TechGearLab

A silly game of drawing and guessing, Telestrations was a favorite for relaxed nights with big groups of friends. Our testers laughed harder than they have in a while playing this game. Each player has a sketchbook with eight pages. Everyone is assigned or gets to choose a secret code word. Each player alternates drawing and guessing the code words, only seeing what the player before them drew or wrote. The reveals of how each word changes through the round will have you cracking up non-stop at some creative and impressive art and some silly and hilarious guesses. While the game is more about fun than winning, we like that the rules include two scoring systems: one that prioritizes fun and laughs and one that rewards accurate drawing and good guesses.
This game works with 4 or 5 players, but we found it much more fun in groups of at least 6, where the whole room can fill up with laughter. Telestrations is not what you want for a strategic night of gaming &mdash;  you have to be in the right mood for it. Although there are scores and a winner, it's best to go into this game without competitiveness. As the rules say: if you had fun, then you won.

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If you haven't heard of this game already, let us introduce you to one of the most popular adult card games, Cards Against Humanity. This game will be an instant hit if irreverent humor fits your friend group. Setup and explaining the rules take only a couple of minutes at most, and within a single round, players are fully locked in and "get it." Gameplay revolves around a prompt card. Each player supplies their own anonymous response card, aiming to get the judge of the round to pick their card by using shocking hilarity, cleverness, or both. This game paved the way for the array of NSFW &#40;Not Safe For Work&#41; adult games on the market, like an inappropriate grandfather, cranked up to 11.
However, Cards Against Humanity is not for everyone. This game offers heaps of vulgarity and swear words, which can be unabashedly offensive to many who don't appreciate this kind of humor. If shocking indecency doesn't make you laugh, steer clear of this game. Know your audience, as there's no way to filter this polarizing game. The other drawback is that once you've played through all the cards, the game's entertainment drops sharply. Luckily, CAH has 600 cards in the starter deck and a whopping 28 expansion packs available. They aren't free, but they do extend the life of this game. Regardless, the first time you play will be memorable &#40;for better or worse&#41;. 

expert-review

Cards Against Humanity Review

The chances are that Boss Monster will conjure nostalgic feelings if you grew up with a video game console in the 1990s. The gameplay imitates a scrolling 2-D video game while you build your dungeon as an end boss. We like the role reversal of playing the bad guy &#40;cue Billie Eilish&#41;, creating a lair of traps and monsters to ensure the demise of the "heroes." This game is an outstanding balance of just enough luck of the draw to keep gameplay strategies fresh without falling into pure chance. We also appreciate that the game is complex enough to allow everyone's approach to evolve as they play the game more. 
We admit that not everyone will fall for this game's aesthetic, and the steep learning curve and long setup time will likely be dissuading for some. The instruction booklet has 21 pages &#40;granted, the pages are small, but still&#41;. Though it will take time to read through and comprehend these directions, they are a thorough and helpful resource. The instructions also provide a link to an online how-to video, but we didn't find it very useful. Lastly, not everyone is looking for complexity, and Boss Monster feels more like a board &#40;or video&#41; game than most card games. However, we think you'll be thoroughly entertained with this unique game if the look and description are enough to draw you in.

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