Games By James Review
See the original review on the Games By James website.Many times while working in the store, people would ask if we had a game that might appeal to someone who doesn't particularly care for a certain style of game. For example, "My boyfriend likes games like Risk normally. Do you carry a trivia game I could get him to play with my family and still have a good time?" In the past, not too many choices existed. However, with the recent addition of "Wits & Wagers" to our line up, that has dramatically changed.
For those of you who have read many of my reviews, you know that I am a lot like the aforementioned boyfriend. Trivia games, in particular, remain one of my least favorite games because they are generally unfair. Either you remember the obscure bit of trivia or you don't. Certainly, they can excite a player when he or she remembers the average life span in hours of a common housefly, but if they don't, it becomes a long evening. In light of the fact that some questions in a deck are decidedly easier, fairness also comes into play.
"Wits & Wagers" changes all of that and in the process creates a fantastically fun game that appeals to traditional trivia fans as well as those of us who would rather not spend an evening trying to remember who is buried in Grant's Tomb. Players compete to have the most chips after seven rounds of play. Players earn chips by either correctly answering the question or by correctly wagering on the answers their fellow players give.
Questions run the gamut from pop culture to world history. However, one key thing to remember is that all the answers consist of numbers. For example, you won't be asked what state entered the Union last, but rather in what year did Hawaii and Alaska enter the Union. Since each answer is a number, it instantly lessens the amount of time a player needs to consider the response. In the above example, we know that the answer is a year; so picking a year doesn't require too much time. To speed up players, however, a thirty-second timer is included and recommended for play.Players then write their answers on an erasable white board about the size of the palm of your hand. Once everyone has answered or the time has elapsed, the 'host' places the responses on the board in order from low to high. Then players receive 30 seconds to place wagers on the various answers. Depending on where the responses are in order, they will pay out differing amounts of chips. The host reveals the correct answer and the player who answered closest without going over (just like on the Price is Right) receives ten bonus chips. Those who wagered on that answer receive chips equal to the odds listed on the playing mat. The other chips go back into the bank and play continues until players answer all the questions on a card.
As you might imagine, the timer adds a certain element of urgency to the game and the result it a fast paced game. Each round takes only a couple of minutes, so an entire game should take only about 20 minutes. Since each player answers every question, the common complaint of "He gets all the easy questions" goes by the wayside. Finally, the wagering aspect adds a certain strategy to the game along with an evenly distributed dose of old fashioned luck that is usually missing in most traditional trivia games.
As you might have gathered by now, I enjoyed "Wits & Wagers" tremendously as a fast and light game to play either between heavier games or as a nightcap of gaming fun. Truly, this is a game where winning and losing take a back seat to the gaming experience as players groan over both answers their fellow players give and the fact that they should have wagered on that very answer. Since it takes so little time to play and have a true winner declared, yet remain enjoyable enough to stand up to multiple games, it appeals to a wide range of game players. Few games can bridge the gap between traditional party gamers and traditional strategy gamers, but my money is on "Wits & Wagers" to be a hit with either group at your next gaming party!
—James, on GamesByJames.biz
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