Smart Ass Box-01360 Board Game

Product Information

Smart Ass is certainly a good addition to our selection of general knowledge games though. And it seems that 13 year olds aren’t too old for a bit of a laugh at calling someone a “Smart Ass”! Should no one guess the answer correctly, the reader gets to roll the number die and move their playing piece the corresponding number of spaces. As the game has an age of 12 and over and involves trivia and humor, it is suited for parties. One other aspect of the game is the fact that it is suitable for up to 8 players, which makes it perfect for party situations. More recent versions of the game come in travel-size tins, which are great for taking out and about, but only contain 55 cards, so after a few games you may remember the dates. That limits replayability, but you can mix and match different sets (each of which have different themes, such as inventions or British history) to increase complexity, and older versions of the games have more cards.

The problem with some trivia games is that if one player is an expert on a topic and those questions come up, they may stroll to an easy victory. Shot in the Dark levels the playing field by asking niche questions like “What percentage of a Greggs sausage roll is pork?” or “What was the most valuable sports team in the world in 2018?” The board game does a good job recreating the four rounds of the TV show. It can feel a bit clunky to play the first few times as each round is very different, but it should get easier the more you play. There’s even a little trophy for the winner to hold at the end of the game. Similar to Shot in the Dark, Wits & Wagers levels the playing field by asking niche questions with specific answers such as “In inches, how tall is the Oscar statuette?” or “In years and days, for how long did Franklin D. Roosevelt serve as US president?”The wider range of challenges means Cranium should appeal to a more diverse playgroup than just the trivia experts. The original game skews a little older due to the difficulty of the challenges, but there are family-friendly versions of the game for young ones. Colourbrain A family-friendly quiz where every answer is a colour Players answer using multicoloured cards in Colourbrain. Once someone gets the right answer that player (the one who got it right) rolls the Jumbo Movement Die and it tells them how many places to move their playing piece around the board. As the game only takes 30 minutes to play, it keeps players entertained for just the right length of time. Who’s it best suited for? Sometimes, two players answer the questions at the same time. Then honesty by players is needed in determining who gets the correct answer out first and the decision is adjudicated by the person who asked the question.

In Smart Ass the aim of the game is to be first around the board working out Who Am I? What Am I? or Where Am I? The first player to reach the end is the ultimate Smart Ass. It’s visually pleasing, with lots of tokens and chips to play with, and the base game contains over 500 questions, meaning it should last a long time before you have to repeat any cards. It’s an exciting game that encourages creativity, and is perfect for the type of person who loves memorising movie quotes. By its nature, the game skews towards film buffs (it even comes in a VHS box) - so if your friends don’t watch many movies, they may not have much fun.

Game Play

The first player to reach The End space wins the game. You do not have to reach the final space by exact count. The orange player was the first to reach the end space. They have won the game.

This casino-style mechanic adds a fun element, as you try to work out who knows the most about a topic. One potential gripe is that the questions are very America-centric, so if you have no idea about US sports or culture you’ll be making more blind guesses than educated ones. Smart Ass is all about showing off if you know the answer. Or even if you just think you do. It’s perfectly acceptable to shout out the answer and totally goes against the way that some kids feel that it’s not right to be seen to be smart. How to play Smart Ass Each player chooses a stand and a playing piece, and assembles it. Place your playing piece on the Start space.It is a game that enables all of the players to shout the answers out and that is why it is suited for parties and large groups. Skill – Complexity A starting player is now chosen and he rolls the category die (colored die). Usually, the oldest smart ass player is chosen to be the reader of the first question. The player who won the round can roll now the numbered die and moves his token according to the number rolled.

When you land on this space, you will skip the next round. If you would have been a guesser, you cannot submit an answer. If you would have been the reader, the player to your left becomes the reader for the next round.

Special Squares

Only the player that landed on the space gets to try and answer the question. If they answer the question correctly, they will roll the number die and move the corresponding number of spaces. For the first question the player landing on the Hard Ass space has to correctly answer that Mr. Kilimanjaro is the highest mountain in Africa. If they answer correctly they will get to roll the number die and move the corresponding number of spaces. This leads to some interesting tactical decisions. Do you wait to hear all four questions to work out the connection, or do you take a stab after two or three questions in the hope of guessing the link before the other players? You can only make one guess - if you’re wrong, you might help an opponent solve the link.