Chris is our imagination guy so we figured he would win when we played Dixit at Compulsory Merriment; and he did!
Dixit is a game of trying to give the perfect clue so that some of the other players–but not all the other players–choose the correct image from a set of surreal image cards. Everybody gets a hand of cards with dreamlike images on them plus a little voting gadget. On each turn, one player is the Storyteller who chooses a card and gives a clue. The clue could be anything: a word, a sound, a gesture, a movie reference. The other players choose a card in their hand that relates to that clue. Then all the cards are shuffled together and laid out on the board in number order. All the players, except the Storyteller, use their voting gadgets to select the number of the card they think was the Storyteller’s. Got that? I know. It’s surreal.
The trick of playing this game is to know your fellow players. For example, I got a card with a picture of a dollhouse on it. I said, “Mojo Dojo,” because I knew Chris had seen the Barbie movie and Mandi hadn’t; so Chris got the clue and Mandi didn’t. This is the perfect situation! You only get points, as the Storyteller, if somebody gets your clue; if everybody gets your clue, you sit there sadly while everybody else gets points.
Dixit also works as a “get to know you” game that leads to fun conversations and, in our case, YouTube videos. I’m (a lot) older than my fellow players so, when Mandi gave the clue, “Candy Mountain,” I didn’t get it but it did lead to a viewing of “Charlie the Unicorn.” Later, Casey over at Sugar & Spite led me through the Liam Lynch catalogue, so a couple of things here: I am now better prepared for clues about early 21st century viral videos, plus now I know what the Millennials were actually up to when I thought they were doing their homework!
Honestly, the first time I played Dixit I thought it was the stupidest game ever. I couldn’t believe it had won so many awards like Parent’s Choice, Spiel des Jahres and Family Game of the Year. It’s grown on me. I get it now. Dixit is not a strictly competitive game. It’s more about creativity, conversation, and getting to know others’ points of view.
30 minutes playtime, 3-8 players, Ages 8+