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If you’re after another word-based party/group game, then look no further...Word Slam is back, this time with the Word Slam Midnight Edition. If you’ve played either the original Word Slam or the family edition from Kosmos, you’ll be familiar with the rules. This edition, however, is aimed at those over 18.
If you haven’t played any of the Word Slam series, chances are you’ve played something with a similar feel. Think Articulate or Charades, but instead of speaking or actions to communicate, you must use cards with words on them. As with many of these party style games, the fun comes in the frenzy, as you frantically race to decipher the clues before you. So grab your teammates and prepare for silliness.
Set-Up
Perfect for party-style set-up, Word Slam Midnight takes just a few minutes to get ready. First divide your party into two teams, Orange and Blue. It doesn’t matter if one team is larger than the other, though for fairness I personally try to keep teams as even as possible. Each team then takes their Story Words card deck and decides upon their first ‘storyteller’.
For introductory games, it’s advised that you start with the 10 green answer cards. Don’t forget to set out one extra card at the end, as this will be necessary to decide which word you are describing on your final Answer Card.
*Beware of the Rulebook here! In the set-up, there appears to be an error, where the rules instruct you to have an extra Story word card. This needs to be an answer card, and though with a second read-through it’s easy enough to decipher, at first glance I was left confused.*
Playing the Game
Now you have your Storytellers and Story Word cards, your opposing teams will race to describe the word on the Answer card. Both teams are attempting to guess the same word at the same time, however, you must only look at the clues on your team’s side of the table. BUT the rules state that listening to the other team’s guesses is encouraged and may help your team figure out the clues.
This rule led me to believe that perhaps the two decks may be slightly different. Not so different, as to cause an unfair advantage to one team, but just to add a little variety and to make listening to the other team a viable strategy, as they may perhaps have a clue that your team didn’t have access to. Alas, this is not the case and both decks are the same. Once one team has correctly guessed the word, the Storyteller changes and you move on to the next Answer card and word! The team with the most correct guesses at the end wins!
Different Ways of Playing
Though this game is clearly designed for larger groups of people the rules do include a three-player variant. It’s also the kind of game that is open to house rules. Once you’ve got the gist
of the rules, it’s pretty easy to shift the game slightly according to your preferences, for example, you can add timers for more difficulty, veto’s words that you decide are too difficult or even create your own variants for lower player counts. I enjoy having flexibility in this type of game, and I think it really benefits the style of play.
Adult Content
As stated by the designers, this game is aimed at those above 18. The words that need to be described in the Midnight edition are certainly not for children’s eyes. And I kind of wish they weren’t for mine either. Words seem to have been added purely for shock value, and whilst I was hoping for more complex ideas or subjects that wouldn’t be understood by younger players, I was offered words such as ‘Sexy Arse’ and ‘Date Rape’.
To my mind, this style of humour is outdated, and I think I would enjoy the family edition of trying to convey the word Banana with the limited Story Cards, rather than ‘Syphilis’ and ‘Tourette’s’. Perhaps it’s the sort of shock humour that you and your friends love, and if you enjoy games like Cards Against Humanity this could be a great fit. However, personally, this is not my type of thing.
My Thoughts
Honestly, the premise of Word Slam Midnight really spoke to me. I love language and trying to communicate with my teammates with certain parameters. I think the pressure and stress can cause some hilarious effects. But for some reason, this one just doesn’t quite strike that chord with me. Perhaps it’s because as the Storyteller you must remain silent so miss out on some of the frenzies, or that lots of the people I play games with speak English as a second language and some of the words “humour” were lost in translation.
I think the idea of the game has merit and could be good fun with the right crowd. But that crowd doesn’t include me. I’ll most likely stick to the family-friendly versions of this game, or other wordy favourites like Anomia and Articulate.