I played Apples to Apples MOD (a slim travel edition) during vacation, and the cards were awful: a lot of celebrities and pop culture references that were completely lost on our group. (Hence, "MOD".) So far, the kids edition is the best one we've played, with the most cards for the most people. Obviously, Mattel was aiming for people who'd want cards like "Megan Fox" and ""Neil Patrick Harris", but games like this need to be a bit more timeless, rather than trendy and easily dated.
It reminded me of a Trivia Pursuit 1980s Edition. It may just be the haze of memory, but it seemed like every other answer was either "Michael Dukakis" or "Condoms". It became a running joke. Need a wedge? Just answer "Michael Dukakis" or "Condoms".
There also simply aren't enough cards, so they repeat very quickly. Plus, the cards are a bit too small.
On the positive side, the new dice mechanic for Apples to Apples MOD is pretty decent, as long as people remember they can make up their own adjectives. The system uses a multi-sided die imprinted with 26 letters and an apple icon. There are two cards with an alphabetical selection of words on each side, offering 4 possible adjectives for each letter of the alphabet. The judge rolls the die to select a letter, and then chooses an adjective beginning with that letter. He can use the cards, or make up his own adjective beginning with that letter. This word becomes the "green card" for that game.
It doesn't seem like Amazon even carries it, so it may already be out of print. I picked mine up at Target for $10. It won't be coming out again.
It reminded me of a Trivia Pursuit 1980s Edition. It may just be the haze of memory, but it seemed like every other answer was either "Michael Dukakis" or "Condoms". It became a running joke. Need a wedge? Just answer "Michael Dukakis" or "Condoms".
There also simply aren't enough cards, so they repeat very quickly. Plus, the cards are a bit too small.
On the positive side, the new dice mechanic for Apples to Apples MOD is pretty decent, as long as people remember they can make up their own adjectives. The system uses a multi-sided die imprinted with 26 letters and an apple icon. There are two cards with an alphabetical selection of words on each side, offering 4 possible adjectives for each letter of the alphabet. The judge rolls the die to select a letter, and then chooses an adjective beginning with that letter. He can use the cards, or make up his own adjective beginning with that letter. This word becomes the "green card" for that game.
It doesn't seem like Amazon even carries it, so it may already be out of print. I picked mine up at Target for $10. It won't be coming out again.
On the other hand, my friends and I remember the wedge for the Trivial Pursuit original edition as being "Spiro Agnew." Also the TP original deeply favored anyone with a working knowledge of Latin (science category). Good times.
ReplyDeleteYes! I remember way too many Spiro Agnew answers.
ReplyDeleteWith this Apples to Apples, the Neil Patrick Harris card kept popping up. Could they find someone more nondescript? When do you throw down a Neil Patrick Harris? On "bland"?