One of these days, someone will figure out how to make a how-well-do-you-know-your-friends type of game that isn't just a fun activity, but also a good game. Most efforts in this area, like Scruples and True Colors, may be enjoyable ways to pass time but have game mechanisms or scoring systems which just don't work competitively. Some would say that such games aren't about competition at all, so who cares? I'm not claiming they need to be Diplomacy, but if a game goes to the trouble of including competitive elements, those elements should work. They should add to the experience rather than detract from it. Which I think establishes the groundwork for this review of Bet-A-Fact, a product which fails as a game but succeeds wonderfully as a pasttime.
There are books out there which talk about the game industry, packaging, printing, graphic design, etc. Apparently, the makers of Bet-A-Fact never read any of them. This game does everything wrong— kids, don't try this at home. It starts with the box, a powerful argument for a desktop publishing counter-revolution. Things inside aren't any better. It turns out the game's enormous heft factor is caused almost entirely by its deck of absurdly oversized topic cards. Remember in the 70's when magazines sometimes included flimsy square records inside? Bet-A-Fact's cards are about that size. It wouldn't be so bad if only the vast space was used effectively. Instead, the cards are cluttered with useless repetitive text which obscures the topic, the two or three words which are the whole reason the cards exist. It's not only a collossal waste of paper but a major design faux pas.
Also included are dozens of large plastic poker chips (the cheap kind, alas, not the good ones) in three colors, intended for use in betting during the game. Hold that thought, we'll come back.
Each round is begun by the current player drawing and reading a topic card. All other players write down a true fact about themselves which relates to the topic. Topics range from the ordinary (food) to the interesting (hang ups) to the provocative (love life). Players are free to write fairly mundane, generic facts ("I like food"), but that's not the point of the game. Instead, players are encouraged to dredge up more interesting factoids about themselves. When everyone's done, these facts get tossed together and read aloud. The player who drew the topic card tries to match each fact to the correct person.
Remember those chips (told you I'd be back to them)? Before the facts are read, players can wager on whether or not they think the guesser will match them up correctly. On a correct match, the guesser rakes the wager over to his side. On a wrong match, the guesser has to fork over a like sum.
We went to the trouble of handing out the chips the first time we played (and, considering how many of them there are, it was a fair bit of trouble). We did the betting thing the first couple of times. Then we realized how absurd it was, chucked the chips, and just started enjoying ourselves.
The fun of Bet-A-Fact doesn't come from the wagering. The instructions suggest that the game ends when one person runs out of chips. Which is rather absurd, since anyone could bet their wad at any time, ending the game on a whim. As a game, Bet-A-Fact misses the boat.
But if you leave the chips in the box, Bet-A-Fact is a blast. It's name a game for a small group of people— I think five is probably the minimum— and in fact works well in large groups. Much of the fun comes after the factoids are matched up, when players start explaining the stories behind them. When you the category is "You and your parents" and someone says, "If it weren't for one dissenting doctor, my mother would have died and I'd never have been born," everyone's going to want the details. And that's where this game really shines. Once we put away the chips we wound up having a blast. The evening held a lot of laughter and a lot of interesting stories.
Of course, I'd have a hard time shelling out thirty bucks for Bet-A-Fact when so much of it is superfluous. But it does give you topics, pencils, and lots of paper slips to write on.