What are the best party card games?

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Dec 8, 2019

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12 Games Considered

Best party card games	Price	# Players	Play Time
-- Dixit	$24.99	3 to 6	30 minutes
-- Codenames	$12.99	2 to 4	15 minutes
-- One Night Ultimate Werewolf	$24.99	3-10	10 minutes
-- Secret Hitler	$35	5 to 10	45 minutes
-- Mysterium	$39.99	2 to 7	42 minutes

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score 8 · Answer 1

Dixit

Top Pro

Game mechanics are simple to explain and easy to learn

The game mechanics are pretty straightforward and easy to understand, even to young children and people who usually don't play board games and the like. This saves everyone the headache of spending half an hour listening to someone explain the rules and still not understanding exactly what's going on when you actually start playing. Experienced players and newbies are practically on the same level when playing a game of Dixit. The basics are easy - the "storyteller" makes up a sentence from one of the cards in hand, each player gives a card that best matches that sentence to the storyteller, and the storyteller shuffles all of the cards and places them face-up. After this the players have to guess which card was the storyteller's. Points are given based on the outcome - if nobody or everybody guessed the card correctly, all players except for the storyteller get 2 points. Otherwise the storyteller and whoever chose the right card score 3. The game ends either when the deck is empty or when a player reaches 30 points. See More

Top Con

Can feel unchallenging and monotonous after some games

Given the simple game mechanics, each game after the first doesn't bring an overwhelmingly new experience, specially after you get to know the cards and/or tend to always play with the same group of people. For this reason, some people start getting bored with the game after a while. However, there are several expansions with new illustrated cards than can be added to the new game, giving it a new face, at least for some time. See More

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Top Pro

Amazing illustrations

For many people, this is the main attraction of this game. The cards are simply beautifully illustrated and going through the deck of cards, even if not playing, is a pleasure. The french illustrator Marie Cardouat deserves all the credit for her work creating these dream-like works of art. See More

Top Con

It's not uncommon for some players to have an unfair disadvantage or feel left out

Given that Dixit relies heavily on how well you know the other players and on experiences and knowledge you share with them, it's fairly common that, in a group of players where there are people that share a close relationship (couples, flatmates, childhood friends... ), those that aren't part of this relation will feel left out and will also be at a disadvantage. See More

Top Pro

The way it requires you to read people’s minds through subtle communication cues is thoroughly enticing and completely unique

Unlike many card and board games, the strategy and competitive component in Dixit is almost nonexistent. In fact, the main focus of the game is in being creative and original and in trying to figure out how the other players connect images, ideas and concepts in their minds: this makes the game much more interesting to play with people that you know well or are in the process of getting close with. See More

Top Pro

Excellent replacement for Apples to Apples for those bored with it

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score 5 · Answer 2

Codenames

Top Pro

Nearly endless replayability

You will almost never play the exact same game twice. You could play this game for years and you'll still have to stop and think of clues to give your operatives or ways to interpret what's been said to you. Codenames comes with 200 double-sided codename cards, of which you use 25 per game. Moreover, there are 40 key cards showing the layout of the agents that can each be orientated in 4 different ways. See More

Top Con

Spy Masters must be kept in check

There are a lot of nuances in the rulebook regarding the responsibilities of the Spy Masters - what kind of clues you can give, how you react, what you say, etc. Of course, there are some variables and flexible rules, but the main gist stays the same. The Spy Master can't show reactions to guesses, be it a nod, a reply, or anything else because this might mislead the operatives or, on the contrary, reveal too much. This can get very difficult in more intense situations, so it's important for the opponents to be on the look out. See More

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Top Pro

Can be played by a lot of players

With an official player count of 2-10 players, there really isn't an upper limit to the number of players that can play Codenames together, which makes Codenames a perfect game for big parties or other events with a lot of people. To play, players divide into two teams with each team having 1 Spy Master who gives clues to the rest of the team. This means that adding more players doesn't change the way the game is played, merely how many people the Spy Masters are giving clues to. See More

Top Con

Not great for small groups

The game really starts to shine from 4 players and more, which can quite often be difficult to assemble. Anything under that doesn't really work. There's a variation for two players that basically makes you work together against an enemy that gets one agent every turn, but this takes away a lot of what makes the game fun in the first place - the competition between teams, the debating, the strategy, etc. Furthermore, the three-player variation is either the same as the two-player variant, albeit a little better because of the debating, or a competition between Spy Masters on who can give the best clues to the operative, which can give that player quite a lot of strain. See More

