Balderdash Game
by Mattel
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Our Price: $39.99 Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days Buy Used: from $18.65 (click here) Category: Toy See more product details |
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Toys and Games Reviews of Balderdash Game
Customer Review: An Evening Of Laughs You'll Want to Repeat Again & Again
Summary: 5 Stars
I fell in love with the original version of Balderdash my best friend owned. Everytime we had a family gathering, that game was the one thing we pulled out if things got dull. So when I got the gift for Christmas from my best friend, we cracked it open and broke in the new game. Not only is the new version just as good, if not better, it brings back great memories.
The reason this game rates so high is not only the laugh factor, but also the fact that no matter your age, you can play this with a large group of people from 13-73, and EVERYone has a good time. I find that now most board games date themselves in the way of pop-culture.
This game ranks as my Number#1 all time favorite. I like how I can play this game with my parents, my twenty-something friends, and my siblings. I have yet to meet anyone who did not have a good time playing this classic. No one feels left out for not being up to date on current entertainment news or a certain type of musical genre. It's all based on the definition of a word/person/place/thing - so the possibilities for answers are endless.
In the old version you were given a word and asked to write down your definition (whereas now you get several categories). Then the person reading the word writes down the actual definition on another slip of paper and they all go into one pile. The person who knows the real answer, reads all definitions/answers and everyone votes on which answer they believe is correct. If someone picks your answer you get to move ahead a certain amount of spaces, if you pick someone elses, they also can move ahead one space or more if someone else selected their answer as well.
Everyone can make up funny definitions, serious sounding definitions/explanations, and with the new categories offered with this just released version it expands the game even more.
Although I like Cranium, I still find that Balderdash has been the best I've played and enjoyed the most while playing with a diverse group of friends/family.
You must pick up a copy of this game and invite over a group of friends for a night of stomach cramping laughter! It would definitely be a holiday hit.
Customer Review: Brings Out Your Creative Side
Summary: 4 Stars
Without any flashy rules, game pieces, or pictures, Balderdash still manages to be one of the best board games I've played. Players get creative (and tricky) in answering obscure prompts, and the bluff that convinces the most voters wins. The game says it's for two or more players, but I definitely suggest having at least four players, the more the better to get plenty of variety of answers. Other than that, the fun you can get out of this game is only limited by your and your friends' imaginations, and the prompts in the game do a good job at inspiring some hilarious answers. I've had a great time getting to know just how original and wacky my friends can be by playing this game. If this review were only about the game itself, I would definitely give it five stars. However, my one problem with this product is the excessive packaging that the manufacturer has slapped onto it. The big box is designed to look like it can hold much more than the slim game board, few playing pieces, and deck of cards that it actually comes with, and most of the space in the box is just full of air. You can almost picture the marketing discussion with guys in suits saying something like "Great game, but we could sell it for a much higher price if the box looked like it were big enough to hold the board, sketch pads, pencils, timers, game pieces, playing dough, etc. of Cranium." So in summary, they've killed a few extra trees to get you to pay $25 for some excessive cardboard, but the game itself is fantastic, so go ahead and buy it when there's a (hefty) discount!Customer Review: MASSIVLY improved from the first version
Summary: 5 Stars
I just played the new version for the first time last weekend at a friends. Wo... so much better! Instead of just thinking up definitions for crazy words, you can also think of...
Film Plots: You are given the name of a movie, such as "Hot Under The Collar" and you make up a one sentence plot description.
People: You're given a name, such as "Jennifer Leland" and you makeup why she might be famous. (I don't care for this category too much... too hard to tell from a name what someone might have done.)
Initials: You're given a set of letters, such as D.H.F.C. and then you makeup something it could stand for.
Silly Laws: "In New Jersey it is against the law to bake apple pies..." and then you finish the sentence.
All players hand in their made-up definitions, descriptions, etc to someone who reads them all, along with the REAL one, and everyone tries to guess which one is legitimate.
I would personally disagree with the reviews which say this game isn't meant to be taken seriously, and the idea is to be as silly as possible. I think it's quit fun to try and concoct answers that fool people into guessing that yours is the correct answer. But however you want to pay it, there's no doubt that this is one the all-time great party games, and it's well worth the twenty-five bucks. If you try it and don't have an absolute blast, email me and (depending on my mood) I'll refund your money. :-)
Enjoy!
Customer Review: Bluff away!
Summary: 5 Stars
This game is specially fun in larger groups. It does not make any sense if you play it with only two or three players. But when you go up to 5 or more players, it becomes a lot of fun. There are five categories of questions (words, names, initials, laws, and movies). Each card contains a word, a name, an initial, a law, and a movie title on one side, and correct answers as to what those words mean on the other. Your job is to read one card (one person per round does this; that person does not write their own answer down). And then others try to compose their own version of the correct answer by bluffing. At the end of each round, persons who guess/write the real answer and whose answer gets picked by others get points. You don't learn much from this game though since the words and persons and laws are pretty ridiculous and non-usable for day to day conversation/knowledge. They are just trivia of some sort. But the game pushes you to be creative, funny, and outrageous, and that can be a lot of fun! The game is also quite appropriate for all ages; I enjoy playing it with the entire family including grandma and grandpa. All in all, a must-play and one of the funnest board games of all times in my opinion. The game, however, does require reading and writing minimally in each round and it can have a slower pace compared to other board games out there. So, if patience (waiting for everyone to submit their written answer) or writing is not your thing, you may find this game a bit dull.Customer Review: Tremendous! Super! Awesome! Fun!
Summary: 5 Stars
The original Balderdash game challenged players to make up definitions to a given osbcure word, and then try to guess which was the actual definition of the word to move along the board. Sounds a bit complicated but after a couple of rounds the game has everyone splitting their sides from laughter - since many of the definitions actual meanings are stranger than their fictional ones.
With the new version of the game (aka Beyond Balderdash) there are 5 categories on every card, which expands the gameplay and switches it up a bit, albeit it also limits how many times you can play before running into doubles more often that you would with the original game.
A general breakdown of what you have to bluff in each category:
Movies - make up the plot to a given title
People - explain what accomplishment the person has achieved
Initials - devise a clever acronym
Laws - what does this one mean?
Words - the classic Balderdash standby.
My only other complaints with the game are you run out of answer slips quite quickly (thank god for the refill pack I got) and you need a lot of people to make the game interesting...at the very least you need four, but the more the better. I'd say 5-8 is a nice number. This is a great game for the whole family - I've been playing it since I was 8 or 9 and have only gotten better.