Wise and Otherwise

I adore this game. We have played with multiple groups. As with any game, the people really make it great or not. But this game gives you many chances and choices to make it into a hilarious evening. Each card has about 6 half phrases. Like: In ancient Egypt, there is was a saying, "A water bucket will...." Everyone has to finish the saying. We always have endless rib-tickling endings. Then the reader reads each of the endings and each individual has to decide which ending is correct. If a player guesses the right one, he gets points. If someone chooses a made up phrase ending, the player who wrote the false phrase gets points.We laugh so hard at the wild ideas and funny sayings that people create.Our nine year old kept up with the adults and had his saying chosen many times. If a child can read and write, then the sky is the limit.

Gave this as a gift and it was a hit with my friend and her family. Players, however, have to be in love with language and the fun of figuring out how to use is to fool someone into thinking what has been written came from a person familiar with a culture. I tried it with another set of friends who were non-pluses while my sisters and I laugh until we cry. The box of quote is huge. We’ve been playing our game regularly for several years and still haven’t duplicated a quote. Game play is simple and paced by the players. We four usually spend 45-60 min. on a game; longer if visiting and laughing a lot. 4 to 6 players is perfect. More is possible but too long and fewer isn’t as much fun. The cards, read by a “Reader”, contain half of a saying from a culture on one side and the correct end of the saying On the reverse. The rbest Adler readstbe dirar half and the remaking players write down what they think is a good ending. The written papers are passed to the reader who mixes them up and then reads them back to the participants along with the correct answer from the back of the game card. Each player guesses which answer he/she thinks is correct. The reader writes down the cites on the piece of paper submitted by the writer. The writer gets points for every person who votes for thei answer and for choosing the correct answer. If no one guesses the right answer the reader gets two points. Votes are tabulated on a game board and each person hasn’t a game piece the is moved along the board. Play begins with a roll of a die. The person with the highest number 1-6 becomes the reader and play moves person to person to the left. An example of play is as follows.The reader reads from the card “There is an olde Italian saying. “A family without pasta is like”... Then each player writes down what she/he thinks will be a good and winning ending and passes it to the reader. For example. “a horse without grain”.

Wise and Otherwise is similar to and more cerebral than Balderdash. You will finish proverbs, and try to get others to pick yours over the actual one. Great with large and medium party groups.PositivesWise and Otherwise is a great, somewhat more cerebral version of Balderdash that allows each player to flex their inner prose/poetry ability. It's also not so bookish that someone turned off by fancy phrasing would be left behind, because some of the actual proverbs are surprisingly simple and to the point.With a good mix of players and perspectives, you'll get a big range of completed proverbs, ranging from Confucius worthy to a simple phrase that fools everyone. If you can't think of anything, you can also create something ridiculous to make it impossible for the reader to read without laughing. We've had a lot of fun playing this in several different family or friends groups, including several international groups. The proverbs come from cultures all over the world, and are often interesting and spark further conversation.Of all of our party games, we have probably played Wise and Otherwise the most. It's always a fun game to play through. We still have a collection of all the completed proverbs through 35 or so games. It's fun to remember some of the ridiculous things that people have come up with.NegativesThe game can sometimes lend itself to players taking long turns while trying to think of something witty, slowing gameplay down. There's always that one linguist who demands "There is no way that is a proverb!?"Final ThoughtsThis isn't something you'll play every night, but it stays fresh every time you come back to it. We've played 35-45 games so far and aren't close to going through all the cards. However, if you're good at creating proverbs, be prepared for spans of waiting for others to finish up with theirs. If you're the one who is slow, you may get frustrated and start writing stuff down just to complete the round. The game has a simple dedicated theme, but is great especially in creative groups.Note: full review of this game, including gameplay descriptions, bad puns, and a lot more pictures available at playbegins.com

Great group game! Our family (adults mostly) played it multiple times, although we never used the actual game board, which is mainly for scoring--we just kept track of our own points. Not using the game board meant more than the allotted number could play easily, and after a while, sometimes we forgot to keep score because it was so much fun. Even our non-game-players (every family has one!) played and enjoyed it. We paired up children ages 5 to 9 with adult partners and that worked well. I don't think they could have played in a big group as independent players; a little too much synthesis of information required. But they enjoyed being part of it. "What good is wisdom....when the butter doesn't stick to the bread." Now who would guess that answer? Only one of the fifteen people in our group! I gave it fewer stars for educational value because that's not really the point of it. But it's great group fun. If you have ever played the Dictionary game, this is similar, but a little more humorous.