Top Pro

Players can easily drop in and out of the game

Codenames is a very accessible deduction game, where players guess words based on one clue from the Spy Master. A lot of people have been in the situation where a game is already in progress, but someone shows up and wants to join in - with Codenames this isn't a problem. A player can easily join a team and take part in the debates for the correct guess. There is no plot, no intricate mechanic that needs to be explained to people before they can play. You could even switch the players after every turn, and it wouldn't change the gameplay. See More

Top Con

Requires some higher language comprehension

This wouldn't be the best game to play with people with a limited vocabulary, such as children or non-native speakers. The whole game is based on guessing various words, so players need to be able to understand the words and create associations in order to play. See More

Top Pro

Hilarious

The game can lead to some hilarious moments when either guessing the answer or debating to find it. The key is to understand the Spy Master's thought process, but this is a harder task than it might seem at the start. Since the Spy Master can't speak, the team often miscommunicates, which results in laughter for the other team and some frustration for the guessers, more often than not accompanied with a comment about how bad the Spy Master is. The debating process can be quite funny as well - the operatives might argue about who's right and what the Spy Master might've thought, or be completely confident in their guess and still fail. No matter the outcome, when the game ends the Spy Master can finally vent all of his built-up frustration, which can result in some good laughs too. See More

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score 3 · Answer 3

One Night Ultimate Werewolf

Top Pro

There's an app so no need for a narrator

The app's narrator also explains exactly what each character does which makes it easier for new players. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Gets better with time

As the players learn different strategies to play with different characters the game becomes more and more fun and interesting. See More

Top Pro

Lots of different characters

Characters have different levels of complexity so the game upgrades as you go. See More

Top Pro

Quick rounds

Each round takes 5-10 minutes See More

Top Pro

Has expansion packs

The game has a bunch of expansion packs to add more characters so it doesn't get boring when playing with the same people. See More

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score 5 · Answer 4

Secret Hitler

Top Pro

Good combination of logic and social deduction, with a pinch of randomness

To win Secret Hitler players have to be able to play logically and figure out, using logic and the information they have, how the other players are playing. At the same time, there's a good amount of lying and deception going on, and that social aspect of figuring out who's not being honest meshes well with the logic reasoning. There's also an element of randomness coming from the Laws cards that takes the difficulty of the game up a notch. See More

Top Con

The information distribution between the two teams could be more balanced

The way the game is built, while the Liberals have lots of information to figure out and deduce, the Fascists have access to almost all of it. It is true that, in the "hidden identity" family of games, the general setting is an informed minority VS an uninformed majority, but other games usually integrate something that's hidden from the informed minority, like a one-player team that wins alone or a vigilante that kills bad guys. Something like this is strangely missing from the game. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Clever and interesting take on historical events

This is an historical themed game, and one that took a very smart and creative approach to the historical events it portrays: Hitler's rise to power. Even if, admittedly, the setting is simplistic when compared to true history, most will still learn something from the game or at least feel compelled to do some reading on the subject. See More

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score 3 · Answer 5

Mysterium

Top Pro

A fun way to get to know how people think

Mysterium is a deduction game, which helps to reveal the subtleties of how the other players think. The person playing as the Ghost is not allowed to speak, so the psychic investigators have to try and find any connection between the vision cards they've been handed and the correct choice from a multitude of options. For example, the ghost can give a vision card that has a red river, a clock, and fields of wheat on it. The investigator then has to deduce that the red river represents the ball of red yarn on one of the choices. But there might be red elements on other cards as well. Or the investigator could choose to focus on the clock, or something else that the ghost didn't mean or notice. Getting things wrong might not advance the team of investigators toward victory, but it is balanced by the often comedic misunderstandings between the investigators and the ghost. See More

Top Con

Can get stale if overplayed

Mysterium is built for one story only- finding the culprit of a murderer using visions from a ghost with amnesia. Though there are expansion packs that provide a larger variety of choices, they don't change the story or add any new mechanics. You would have to give plenty of time in between games, in order to keep it from getting repetitive, boring and stale. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Beautiful artwork

An excellent example of the heights this medium has reached. All the components and cards look like miniature paintings that are a joy to observe. See More

