Speechless

Silence is golden. For some, the ability to play a game in almost complete silence might be considered close to heaven. For others the anxiety of drawing and guessing a word or phrase within a short time might be closer to hell. Whichever group you ally yourself with, Speechless can actually cater for both.

Speechless is very similar to Pictionary, but with a number of twists. The principles are the same. It is a team game with as many players as is practicable, in up to four teams. One member is elected the “drawer” for that round. The others need to guess the word or phrase within a given time- just like charades but with a pencil and paper.

Some words will be open for other teams to be involved, allowing the others to take control of the dice should they guess the word correctly. With each successful guess [within the time] that team advances along the board by the roll of the dice. They draw the next card, selecting the next word to be drawn. The team that reaches the finish first is the winner.

Apologies to those who feel that the next couple of paragraphs are almost like going back to school with memories of English language and the differences between verbs and adverbs!

Which? Not the consumer magazine but an adjective. These words are all used to describe another. An example might be “old”.

What? These are nouns and consequently are much simpler. These, more tangible, objects can be visualised and perhaps drawn more easily. An example might be “dog” or “star”.

Do what? This is a phrase combining a verb and a noun. Often this will be a simple sentence such as “Rock the boat”. This phrase could be drawn literally, or the other players might break it down into two other words such as “rock” and “boat”.

Which what? These are phrases that contain an adjective and a noun. Whereas the phrase “flat rock” might be considered easy, “red car” is more challenging especially when you are using only a grey pencil.

Where? These phrases all contain a preposition, describing the position of an object. An example might be “on the roof”.

Do? These words are all verbs [doing words]. These phrases or contain some action that needs to be portrayed. For example “cry” or “run”.

These six categories all have their own colours and will be selected according to the square for the team. However, most squares also have some modulation to these basic word and phrase types.

Free for all. If this square is active then all teams are involved. One player from each team will be selected. All will try to draw the word or phrase simultaneously and the winning team gains control of the dice.

Opposite hand. This certainly is one for the ambidextrous. All words need to be sketched with the non-dominant hand.

All For One. This allows the other teams to benefit if one team is unable to guess correctly. In this situation the active team remains in their position and the others all will advance the roll of the dice if the active team is unsuccessful in guessing the word or phrase in a given time.

Second guess. Everyone has some fun here. One player of the active team will draw. Every other player, including those from opposing teams, will crowd around or guessing at the same time. Whichever team guesses correctly wins the roll of the dice and control of the board.

One or all. With this in play there is complete silence. One sketcher will draw one picture in absolute silence- no one is permitted to make any suggestions. At the end of the time the drawer may pick one teammate who can make a single guess as to the word or phrase. If successful, that team retains control of the dice. If not, then that guesser can select any other player from an opposing team to make a suggestion. If this second guesser is correct, then all other teams will move on the roll of the dice and play will move on.

Half size. Some squares required the teams to use half a sheet of paper. This can limit what may be drawn.

Thoughts

In my family’s opinion, and mine too, Speechless is a vastly superior game to Pictionary. It is our “go to” game for drawing charades. It plays well with four players but with three or four teams [up to 8 players] it really comes into its own. The gameplay ensures plenty of player interaction. No one can be a passenger on this flight.

By alternating who is drawing or guessing, everyone can feel involved. With very little downtime there is always some action. This is enhanced by the numerous “All play variants”. The beauty of this is that it prevents the “runaway leader” situation that might occur in some games. Players who are particularly artistic and able to convey the message can often be assisting the other teams with their drawing talents.

The cards are printed on both sides and colour coded. The font is clear and with captions and subtitles all printed in a simple font. This means there is little confusion as to what might be drawn. We often keep a card up turned to act as an aide memoire to give an example of what might be expected for a “which what” or “do what” for example.

Our version of Speechless has a somewhat curious timer. This is integrated in the plastic card holder and is a track around the cards. A ball bearing is released. This will wind itself down the track to the bottom and as soon as it reaches the base a second ball bearing must be released. Two complete descents of the track should be 60 seconds. This arrangement is a gimmick.

Sometimes the ball will come off the track or on other occasions it may zoom to the bottom with no hindrance- taking less than 10 seconds. In the name of scientific vigour, I conducted an experiment with the ball bearing timer. Over the course of ten rounds the ball bearing reached the bottom in an extremely variable time, anything from 7.3 seconds to 16.0 seconds. Every other time in between also came up with an average of 11 seconds. This renders this timing element of the game a difficult gimmick with so much variability as to be almost useless. Instead, we just use a timer on a phone for consistency!

Speechless provide plenty of fun and laughter. For younger children we adapt the cards to ensure they are only doing the “what” cards [nouns]. This does allow a wider range of family members to participate. Most games will take about 40 minutes depending on the skill of the teams.

Final Thoughts On Speechless

Speechless is an excellent family party game. Charades have been played for decades and Speechless taps into that genre. It does not require clever word play or even artistic skill- only an ability to be on the same wavelength as the drawing player of your team. The variations in player interaction make this an active and enjoyable game, with no dull moments. Whilst we rarely have time to play this type of game, it is one that is suited for playing at family get togethers such as Christmas where all generations could have fun together.

That concludes our thoughts on Speechless. Do you agree? Let us know your thoughts and tag us on social media @zatugames. To buy Speechless today click here!