We have added a $4 set of bicycle poker chips and a small pack of dry erase markers. It makes it to our table as an opener almost every board game night now because of the brevity. It seems our hesitant players are very different. No one was taking the 1:1 spreads nor the 6:1 all bets too high option. Depending on your bets you would already be covering 1/2 the bets in a six player game between your card and tokens.
Having never played Wits & Wagers I appreciated the run through and thoughts. I can see where it would shine, but I think there are plenty of other games that would scratch that itch - something like Balderdash. Another party game we've really been enjoying is Just One - worth checking out if you are looking for more light, party style games.
The problem is you got a cheaply produced Mattel version. Prior to Mattel getting the license, NorthStar made very good production quality versions, which included more questions, eraser-capped markers, heavy plastic player chips to cap thicker cardboard chips, no hedged-betting areas, and in the earliest versions, a neoprene mat. It is a bit sad to see that this new version is so cheap. The leveled playing field is what makes this a go-to casual party game. But that comes with its own fun with strategic players - the group might gravitate to the answers by the resident trivia-master, but the more knowledgeable often would start bluffing knowing they were being followed, or people would answer in ways to hopefully influence the betting value of an answer.
We have added a $4 set of bicycle poker chips and a small pack of dry erase markers. It makes it to our table as an opener almost every board game night now because of the brevity. It seems our hesitant players are very different. No one was taking the 1:1 spreads nor the 6:1 all bets too high option. Depending on your bets you would already be covering 1/2 the bets in a six player game between your card and tokens.
Nice! I suppose $4 is a no-brainer! Did you upgrade the betting tokens in any way?
Having never played Wits & Wagers I appreciated the run through and thoughts. I can see where it would shine, but I think there are plenty of other games that would scratch that itch - something like Balderdash. Another party game we've really been enjoying is Just One - worth checking out if you are looking for more light, party style games.
Very true. I do think the betting aspect (and Vegas theme) in Wits & Wagers is one more hook that helps with appealing to non-gamers, which is a plus.
The problem is you got a cheaply produced Mattel version. Prior to Mattel getting the license, NorthStar made very good production quality versions, which included more questions, eraser-capped markers, heavy plastic player chips to cap thicker cardboard chips, no hedged-betting areas, and in the earliest versions, a neoprene mat. It is a bit sad to see that this new version is so cheap.
The leveled playing field is what makes this a go-to casual party game. But that comes with its own fun with strategic players - the group might gravitate to the answers by the resident trivia-master, but the more knowledgeable often would start bluffing knowing they were being followed, or people would answer in ways to hopefully influence the betting value of an answer.
100%. This Mattel version feels like they cut every single corner to make it as cheaply as possible.
The NorthStar version sounds awesome!