Trivia games often hamper the players by placing on them the burdensome restriction of providing the one correct answer. I mean, when you ask a person a question and on that question rests the outcome of their entire social life (at least for that evening) then requiring that they can only say one answer aloud to the judge is cruel. It violates our human instinct to spout out whatever comes to mind given a completely arbitrary question.
Fortunately, Gamewright has brought the world the tiny (yet mighty) party game: That’s It.
This is a guessing game, similar in some ways to Scattergories or other trivia/word-guess games. The game comes with a box of 200 cards. Each card comes with 6 questions. The card reader reads the first question and then all the other players start shouting answers. For example, “Something that people hang up.” Responses will come fast and furious: painting, pants, criminals, flags. When someone yells the answer printed on the card (in this case shirt) then the reader yells That’s It! And awards the correct guesser with a chip. The reader then reads the rest of the questions. The sixth question is worth 2 chips.
The chips add a twist to the game. They range in value from 1 to 5 but are kept face down on the table. When the reader awards a chip he or she doesn’t know what value the winning player receives. Chips remain face down until the end of the round so no one knows how much they have until the end. If you have 2 chips you are likely to win but it is not assured. You could have two chips each worth one point while your neighbor has a single chip worth five points.
It is also possible that no one gets the “right” answer. Once the flurry of initial guesses dies down (the game suggests giving the players about 30 seconds) the reader can jump on any period of silence to end the round. If that happens, the reader collects a token. This might seem rife for cheating but it’s a party game and if you have to cheat to enjoy a party game then you probably hired the people to attend your party.
The game is loud and fast and funny. the answers might not seem especially fair but that’s hardly the point. There is Major Fun to be had just in screaming your guesses at your friends and then arguing about who said the most ridiculous thing.
3+ players, ages 10+
That’s It was created by Roland Tesh, Garrett Donner, and Michael Steer. (C) 2013 by Gamewright.