Telestrations Party Guessing Game (age 12+) Sent by Asmodee

Telestrations is the latest game sent to us by Asmodee, the independent games specialist, for review. This will be somewhat familiar to most people, as it's a relative of Chinese whispers, or the telephone game - but with added drawings. It's instant play, no complicated rules, and it's definitely good for a laugh. Suitable for 4-8 players aged 12+...

Inside the box is everything you'll need for up to 8 players. 8 x dry-wipe booklets, 8 x dry wipe pens, 8 x cloths, 60 second sand timer, dice and instructions. The dry-wipe booklets are really nicely made and work incredibly well in practice. 

There are also gameplay cards with over 1,700 different words or phrases. It'll keep you going for a good while before you get a repeat - and amusingly they are double-sided, with This Side, and That Side. Each round everyone takes a card and one player throws the dice to decide which number word you'll all use.  

The cards are stored in a cute little cardboard box, which hides all of the words from view. It's a nice touch and the game overall has very little plastic. The storage box does contain a blown plastic insert though - it would be nice to see this changed, although it's obviously not single-use. 

Gameplay is really incredibly simple: Sketch - Pass - Guess. The first player writes the word(s) on the card, turns the page and passes to the next. The 2nd looks and then draws what they read. Pass the book along, and the next player writes what they see. Play continues alternating between words and images until you receive your own book back. 

Obviously any hope of actually ending up with the same result at the beginning and end is unlikely. Each turn is set to a timer, so you do have to rush, but the artwork can still be exceptional. It can also be hilarious, completely wrong or so accurate you wonder what other hidden talents people have... 

The age range is about right. Obviously sometimes the urge to draw something risque is there, but we could keep it clean and our 10 and 12 year olds were about on a par. There isn't any sort of score. Telestrations isn't a game which needs a winner, it's all in the taking part - although you could easily decide on winning conditions if you did want to make it competitive. Mostly though it's just 20 minutes or more laughing at each other's drawings and trying to work out how the other player's brains work... Loads of fun. 

Telestrations is distributed by Asmodee, and available now. Rrp £24.99 from all good independent games stockists, instore and online, including Amazon. Affiliate link below:

We were sent our copy of Telestrations for review, as members of the Blogger Boardgame Club. Amazon links are affiliate, which means I get a thank you of a few pence if you buy through my link, but you never pay any more.