When it comes to “Junior” or “Family” versions of games I usually feel that a game loses a little of the magic or gets watered down to make it age appropriate for the younger set, but I really enjoyed the family version of Wits & Wagers!  I thought the changes the folks at North Star Games made to the original game were well thought out and the game doesn’t lose any of it’s magic.

Just as in Wits & Wagers (read that review here), Wits & Wagers Family starts each round with a question where all of the answers will be numbers.  Each player writes down their best guess and then all of the answers cards are organized in a row from lowest to highest.  Simple enough.  Then players each take their two “Meeples” (people shaped movers, see above) and they place the large one and their small one on the answers they think are correct.  Just as in original Wits & Wagers, you can vote for your own but sometimes it’s best to look to someone who has more knowledge regarding the question and vote for their answer.  Once all of the votes are cast, the answer is read and the winning answer is the one that is closest without going over.  Players with a large Meeple on the correct answer get two points, whereas the small Meeple is worth one.  An additional point is awarded to the player who wrote down the correct answer as well.  Points are tallied on the wipe off scoreboard.

Overall, I thought their use of “Meeples” was a really clever way of omitting the not-so-kid-friendly betting tokens.  It’s also great for people who aren’t real gamers or are intimidated by the betting and odds aspect of Wits & Wagers.  My only concern with the game is that some of the questions were a little too easy.  (We all knew there were 8 crayons in the first box of Crayolas.)  I know I said something similar about Take 5, so it might be that my brain is filled with too much useless knowledge because of excessive game playing and trivia writing, which is distinctly possible.  But there is an easy solution if you agree with me, grab the box of cards from Wits & Wagers and just omit any inappropriate ones.  Otherwise, just skip the easy ones in the Family version; there are plenty of fun and interesting random tidbits within the cards.

Wits & Wagers Family Stats:

$15 to $20 at Amazon, Toys R Us, Barnes & Noble,  AreYouGame.com
3 -10 players
15-20 minutes
Ages 8 and up

Since I just got back from a trip to beautiful Las Vegas, it seems like a great time to review a game with a gambling theme.  I’m talking about Wits & Wagers!

North Star Games was nice enough to send me a copy to review which I was thrilled about since it’s been on my “to buy and try” list for a very long time.  Truthfully, I’m not a big gambler; in fact I lost $4.52 in Vegas.  (I was playing the penny slots…but that’s 452 pennies!!  Thank god I don’t bet dollars!)

But enough about my issues, let’s talk about the game.  I loved it!  It’s trivia meets gambling and the best thing is you really don’t have to know much trivia to win.  Here’s the scoop.  Every round starts with a trivia question being read.  Each player (or team) scrawls an answer on their card.  Answers are always numbers their easily organized on the nice fabric mat in numerical order and then people place their bets.  The numbers that are at the extremes – the highest and the lowest – pay out at the highest odds, whereas the numbers in the middle of the pack will only pay out 2-1 or 3-1.  Regardless, you’re looking for the number closest to the correct answer.

Betting is really interesting in this game because numbers closer to the middle seem to indicate that they’re a safe bet, but  you also want to pay attention to who wrote the answer.  For example, one of the questions is “The record time for the Daytona 500 car race was set in 1980.  In miles per hour, what was the winner’s average speed?”  I’m probably not going to go with my sister’s answer because she doesn’t know much about cars.  Years ago she thought the coolant tank was where the windshield washer fluid went in her car, so of course I’d be much more likely to go with a gear-head friend who has a vague idea of what the answer might be.  And if the question was “In what year was the first G.I Joe action figure sold?” I’d go with my friend Scott because he probably has enough G.I. Joes to give one to each citizen of Rhode Island.  However, if it’s something that is completely off everyone’s radar like “How many feet of wire are in a flattened Slinky?” it may be time to rely on what ends up near the center of the board – or go for the big score if I think it’s one of the more extreme answers and worth higher odds.

In Wits & Wagers, all answers are closest without going over so it has a little bit of that classic Price is Right feel that we all love.  The only thing I didn’t like is that I have to get a big group of people together to play it.  While you can play it with 4 players, it is so much more fun when you have closer to 6 or 7 and it can be played with up to 20.

Overall Wits & Wagers is a trivia game that you really don’t need to be that great at trivia for.  It helps if you know your opponents but if you were a rock star at multiple-choice tests back in school, you’re golden.

Wits & Wagers Stats:
~$24-$30 at Target, Borders and Amazon.com
4-20 Players
~ 25 Minutes
Ages 8 and up