Top Con

Takes a lot of time and space to set up

There are many components to this game that need to be set up beforehand. The majority of the table is occupied by the three levels psychics have to advance on. A number of options is laid out for the psychics going from finding the culprit, to room, to murder weapon. The cards are large, so they quickly fill up the space. There is also the cardboard clock that you have to put together each time, and the board that the ghost sits behind. On average, set up can take about 20 minutes, and require a large dining table if you're playing with 6 players. See More

Top Pro

Excellent value for money

You get a lot of high quality components in the box. Various cards, two sets of tokens, sleeves, cardboard templates, a sand timer, and other bits and pieces. The design fits in to the mysterious theme, and nothing looks out of place. This can easily be a game around which you can center an intimate party with friends. See More

Top Pro

Incredibly thematic

All pieces and mechanics of this game work together in favor of a unified theme, and it works really well. The ghost is not allowed to give any verbal or non-verbal clues apart from the intended Dream cards. The psychic investigators have to get in to the mind of the the ghost in order to guess correctly, so it does feel like mind-reading in a sense. The time limit for each turn promotes a feeling of high stakes, and keeps you on edge- as you would be, if you really were in a manor communicating with a ghost. See More

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score 3 · Answer 6

Snake Oil

Top Pro

Creating convincing pitches for ridiculous products rewards creative thinking and often leads to surreal, yet hilarious, situations

Whether they're selling Story Pajamas to the Teacher, a Pocket Toilet to a Couch Potato, or the ever-handy Baby Shield to some Aliens, it is the sales pitches of the players that elevate Snake Oil above similar games like Cards Against Humanity or Apples to Apples. Being able to sell their products gives players ownership of what cards they play and it rewards those who commit to trying to actually match the product to the customer. See More

Top Con

Players need to commit to the concept of making short sales pitches for the game to really shine

If players aren't willing to really try and sell their products the game can quickly grow stale as people simply play cards and hope to get picked. Now use that silver tongue to get out there and sell some Snake Oil! See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Tons of replayability

With 56 possible customer roles and 336 product cards, there's already a large amount of variety built into the game, but the 30 second pitches allow everyone's creativity to keep each game fresh and new. See More

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score 1 · Answer 7

Spyfall 2

Top Pro

An interesting twist on the Mafia game

The spy doesn't try to kill anyone, but to find out where he or she is, and to blend in with others. This allows the spies to be creative in how they ask and answer questions. If they are found out, they lose and the round ends. If they can guess the correct location first, then they win, and the round ends. See More

Top Con

Not suitable for people who dislike roleplaying

People who are not very playful or don't like role-playing might find the game to be dull, or to make it less fun for other players. Role-playing is an important element in Spyfall, because most of the fun happens when you see unexpected interactions between players in different occupations. If winning is more important than the fun along the way, this game might not be for you. See More

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Top Pro

Allows for really big parties (12 players max)

For each location there are 10 occupation cards and two spy cards, allowing it to be played by 12 players. In contrast, the original Spyfall game has 7 occupations and 1 spy card per location. See More

Top Con

Too easy for small teams

It is very easy to reveal the spy in small teams of 3-4 players. This game would be best played by a team of at least 6. See More

Top Pro

Can be mixed with the original Spyfall

Because Skyfall 2 uses the exact same mechanics as the original Spyfall, the location cards can be mixed together, in order to increase the number of locations and make guessing harder for experienced spies. See More

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score 2 · Answer 8

Exploding Kittens

Top Pro

Fun at parties

The game is very fast paced and chaotic, making it more fun for parties. The illustrations are very humorous and original, likely to be the source of much laughter. See More

Top Con

Limited replayability without buying expansions

Much of the fun in Exploding Kittens comes from the illustrations on the cards. If you play it regularly then this aspect might become dull due to frequent exposure. There are expansions, such as an NSFW (Not Safe For Work, aimed at an adult audience), that you can get to mix things up a bit. See More

Top Pro

Simple rules

There are very few rules to the game, which makes it both easy to pick up and for new people to join. See More

Top Pro

Completing a full game doesn't take much time

Due to the way the game is designed, a full round will require that you use (at most) the entire deck, which is not substantially large. This means you won't end up with situations like other games, where a round will end up taking over an hour to play. This makes it a good warm-up game. See More

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score 3 · Answer 9

Cards Against Humanity

Top Pro

Audacious and funny concept for those who enjoy dark humor

The creators of CAH took already used game mechanics (using cards with words to form sentences - see "Apples to Apples", for example) and gave it an audacious twist. The game's cards potentiate the vile and sordid corners of our brains, making us use them to make humorous and reprehensible expressions. The results are funny and as awkward and contemptible as those playing the game. See More

