Cost: $26.00 From: Mattel Games, El Segundo CA, 90245 Players: 4-6 Playing Time: 30 minutes Type of game: Family Complexity: 3 Skill level: 7 Reviewed by: Peter Sarrett, Issue 2.2, Winter 1993
Each December, Games Magazine publishes the Games 100-- a list of recommended games and puzzles available that year. For the past three years, they have also distinguished one game as Game of the Year-- not necessarily the best game released that year, but the one the magazine's staff most enjoyed and demanded to play most often. This year that award went to Inklings, Mattel Games' follow up to 1992's commercially disappointing Scrutineyes. I greatly enjoyed the previous two Game of the Year honorees, Trumpet and Pipeline, so it was with eager anticipation that I cracked the shrinkwrap on Inklings.
Opening the Inklings box reveals a bunch of pretty nifty-looking stuff. First, there are the six wipe-off answer boards plus a wipe-off score board. Each answer board has seven lines of spaces in which players will write clues. Next is a box of subject cards, each card with a category and seven subjects on each side. Mattel supplies half a dozen wipe-off markers to go with the answer boards, and of course the obligatory sand timer. But the spiffiest piece of equipment is the display board. As long and wide as the box itself, the blue plastic gizmo has a slot to accomodate one of the answer boards, and seven white doors which flip up to reveal each clue in turn. All in all, pretty cool-looking stuff.
The basic idea of the game is a familiar one-- give clues and guess words, earning points for correct guesses. The twist here is that the shorter your clue, the more points it is worth if correctly guessed. Players divide into two teams, and everyone gets a subject card, answer board, and marker. Each card has a category (e.g. WEEKEND CHORES) and seven answers which fit that category (Mow Lawn, Wash Car, etc.). Now comes the tricky part-- writing clues. Answer boards have one line for each subject on the card. These lines are divided into spaces, and players are allowed to write one letter, number, or symbol per space. When everyone is finished, players take turns presenting their clues.
The cluegiver closes all the display doors and slides his answer board into the display (pictured below). A slot for the subject card is located on the back of the display, giving the cluegiver easy access to the subjects while his teammates view the clues-- a nice touch. When the timer is inverted, the cluegiver's team has forty-five seconds to guess as many of the subjects as possible. The cluegiver opens the first door, which flips up and "snaps" into an open position revealing the first clue. Teammates are free to call out answers until they hit the right one or pass. On a correct answer, the cluegiver closes that door and pulls out the red tab beside it to indicate a correct response. If passed, the clue's door remains open. In either case the next door is flipped open and the process continues. The team can guess at any visible clue at any time.
When time expires the other team gets one-- and only one-- guess at each unanswered clue before scores are tallied. Each line on the answer boards are divided into spaces. The fewer spaces used in a clue, the greater its value (up to five points for a one- or two-letter clue). Each team adds to their score the value of the clues it correctly guessed, and the display passes to the next player. When all players have had a turn as cluegiver, the team with the highest score is the winner.
What I like about this game is that it encourages creativity. It's immensely satisfying to come up with a great one- or two-letter clue. Since you're allowed to use any symbol that appears on a standard keyboard, innovative use of typography can be particularly gratifiying. For example, for a card full of INVENTORS, I gave the two-letter clue ".-" for Samuel Morse (and my teammates guessed it quickly). On the other hand, being too clever can get you into trouble. It's not difficult to come up with a very short clue which seems great to you, but leaves your teammates baffled. Walking that line between cryptic and brilliant is what makes Inklings intriguing.
Unfortunately, Inklings has more than its fair share of problems. First, there are only six answer boards. For a party game, this will frequently be inadequate. The markers aren't merely frustrating-- they stink. In my set, two out of six just wouldn't write on the answer boards, and one more would only do so on alternate Tuesdays if the planets were properly aligned. Frankly, this is inexcusable. A slightly higher grade of marker would have eliminated a major headache. Equipment should facilitate enjoyment, not interfere with it.
Which brings me to the next problem with the game-- the display. The doors are poorly designed. When a door is fully open, it obscures the clue on the line above it. This gets to be a major pain when you're trying to go back and guess the clues you passed on earlier. To make matters even worse, if you try to close a door while the door below it is open, you'll discover that they interfere with each other. Managing the display's idiosyncracies is the last thing you should need to worry about while sand trickles through the timer. I don't know whether to attribute these problems to slipshod playtesting, manufacturing errors, or poor quality control. The display is operable, but using it is another obstacle to overcome on your way to enjoying the game. A real shame.
Finally, one of Inklings' greatest flaws is the length of time required to come up with good clues. Inklings is clearly a party game. A good party game should be easily taught and quickly begun. It can take five minutes or longer for people to be done writing clues. You can't really start playing until everyone's done writing their clues, so some people will wind up sitting around waiting for others to finish. And if you're playing with more than six people, the people without answer boards will be completely idle during the whole process. To be fair, my family and friends didn't complain about this when we played Inklings at Thanksgiving. But your mileage may vary.
I also have a minor quibble with the scoring system. Good one-letter clues are far rarer than two-letter ones, yet they're given equal value. Likewise for three- and four-letter clues. It might be better to award ten points for a one-letter clue and subtract a point for each additional letter up to six, and one point for every two additional letters thereafter.
So. Is Inklings Game of the Year material? I don't think so. Any game suffering from so many problems does not deserve the highest honor Games Magazine can bestow. Still, it is fun, and we enjoyed playing it. As long as you don't mind dealing with its foibles, Inklings should be a pleaser.