****** - Verified Buyer
4.5
Without any flashy rules, game pieces, or pictures, Balderdash still manages to be one of the best board games I've played. Players get creative (and tricky) in answering obscure prompts, and the bluff that convinces the most voters wins. The game says it's for two or more players, but I definitely suggest having at least four players, the more the better to get plenty of variety of answers. Other than that, the fun you can get out of this game is only limited by your and your friends' imaginations, and the prompts in the game do a good job at inspiring some hilarious answers. I've had a great time getting to know just how original and wacky my friends can be by playing this game. If this review were only about the game itself, I would definitely give it five stars. However, my one problem with this product is the excessive packaging that the manufacturer has slapped onto it. The big box is designed to look like it can hold much more than the slim game board, few playing pieces, and deck of cards that it actually comes with, and most of the space in the box is just full of air. You can almost picture the marketing discussion with guys in suits saying something like "Great game, but we could sell it for a much higher price if the box looked like it were big enough to hold the board, sketch pads, pencils, timers, game pieces, playing dough, etc. of Cranium." So in summary, they've killed a few extra trees to get you to pay $25 for some excessive cardboard, but the game itself is fantastic, so go ahead and buy it when there's a (hefty) discount!
