The Bottom Line
Smarty Party is a wonderful trivia game, a new experience for experienced trivia game players that can also appeal to those whose brains aren't packed with minutiae.
Pros
- Don't need to know a lot of trivia to play.
- Gives everyone a chance to win.
- Unique scoring mechanism.
Cons
- Some categories are too vague.
Description
- For 3 to 8 players, ages 10 and up.
- Designed by Pitt Crandlemire and Aaron Weissblum.
- Published by R&R Games.
- Features 200 lists on 100 double-sided cards.
- About 45 minutes per game.
Guide Review - Smarty Party
In Smarty Party, one player reads and others answer questions with multiple answers. For example, a category may call for players to name U.S. states bordering the Mississippi River. Or John Grisham and Tom Clancy novels made into films. Most of the categories are such that a player who doesn't know an answer can at least take a guess.
Each time a player gives an incorrect answer, he takes a penalty chip. The first chip in a round is worth -3 points, then -2, -2, and several -1 chips. The last player to get an answer correct (before all answers are given or all penalty chips are distributed) gets a +1 bonus (and is given the cool plastic "smarty pants" included with the game.
This scoring system, the fact that the reader is the player in last place, and the reader's ability to choose who answers first, almost guarantees that every game will be close. Smarty Party is terrific fun, one of the best trivia games ever designed. I have great fun playing it every time.
