Cost: $22.00 From: Western Publishing Players: 3-10 Playing Time: 30-60 minutes Type of game: Party Complexity: 3 Skill level: 8 Reviewed by: Peter Sarrett, Issue 2.2, Winter 1993 NOTE: This game is now out of print.
If you wait around long enough, just about everything goes on sale. Nameburst was one of the highly-touted games of last season. I initially passed it up because of its similarity to a paper-and-pencil game I enjoy called Celebrities, and I saw no reason to shell out cash for a prefabricated variation. Recently, however, Nameburst turned up on the discount shelf at a major retail chain, so I dropped a sawbuck on it and took it home. And, although I still prefer Celebrities, Nameburst does offer a quick, convenient alternative in a nice package.
So what do you get for your money? You get 200 cards with ten celebrity names on each side, a mechanical card viewer, a score pad and score pad holder, a minute timer, and a pair of assignment cards. The name cards and holder use a system that harkens back to games of the sixties and seventies: red cellophane. The names on the cards are printed in blue ink, while a red pattern is printed on top of them so that the names can't be read by the unaided eye without concentration. When inserted into the holder, only one name is visible through the red cellophane window. This may cause some diffculties with older players like my grandparents, who found it very difficult to read the names without bright, direct lighting.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about Nameburst is that, counter to the recent trend of team- based party games, players in Nameburst compete as individuals. Players get a chance to partner with every other player at least once each game. This is deftly handled via the provided assignment cards, which list the pairings according to the number of players in the game. The scorepad holder includes a slot for the appropriate list and a sliding marker to keep track of which pairings have been completed. When the marker reaches the end of the list, the game is over.
The idea of the game, of course, it to guess as many names as possible before time expires. The assignment card always specifies which player gives the clues and which player guesses. The clue-giver can use any form of verbal or physical clue he wishes, subject to the usual restrictions: nothing relating to letters ("The last name starts with B", "The last name has six letters"), no part of the name may be used in the clue, and no direct rhyming clues (ie, "His name rhymes with 'hall'." is illegal, but "His name rhymes with another word for 'corridor'." is perfectly fine). The guesser must say the full name as it is presented on the card in order to get credit. If players get stuck, they may pass once for free; future passes on the same card cost one point each. To move on to the next name, you simply press and release the lever on the side of the card holder. This ratchets the holder up a space, bringing the next name into view.
When time expires both players earn one point for each name correctly guessed, up to a maximum of ten per turn (if all ten names on the card are guessed within the time limit, you can't continue to a new card). Whomever has the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
Pretty straightforward. The game's simplicity is a great deal of its charm, making it easy to teach and dive right into. Nameburst requires no special skills to play-- you don't even need to recognize the names on the cards. Friends took Nameburst home for Christmas to a family woefully deficient in name awareness. That family had a blast with the game, frequently piecing together the names from their component parts rather than identifying them from facts related to the people themselves.
The only problem I found with Nameburst was that some names appear on more than one card. In one session, Fatty Arbuckle came up no less than three separate times. That's absurd. There are far too many famous names out there to justify repeating any. When they come up in the same session, it's both disappointing and unfair.
Otherwise, Nameburst is a simple, fun game anyone can enjoy. It comes in a slick package letting you play with no fuss or muss. If you find it on the discount rack, picking it up should be a no- brainer.