Pyramid Pick: What Were You Thinking?

Pyramid Pick

What Were You Thinking?

Published by Wizards of the Coast

Designed by Richard Garfield

$29.99

Everyone has certain family jobs. One of mine is to bring the party game to the annual 45 person Thanksgiving Day extravaganza at my Aunt Karen's house. It helps if the game is playable by more than ten people, and if it can support players from 10 to 80 years old. That is a tall order. However, Wizards of the Coast's family game What Were You Thinking? fills the bill perfectly.

Quick -- Think of five planets. Now call out to your co-worker, friend, or significant other. Ask them to think of five planets. Now compare your answers. Did you get any the same?* If so, this game may be for you.

It's literally that simple. There is no board. There are no teams. Each turn a single question is asked and, unlike games such as Scattergories, the object here is to get the same answer as other players. One point is scored for every person who gave the same answer as you. If four people in your group answered "Krypton" to the planet question, you each score four points. In another unusual twist, after all answers have been read, the player with the lowest score gets a penalty card. If you manage to earn eight penalty cards -- you are the loser. Everyone else is the winner. After all, the slogan for this game is "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you think the same." WotC had been planning to call this game Hive Mind. Now you know why.

The best things about this . . .

This article originally appeared in the second volume of Pyramid. See the current Pyramid website for more information.



Article publication date: December 3, 1999

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