It’s a Bird! … A Plane? … A Moniker!

Hey Gamers! The Week 3 Challenge for the Tabletop Writers Diversity Initiative is a Game Review! I have a bunch of reviews I’m still working on, but for this I wanted to cover one of (if not my #1) favorite quick and crazy party game, Monikers, in a short and sweet review. If you like this game too, let me know! If you’ve never played it, check out the review and see if the game might be for you!

Happy Gaming~

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What Is It & Who Is It For?

A fast-paced, humorous party game played in teams where players take turns giving clues to get their teammates to guess various words, phrases, and people. In the first round players can say whatever they want, except for the words being guessed, the second round must be 1-word clues, and the final round is all charades and sounds only. The game is based off the public domain game Celebrity and shares similarities with Password and Time’s Up as well. The game plays pretty quickly, and usually gets very silly and exciting as players learn the words and try to think of the best clues to give.

I’d recommend this to anyone who likes clue-giving and can think on their feet, as well as those who enjoy charades for that final round. The different sets have all kinds of cards, but in general I’d recommend this to ages 17+ just because there are some cards that may not be appropriate for younger kids.

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PROS

• Silly and funny – a lot of laughs to be had
• Easy rules, anyone can pick it up
• Everyone playing gets to select some of the cards used in each game, which is a fun start and gives everyone a little prior knowledge going into the game
• Cards have descriptions for the words to be guessed so even if you don’t know what something is, you can read the description to your team to get them to guess
• There are a bunch of different sets, all with the same back, so you can mix and match cards for plenty of variety. Plus, even the base set has a ton of cards, so as long as you aren’t playing it constantly, there’s still variety and you won’t get too used to the cards
• Each round feels different and fresh as you adjust to the new rules
• You can develop a lot of in-jokes throughout the rounds with those playing, which leads to more hilarity

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CONS

• Isn’t the best with odd numbered groups, more players on a team means more minds working together to guess, so they have a bit of an advantage
• Not totally family friendly. Younger games could easily pick up on the rules, but I’d recommend going through the deck first and taking out some select cards if you did want to play with a younger audience
• Have to be in the right mindset / with the right people for it to be great. If you’re not looking for a laugh, or have someone who just hates charades, it’s going to bring down the game for everyone
• Some of the cards (the people in particular) are really hard to charade, which can lead to a longer and sometimes frustrating third round.

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Final Thoughts

Monikers is one of those games that I love to pull out whenever I can. I have had so many fun plays that, while developing into bouts of laughter, never devolve into less of a game. I never really get sick of playing, and have introduced a bunch of friends to it, who also really enjoy it every time. It’s a great party game that tests your trivia knowledge a little bit, your clue-giving skills, and of course your acting abilities. If you’re looking for a perfect party game to add to your collection, I can’t recommend this one enough!

My Final Rating: 10/10