Wise and Otherwise
by WISE AND OTHERWISE
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Product Summary
Manufacturer: WISE AND OTHERWISEBrand: WISE AND OTHERWISE
Toys and Games Reviews of Wise and Otherwise
Customer Review: Reasonably fun but not one of my favorites...
Summary: 3 Stars
At a recent family gathering, I played my first game of "Wise and Otherwise." I was told that it was similar to Balderdash, an accurate assessment. Rather than making up creative definitions for unknown words as in Balderdash, Wise and Otherwise requires players to complete unfamiliar expressions from many different cultures around the world. The first part of the expression is given on the card, and each player writes down their best guess as to how it might end. Then, like Balderdash, players listen to all of the possible endings (including the correct one from the back of the card) and try to pick the right one. Points are awarded for guessing correctly and also for each made-up answer that is selected by another player as the right one.
I prefer this game over Balderdash because it didn't seem as tiresome. After just a few rounds of Balderdash, I'm tired of making up fake definitions. But finishing expressions was actually a lot of fun, and because each expression lends itself to different possibilities, my creative juices didn't run dry so quickly. I was also impressed that everyone (including a few elementary-aged kids) seemed to be able to offer reasonable responses, and the final score was quite competitive between all players.
Having acknowledged some strengths of the game, I just wasn't very engaged in the game, for reasons still somewhat unclear to me. One thing that was disappointing to me was that some of the expressions made absolutely no sense. I kept wondering about the origin and context of the expressions, but such information is not provided. I really like to learn interesting information when I play games, and I felt like the lack of explanation left me unsatisfied.
I enjoyed the game and won't protest if an opportunity arises to play again sometime. But the next time we're trying to decide what game to play, I'll probably suggest something else.
Description of Wise and Otherwise
In Wise and Otherwise there are 2,500 wise, funny and unusual old sayings from around the world, and more than a few possible endings! During play the first part of an actual but little known old saying is read aloud. Then, with a little wit and imagination each player writes an ending to go with the beginning. The made-up sayings are read aloud along with the actual old sayings, and everyone tries to guess the real one. You'll get points when other players think your ending is the real one, and points for guessing the real old saying.
Contents of Wise and Otherwise:
- Gameboard
- 2,500 sayings on 500 cards
- Writing pads
- 6 pencils
- 1 six-sided die
- 6 player pawns
- Instructions
Voted a Best Party Game of the Year by Games magazine, Wise and Otherwise belongs next to Pictionary and Scrabble in your arsenal of fun. This creative, interactive game (read: everybody shouting, flailing, laughing) revolves around 500 cards, each emblazoned with five obscure and long-forgotten sayings from around the world. For example, one old Chinese saying is, "Don't add salt to a boatload of salt fish." One side of the card states, "Don't add salt to..." and it is the job of the players to devise probable endings. "Don't add salt to salty soup," for example. Or, "Don't add salt to the open wound." (The actual endings are listed on the flip sides of the cards.) A player wins points when other players vote for his or her special ending, or when the player guesses the actual ending, so the goal is to finish the proverb as convincingly as possible given the geographic region in question. Each elegant box contains one game board, 500 cards, six writing pads, six pencils, one die, and six player pawns. People who love language, oddly hilarious translations, offbeat proverbs, or just making people look foolish by guessing their very clever answers will adore this game. We predict: The one who plays this game ... will hear the laughter.
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