Friday, July 16, 2010

Wits and Wagers

Wits and WagersI seem to get a lot of game review requests which is okay by me. We love a good game and I'm perfectly happy to spend an hour or two of summer vacation with the kids trying to determine if we like a particular game or not.

Wits and Wagers is as simple a game as you can get--there are about 1000 questions on cards and one player reads the question which always has a numerical answer (i.e. "How many vehicles are there in California?" or "How many Americans are colorblind?" or "How many Weasley kids were there?"). All the other players write down their best guess, the guesses are placed in order, lowest to highest, and then everyone has a chance to put their game piece on the answer they think is closest without going over.

You get points for guessing well and the first person to 15 points wins. Could not be easier.

I liked it because it was interesting (I'm a trivia junkie. Completely.) and it was easy for everyone to play, even younger children. Their guesses might be way off but when they see where the group is voting it's easy for them to make a good stab at the correct answer. Besides, most of the time you're completely guessing anyway. The questions inspire fun conversation and usually a laugh or two and, for me, that's what makes a great a success.

There are a few questions that are too easy (hearken back to that Weasley question for example all you Harry Potter people) but that tends to level the playing field and let those who may be way behind to catch up. Assuming, of course, that they know that there are three teaspoons in a tablespoon or nine people on a baseball team. If not, then they're still out of luck.

Anyway, good game and fun to play. The kids have made multiple requests to play it since its arrival and so far I haven't got tired of it. Kind of reminds me of Apples to Apples if you liked that one (we did). With one month left of school break we'll be playing it a bit.

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4 comments:

Patricia L said...

Sounds like fun. We love Apples to Apples. I've been thinking about looking into those UBuild board games I've been seeing commercials for-- UBuild Connect 4 looks like it could be fun.

Maddy said...

Anything that's not 'electronics' gets my vote and no mistake. Meanwhile I have to tax my memory bank trying to figure out how to use my new pasta attachments - anything to avoid turning on the oven.

Melissa said...

I haven't seen or heard of this game before, but I think it would be lots of fun for my 4 and 7-year-olds! Thanks for the review!

Daisy said...

I like to use an Estimation Line-up with my students. It works the same way. Ask a question with a numerical answer, line the kids up in order, have them discuss their predictions with a small group or partner. Then either the teacher reveals the answer or the kids do an experiment or research to find it.

One of my favorites: how many drops of water can you fit on a penny? Then we define surface tension and then they try it!