Telestrations – New Favorite Party Game

After just 1 play, Telestrations became mom’s favorite party game.

Do we really need to say anything else?

We’ve mentioned Telestrations in some of our recent posts because it’s such a great game for family get-togethers (Top 11 Games for Family Gatherings, Thanksgiving = Fun Board Games, 2013 Board Game Gift Guide). But now it’s time to give it a full party game review.

And we’ve got a special treat this time around – the whole family’s involved in the video review of Telestrations.

Can the whole family enjoy Telestrations?

The suggested ages on the game box say 13+. But we don’t agree. Younger players can definitely join in the fun – the only caveat being that they should be able to read. And of course, kids also love to draw, so why not let them join in the fun?

In fact, we think the most fun with Telestrations is when kids are playing along adults. Having kids in the game definitely adds to the funny iterations of the drawings and guesses along the way.

 

How to play Telestrations

Telestrations is quite simple to play – as you can see in the video review. But if you didn’t take a few minutes to watch the video review, here’s the low-down.

Telestrations is like a game of “telephone” – the game where someone would whisper something into a person’s ear, who would in turn whisper into the next person’s ear, and so on through the group. The last person would say what they heard out loud and see how it compares to the original thing said.

But instead of whispering words, Telestrations alternates between writing a word (or two) and drawing that word. All players start with a spiral bound booklet and draw a card with 12 words on it (6 on “This Side” and 6 on “That Side”). Players choose which side to use and roll a die to see which word to use. Then each player writes the word in the front of the booklet and the drawing begins.

Play alternates between drawing and guessing the drawing. After each sketch or guess, players flip one page in the booklet and pass it on to the next player. Then everyone takes the booklet in front of them flips back one page to see the previous player’s sketch or guess. If it’s a sketch, that player then guesses what it is. If it’s a guess, that player then draws it out.

It keeps going like this until everyone gets his or her original booklet back. Then one person will go first to flip through and show everyone what evolved.

 

Why we love Telestrations

Because it’s lots of fun!
The biggest reason of all is that Telestrations is simply fun. From the very first play of the game we were busting a gut laughing. We had a full group of 12 people playing, with a mix of adults and kids, and when it came time to reveal the iterations it was a hoot.

Telestrations became the hit game, mom announced that it’s her new favorite party game, and dad’s brother and his wife immediately wanted a copy (and they don’t play many games).

We also love the booklets and dry erase markers for play. With as much as Telestrations will be played, using paper to play would be ridiculous. The only way to go is with dry erase markers. And the flip-board / spiral bound booklet is awesome. It makes it so easy to keep the previous drawings and guesses secret as play moves along. Every booklet has it’s own colored spiral which make them easy to tell apart as well.

Another thing we love is that the play in Telestraions is all simultaneous. Players are active the entire time writing and drawing. There’s no down-time while players or teams sit and wait their turn. The only time players take turns is in the end when the sequences of drawings and guesses are revealed. And everyone’s involved then as well because they’re all anxious to see what the word really was and how it evolves. And when it goes off course, everyone’s cracking up as well.

 

The more the merrier

Telestrations is a game where having more people play makes the game a lot more fun. The reason is pretty simple – the more people playing means the words can go a lot more off course. And that’s where the most laughter comes.

The basic game comes with 8 booklets – thus up to 8 players. But the Telestrations Party Pack has 12 booklets! For just $10 more than the basic game, we think it’s a no brainer to go with the Party Pack.

You many not think it’s much, but having room to add 4 more players is fantastic. You can always play with less than 12 – but if you go with just the basic game, you may be left wishing for a bit more.

 

Don’t Keep Score

The Telestrations rules do describe how to keep score, but we’ve ignored that right from the beginning. Nobody cares about keeping score in this game. That’s not what it’s about. It’s all about just having fun and laughing at the changes a word goes through from start to finish.

If scores would even be mentioned, we’re sure that person would be scorned from playing. Don’t even try to keep score. Just have a blast!

 

How does Telestrations score on the “Let’s Play Again” game meter?

As you can imagine, Telestrations scores very high on our “let’s play again” game meter. It’s such a fun game to play and so simple too, it will definitely get a lot of plays. And after playing, it’s so easy to play again straight away. Just erase the dry erase marks and deal out new words.

Thanks USAopoly for mom’s new favorite party game – Telestrations!

The Board Game Family Game Ratings
	Caleb
	Brooke
	Jaden
	Trevor
	Mom
	Dad
	Average