOBODY votes for the storytellers image, then everyone moves 2 spaces except the storyteller, who does not move. However, if at Least 1 person votes for the storytellers card (but not everyone) then the storyteller gets to move 3 spaces as does everyone who picked the correct card.

In addition, each player gets to move one bonus space for every player who picked their image (except for the storyteller). The first player to reach 30 points on the board, wins. Once the round is over, The storyteller then becomes the person to the right.

In my class, this game has really picked up steam and the students have learned to not be too obvious or to impossible in the sentences they create. I see they offer an expansion pack of images for this game. I will have to pick that up soon - this game is well worth the price and would be worth it for any classroom or family!

I played Dixit for the first time this month at a board game meetup. It has a deck of picture cards with surreal images on them and a rather odd game board with bunny playing pieces. The bunnies' movement around the board serves as a way of keeping track of the players' scores. Up to 6 players take turns playing the storyteller. On your turn you choose a picture card from your hand and state a word or phrase that describes some aspect of it. Each player then chooses one of their picture cards that comes close to your descriptive phrase. All pictures are shown face up, and every player has to vote on which card is the storyteller's. Don't be too cryptic or too obvious when you think of your descriptive phrase. You only get points if your able to fool some of the other players but not all of them.

It's a very good game and a lot of fun to play. You can catch on to it quickly. It was a good challenge to my intellect trying think of just the right way to describe the images. Age 8 and up can play Dixit. It would be great for stretching little minds and getting them to think abstractly. It could even improve a child's vocabulary given enough time playing it with adults.

This game has won rave reviews and at $35 I expected a lot. It is on the order of Apples to Apples, but better. It is fun for kids; my 10 year olds like it a lot. (They like Apples to Apples a lot). Needs something more to make it more interesting for adults. The art and subjects on the cards are pretty and thought provoking. I don't think it's worth $35.

Got this game on the recommendation of a friend, and they were spot on - it's a very creative game, and can be flexed in a number of ways by the participants which is something I always look for in a game; that is, that they can be used in other additionally creative ways than the makers intended. I've already used it as part of a team-building exercise to foster cultural awareness as well as just having some good-hearted fun, and it was quite successful. Plus, the images are great, ranging from quite beautiful to quite disturbing.

As soon as I read the description of Dixit and saw samples of the artwork I knew I'd like this game. (Note: You can see up close photos of the board and many of the cards at boardgamegeek.) My expectations were proven correct. It's easily one of my favorites now that I've played it.

As others have noted, Dixit is a little similar to Apples to Apples. Apples might appeal to a broader audience because it's more accessible and obvious. But make no mistake, Dixit is far better. Assuming you're familiar with the rules of both, here's why:

1. Whereas Apples forces you to work within the confines of the words provided, Dixit asks you to come up with something, a word, a sound or sentence, that hints at the image. This is what makes the game cerebral or emotional and most definitely creative. Dixit will work parts of your brain that don't always get used that often.

2. Every player is more involved in the creative process. In Apples each player takes turn being the judge who then decides who wins the round. In Dixit the player playing their card attempts to win points by coming up with an appropriate word, sound or phrase that gets some votes, but not all. In each round every player is participating (they have to pick a card of their own to play, just like in Apples) and judging whereas in Apples once you've laid down your card it's all on the judge.

3. Dixit allows people of all ages and abilities to participate and even win. I played this in a group of six ranging in ages from 13 to 74 and there was only about a six point spread between the lowest and highest scores. It's a game that rewards all kinds of creativity and knowledge, regardless of age. The reason Dixit works here and Apples doesn't goes back to #1.

There are a couple of drawbacks. One, there is more downtime compared to Apples when a player is deciding what card to play and what to say about that card. If the person doesn't have a creative bone in their body then this might bog down quite a bit. Two, if you like this game you're going to go through the cards pretty fast. The cards can be used several times, make no mistake. But I think after about 15 or so plays you'll want to move on and get Dixit 2. How many plays it works will depend on how often you play. Since I loved the game I bought Dixit 2 without hesitation . . . I'm just crossing my fingers that they'll be a Dixit 3, 4, etc.

I bring this game out at almost any party, but especially those where people don't know each other well. Those new to the game are often skeptical, but they end up being the biggest fans by the end.

The mood and style of play changes depending on the group playing. One amazing plus: You can play this game no matter what language you speak, as long as the players can communicate with one another.

The illustrations are delightful. If playing with a group for the first time, plan on extra time being spent by people admiring the cards.

We're hardcore gamers. My wife and I own well over 500 board games, and most are Euro games. That said, we also REALLY enjoy party games that will be fun for our non hardcore gamer friends. This game fits the bill.

The rules are easy, and anyone from my parents (non-gamers) to my gamer friends have picked them up easily.

My only concern is with replayability. Once you've seen all the cards a few times, it loses some of its lustre. I think that can be easily fixed by adding Dixit 2 Expansion, but I'm not sure that I'm excited to have to do that.

The artwork is fantastic, and surprising considering the price of the game. There are some rules issues that will make it annoying to play with people who are absolutely insistent on winning. If you want to push the limits of the rules, it is easy to do so. However, if you can keep the spirit of the game in mind, it will really remain pretty fun.

Few games can capture your imagination and creativity as Dixit. Here's how we play:

(actual rules can be found here: [...])

- Everyone gets some cards with beautiful paintings on them. (the art is really quite extraordinary for a game)

- Someone selects a secret card in their hand and then comes up with a short phrase to abstractly describe it.

----- They want to choose something so that some people will pick their card, but not everybody

----- example: They have a picture of a man walking up stairs. They say "Highway to Heaven."

- Everyone else secretly picks a card that they hope people will pick with the phrase

----- example: Abby chooses (from her hand) a picture of clouds, Betty chooses a picture of an angel, Charlie chooses a picture of a harp

- Everyone's chosen cards are shuffled together and then layed out.

- Each person (except the person who chose the phrase and original card) tries to pick the original card chosen for the phrase.

----- example: Abby and Charlie thinks the angel is the right card, Betty thinks the man walking up the stairs is the correct card

- Now the original card is revealed and points are scored. You get points for having your card chosen. If it's your turn (the person who chooses the phrase), you don't get any points if everyone or nobody chose your cards.

The game cards are quite durable. I'd feel safe with them in a 10 year old's hands and up. It is possible to tear the cards or the game board (especially in a wicked fit of anger), so I'd keep them away from overly-childish children (or adults).

It's rare that I've played a party game as good as Dixit. I'd highly recommend that you check it out.