Articulate! Review

Reviewed by Alexander Wilde

30 seconds to guess, go!

It’s a board game…. you can play it with anyone, anywhere… fantastic fast paced fun… you use descriptive clues… it’s award winning…

Yes, it’s ARTICULATE!

If you guessed correctly, chances are you may have already played or own the board game featured in my review today. if you’re new to Articulate! then I encourage you to read on to find out more about this superb product by Drumond Park.

The original Articulate! was released in 1992 and consistently features in the yearly charts of Top Ten Board Games. There are four companion products: Articulate! Fame, Articulate! Kids, Articulate! your Life!, and Articulate Phrases!

I first played this game in a group of four adults, the minimum number required, split into two teams. The objective of the game is quite simple – guess what your team mates are describing as quickly as possible. There are 3,000 possible entries to guess, split into six categories – actions, nature, objects, people, random and world.

Preparing to play was extremely straightforward; you set-up the circular board with a spinner in the middle; each team has a playing piece and the 500 cards require no sorting. The rules were easy to understand and game play had begun in less than five minutes.

My team started and I assumed the role of ‘describer’, to my ‘guesser’ partner. Our opposing team took on the role of timekeeper using the included sand timer. Every team starts on an Object segment and I whipped out the front card in the box as soon as my rivals flipped the timer and called “go”. Fortunately, my first object was a ‘ladle’ and the description of “you use it for dishing dishing out soup” was succinct enough for to be guessed immediately. The first card was excitedly tossed to one side and I pulled the next one from the set, again I was required to describe an object. Luckily as well as bearing the initial O for Object, the entries are colour coded – a really useful feature when quickly scanning the card to make sure you are describing the correct item.
On my first turn I successfully described six objects, which I was quite chuffed with, and I throughly enjoyed the sense of urgency playing against the clock; every word you utter is precious time and I loved the challenge of describing an object quickly in as many alternative ways as possible to my partner when she couldn’t guess from my initial clues. You also find yourself gesticulating frantically, much to the delight of the opposing team, when your partner really isn’t getting it. Such pantomime is allowed in the rules, but you are not allowed to use other ‘charade’ type clues, nor can you use part of the word or any derivative, for example I had ‘felt tip pen’ and even though my partner was guessing writing tools, I couldn’t use any part of the word as a clue.

The total number of cards cards correctly guessed translates to spaces moved on the board, you then hand over to the next team and have the pleasure of watching them experience the incredibly enjoyable pressure of describing and guessing, as you keep a sharp eye on the timer ready to yell “stop” when the last grain of sand falls.

There are additional elements to the gameplay involving the Spinner and special Control Segments. Again the rules for using these are clear-cut and enhance the game. There’s a particularly satisfying bonus where you get to decide between advancing your playing piece forward three places or your opponents back.

I can honestly say we were hooked after the first few minutes and the game is likely to be even more enjoyable as the number of players increases. The level of challenge varies greatly across the categories; I found People to be the most taxing. We did have a six year old and eight year old playing nearby and although some of the elements were accessible to them, I would agree the suggested playing age of 12+ is accurate. Both children enjoyed the style of play and I will be looking into purchasing Articulate! Kids. I have read the cards for younger children can be integrated with this version to allow for total cross-generational play.

Overall, playing articulate was a blast! I would highly recommend this game for families, get-togethers and parties. The uncomplicated format and the laugh out loud competitive element make it a must buy.

I score it: number of fingers on one hand, the name of 90s boy band…. plus balls of burning gas in space, twinkle twinkle is a nursery rhyme featuring them… Sorry the game really is addictive.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £24.99

This product is available to buy from most stockists of board games and online.  For more information please see here.