Game Review: Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is one of those games that reminds you that board games are not just for kids. It's also not a bad way to practice debating, even if what you're debating is ridiculous and often humorous. This game is suitable for all ages and for all levels of imagination. Though, the more creative you are, the more likely you are to win.

How the game works is, you pass out red cards. These cards have nouns on them and they can be anything from "firefighter" or "Michael Jackson" to "playground" or "dance lessons." Then a green card is placed on the table. Green cards have an adjective on it. Based on what it says, you are supposed to pick one of your red cards that is best described by the green card.

A judge is picked at the start of each round. The judge doesn't play that round. His or her job is to judge everyone's picks and choose the best answer. The winner of each round becomes the judge for the next round. When you win a round, you win that green adjective card. At the end of the game, the person with the most green cards wins.

For example, if the green card says "talented" and my red noun cards are "sliced bread," "kitten," "Elton John," and "Abraham Lincoln," I am most likely to pick Elton John as what I think is talented and then argue against others that picked their best card.

The judging is obviously, totally biased. You are appealing to a specific judge for each round. So if you have something you know they love or that will make them laugh, you can use that to sway the vote to you. If you're feeling really silly you can try to argue that sliced bread is talented.

A fun variation of the game involves blindly picking what red card you will have to argue for. This is sure to result in a barrel of laughs as you could inadvertently end up explaining how AIDS is funny. (Though when me and my friends play, no matter who judges, the AIDS card always wins the round. We call it the A-Bomb)

It is a game of creativity and discussion that you can enjoy with many others. It has tons of cards, including extra packs that you can buy separately if you've played so much that you know the cards by memory. But the game is always different depending on who's playing to guarantee consistent fun and laughs.