Top Con

A kind of humor that's not for everyone

Not everyone finds CAH's humor funny. Many will find it crude, distasteful and disrespectful. On top of that, there are many scenarios where players need to have knowledge on some pretty shady subjects to understand the cards and the sentences they form. See More

Specs

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Top Pro

Straightforward and easy to explain

The mechanics of the game are pretty straightforward and it's easy and quick to get someone who has never heard of CAH before playing and enjoying him/herself. Of course, they have to appreciate this kind of humor. See More

Top Con

Simplistic gameplay

As original and fun as this game can be, and even challenging, the gameplay itself is very simplistic. It really is basically an "Apples to Apples" with different words. Those used to more demanding and complex games may be disapointed with this. See More

Top Pro

Crazy, long list of expansion packs

CAH is one of the card games currently on the market that has more expansion packs (just over 20 as of Nov. 2016 ). And there are expansions with themes for all tastes: there's the "90s Nostalgia" Pack, the "Jew" Pack, the "Vote for Trump" Pack, the "Post-Trump" Pack and the "Fantasy" Pack, just to name a few. See More

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score 1 · Answer 10

Joking Hazard

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Answer 11

Superfight

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Answer 12

Fluxx

Top Pro

Tons of themed versions

From Monty Python to Adventure Time, there's an edition of the game for everyone. Regardless if all players understand the references and inside jokes, they're still fun to play. See More

Top Con

Games can get long

With more players, it can sometimes take a lot of time to get to your turn. Players often want to read the description of the card(s) they draw to make sure they understand how they're used, which often slows the progress of the game. See More

Top Pro

Ever changing rules

Unlike many games, the purpose of this one is to change the rules as the game goes. This results in very creative strategies, as well as sudden game changers. See More

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12 Games Considered

My Recommendation for Dixit

My Recommendation for Dixit

Game mechanics are simple to explain and easy to learn

Can feel unchallenging and monotonous after some games

Amazing illustrations

It's not uncommon for some players to have an unfair disadvantage or feel left out

The way it requires you to read people’s minds through subtle communication cues is thoroughly enticing and completely unique

Excellent replacement for Apples to Apples for those bored with it

My Recommendation for Codenames

My Recommendation for Codenames

Nearly endless replayability

Spy Masters must be kept in check

Can be played by a lot of players

Not great for small groups

Players can easily drop in and out of the game

Requires some higher language comprehension

Hilarious

My Recommendation for One Night Ultimate Werewolf

My Recommendation for One Night Ultimate Werewolf

There's an app so no need for a narrator

Gets better with time

Lots of different characters

Quick rounds

Has expansion packs

My Recommendation for Secret Hitler

My Recommendation for Secret Hitler

Good combination of logic and social deduction, with a pinch of randomness

The information distribution between the two teams could be more balanced

Clever and interesting take on historical events

My Recommendation for Mysterium

My Recommendation for Mysterium

A fun way to get to know how people think

Can get stale if overplayed

Beautiful artwork

Takes a lot of time and space to set up

Excellent value for money

Incredibly thematic

My Recommendation for Snake Oil

My Recommendation for Snake Oil

Creating convincing pitches for ridiculous products rewards creative thinking and often leads to surreal, yet hilarious, situations

Players need to commit to the concept of making short sales pitches for the game to really shine

Tons of replayability

My Recommendation for Spyfall 2

My Recommendation for Spyfall 2

An interesting twist on the Mafia game

Not suitable for people who dislike roleplaying

Allows for really big parties (12 players max)

Too easy for small teams

Can be mixed with the original Spyfall

My Recommendation for Exploding Kittens

My Recommendation for Exploding Kittens

Fun at parties

Limited replayability without buying expansions

Simple rules

Completing a full game doesn't take much time

My Recommendation for Cards Against Humanity

My Recommendation for Cards Against Humanity

Audacious and funny concept for those who enjoy dark humor

A kind of humor that's not for everyone

Straightforward and easy to explain

Simplistic gameplay

Crazy, long list of expansion packs

My Recommendation for Joking Hazard

My Recommendation for Joking Hazard

My Recommendation for Superfight

My Recommendation for Superfight

My Recommendation for Fluxx

My Recommendation for Fluxx

Tons of themed versions

Games can get long

Ever changing rules

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