F%&# Dixit

Don't F%&# Dixit. Go buy Dixit. Do it now, before Christmas.

Dixit is a clever little game that gamers are typically not good at. It's a cross between Apples to Apples and Balderdash. The game is primarily a deck of 84 cards with trippy little art work. Each player is dealt 6 cards, and the player whose turn it is (aka "the Storyteller") must think of a sentence that describes one of his cards. The sentence doesn't actually have to be a sentence, it can be a word, or a sound, anything. Each other player tries to find a card in their hand that fits the sentence, and they give that card to the Storyteller. All the cards are mixed up and layed out. Now each player secretly guesses which card belongs to the storyteller. When everyone has guessed, they reveal their guess and you score, next player becomes the storyteller and you do it again. Here's the rub, the storyteller only gets points if he gets at least one vote for his card, and at least one vote for someone else's card. So he has to vague enough that everyone doesn't guess his card...but not so vague that NO one guesses his card.

It's really fucking hard to be vague, but not too vague:


Dixit is fun. Trying to tie a clue to card can have some humorous results. And a good group can arc the game toward silliness pretty quickly (well, that's what *I* consider a good group). Sometimes the wake for the round is funnier than the round itself! "Why did you pick that one??!?" "Because it's blue, and your clue was cat, and my cat's name is Bluebell!"

At a recent get together, I made my family play it with me and even my mother, who hates games, said she would play it again (although she wouldn't go even an inch out of her way to seek it out).

The players drive the experience, so it's dramatically different from one group/table to another. If you play with your buddies, it's going to be a different experience than with your grandmother.

I can see the game getting a little stale after everyone has seen the 84 cards countless time, so replay-ability might be a problem. It's not that you can't keep playing it, it's just that it would be less fun. But wait! You can just buy Dixit 2! Which is simply 84 new cards to add to, mix with, or replace your original deck.

Thanksfully, I won the first game of Dixit I ever played, which is good, because I may never win again.

7/10, but 10/10 for accessability. Anyone can play this game. It's fun, there's a teeny tiny bit of strategy, and it's FULL of laughs.

TIPS:
*If you can't potentially see another one of your cards fitting your sentence, it might be too descriptive.
*look at the art carefully, there are lots of litter details in there.
*The hardest part of this game (and most time consuming) is thinking up a good sentece, so even when it's not your turn, review your cards and try to think of some.
*Don't play this game with Mike C., his deeply competitive nature would likely find a way to suck the good natured fun out of it.


Now go buy Dixit, and take it to your holiday gatherings and replace that awkward time at your relatives with laughs and jokes.