Sounds Fishy: The Fast-Thinking, Bluffing Family Board Game for Kids 10+ and Adults | Best New Board Games | Same Game, Smaller Box

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Learn to Play: This takes 1 minute to learn. This is a really simple game to learn, and you will fully understand it after just one turn. Win points by spotting the fake answers invented by others but watch out for the real answer- flip it over too soon and lose all your points.

And we much prefer making up crazy answers to these trivia types of questions than obscure word definitions. Some sample questions. So if you have the Blue Kipper, you want to give the correct answer in such a way that the Guesser thinks it might be fake. And if you have a Red Herring, you want to deliver your answer like it’s the real thing. Which players gave fake answers? Those are the fish you want to flip. Scoring in Sounds Fishy varies for each of the three roles. When playing as the guesser, players will score a point for every correctly guessed Red Herring. They’ll also win a bonus if they correctly identify everyone, without falling prey to the True Blue Kipper. But be warned, if the guesser calls the Kipper out as a Red Herring, they lose everything. Red Herrings will score one point for every flipped fish on the table, including the Kipper. Players will take a look at their fish without letting the guesser know who they are. Just like that the game is set and you’re ready to move onto gameplay. Gameplay Accordingly, it's quirky and has plenty of character. There's no confusion about what you have to do during a match either, so even board game novices are unlikely to feel lost.Overall, Sounds Fishy is a fun, simple party game that even those who don’t like bluffing games in our family enjoy playing. The point tokens have cool fishy symbols on them. Once all players have given their answer, the Guesser starts flipping over fish – trying to eliminate the fake answers. The fun and hilarity in this game comes from the crazy answers people give and you are 100% sure they are lying only to be told it is the truth. People can really try to put you off by seeming unsure when they give an answer or look ‘shifty’ all with the aim of throwing the guesser off the scent. Seeing Red The guesser will gain 1 point for each red herring they flip plus 1 additional point if they guess all of the red herrings (hence only the true blue answer is left). However, the guesser will lose all of their points if they flip the true blue too early. The red herring players will receive 1 point for every flipped fish on the table if their fish remains unflipped. The true blue kipper will receive 1 point for every unflipped fish on the table if their fish is flipped. Sustainable Gaming

To start a game you take the true blue fish plus a number of red herrings so there are one less fish than players. Fish are randomly allocated to all players (except the guesser) and players secretly look at their fish to determine if they need to tell the truth (true blue) or a lie (red herring). Players keep their fish with the shiny side face down. You'll also have a good time battling each other for points. The process of trying to weed out fibs from fact is engaging enough to keep you invested, and the same is true of those attempting to stay under the radar. Keeping players off your scent as a True Blue Kipper is an equally usual challenge; be too obvious and the jig is up, losing you the advantage. Like many games, Sounds Fishy tasks you with building up points - but it does that in a unique way (Image credit: Future) Then play passes to the next player to be the Guesser for the next round. The fish are again randomly dealt out face down and the new Guesser starts out with the next card in the card holder.The questions are mostly so bizarre that we’re genuinely curious to just keep rattling through more of them. And since the game comes with 220 question cards, there’s plenty of fun to go. I say “most everyone” because it requires bluffing. And we know not everyone enjoys games with a bluffing element (including a couple in our family). The recommended age is also 10+ and we think that’s a solid point of reference as well. It is worth pointing out at this time this is a party game and although the game is great at four players the fun only increases the closer you get to the maximum player count of ten.

The game reminds us a lot of Balderdash and Beyond Balderdash, where players make up answers to factoids. That’s because of course, the questions have a hint of silliness to them in most occasions, so providing a slightly absurd answer is often within the theming, where hilarity then ensues. It’s easy to panic and struggle to provide an answer, but even some of those are labelled ‘that sounds so ridiculous, it might even be true’, meaning you’ll sometimes risk it for a biscuit on an entirely obscure answer. We giggled our way through the style of answer one player consistently gave, only to assume red herring – where miraculously, it was the one time she played blue. We questioned whether answers were based on video games, news pieces, strange stories, when they were true. We asked why in the world you answered that, debriefed the why’s afterwards, and found the game facilitated our fun perfectly. Sounds Fishy reels you in with a great premise, but it doesn't always catch you - it needs just a little more substance to become a favorite in the long-term.I played Sounds Fishy with different groups of varying sizes, and made sure I played each of its roles to get a better idea of what they were like. If you have the Blue Kipper and it gets flipped, you get 1 point for every unflipped fish on the table. If you remain unflipped, you get 0 points. It's always an excellent service with brilliant products at a very competitive price - will use again!

Sounds Fishy isn't about always knowing the right answer — it's about being able to spot the fake ones. It's like a mix between The Chameleon and Balderdash. This game includes some lovely points tokens which look great on the table. Points are allocated to the guesser as well as the red herrings and true blue kipper depending on how well the round played out. The same can't be said for Sounds Fishy. Actually, there's a danger of learning the answers to each question if you overplay it. That means it has a more limited shelf-life. Whoever has the True Blue Kipper has to try and get caught as soon as possible (Image credit: Future)Play continues until everyone has been the Guesser either 1 or 2 times (depending on the number of players). Then players total their points and the player with the most points wins. Sounds Fishy isn’t about always knowing the right answer — it’s about being able to spot the fake ones. It’s like a mix between The Chameleon and Balderdash.