Apples to Apples Party Box The Game of Hilarious Comparisons
Apples to Apples is an award-winning party game that will have everyone laughing. We had a blast playing this game and think it is a perfect game for a “board game night” with friends and family. It is quick to set up, easy to learn, challenging, and a whole lot of fun.
The party box includes over a thousand cards for many card combinations. View larger. |
Unexpected and funny comparisons make the game fun to come back to again and again. View larger. |
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What We Think
Fun Factor: 
Durability:
(what this means)
The Good: Quick set up; inspires quick thinking and creativity; fun for whole family
The Bad: Not as fun without at least five players; subject matter targeted for mid-teens and older
In a Nutshell: Quick-paced board game requires just a minute to set up and will have everyone laughing for hours |
At a Glance
Ages: 12 and up
Requires: At least four players |
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Smart, Award-Winning Fun
Apples to Apples has won numerous awards including “Party Game of the Year” by Games magazine and “Mensa Select” by Mensa International. And for good reason: it involves quick thinking, humor, and strategy. For teens, the game teaches them to think about how different things can be compared to one another and how analogies are formed. One of our criticisms is that although the game states that it is designed for ages 12 and older, many of the subjects are clearly for older teens.
Hilarious Comparisons and Analogies
The name of the game is a play on the phrase “apples to oranges,” and the game is about making comparisons between different things. General game play is as follows: players are dealt red cards which have a noun printed on them, and the judge (a different player in each turn) draws a green card on which an adjective is printed and places it for all players to see. Each player then chooses a red card they are holding that they think best describes the green card. The judge then decides which adjective she likes best.
The fun is in the variety of unexpected comparisons people make, sometimes apt, funny, creative, or simply absurd. For example: people might match “Awkward” with “Oil Spills,” “My First Kiss,” “Dandruff,” and “Gold Chains. ” Or: “Painful” with “High School Reunions” and “Regis Philben. ” Strategy comes into play since, because each player takes turns being the judge, you begin to pick up on the preferences of each player and tailor your choices accordingly.
Players can also try variations on the basic game play. For example, instead of choosing the most apt comparison, players might try choosing the red card that is least like the green one. These variations keep the game fresh and interesting every time.
Conversation Kick Starter
Part of the fun is in standing up for your choices. For instance, you might discuss why you think “Regis Philben” is painful, or segue into a discussion of the embarrassing situations you got into on your first day of school, or your first kiss. Apples to Apples excels as an ice breaker and promotes a good amount of social interaction, as many conversations will be kick started thanks to these little cards.
More Players, More Fun
Although the box states that the game is playable with just four players, we found that the game is a lot more fun when there are at least five or six players. This increases both the frequency of funny answers and also requires players to refine their strategy a little more. Once we got going, hours passed, and it was only the lateness of the hour that reminded some of us that we had to go home.
This Party Box set comes with more than 1,000 cards total, and will entertain for a long time. Additional expansion sets are available to further increase the variety of word combinations.
What’s in the Box
756 Red Apple Cards, 252 Green Apple Cards, card tray, quick play rules.
User Ratings and Reviews
5 Stars So much laughter!
I play a lot of board and card games, many of them quite complex. I really love playing games in any social occasion, and sometimes those occasions don’t have my fellow die-hard gamers in attendance. What game can you play that’s as much fun for your 70-year-old grandmother as it is for your 8-year-old cousin? What game will have everyone laughing, including the die-hard gamers in the bunch? Apples to Apples! Seriously, this game has consistently turned out more laughter than any game I’ve ever played. All you have to do is put down a card, but there’s enough strategy involved in trying to predict what the judge is going to pick that it remains interesting throughout the entire game.
I highly recommend this game for just about everyone. And once you introduce it to friends or family, it makes a great gift (I’ve bought and given away at least three copies in just the past year).
5 Stars Excellent family game
This is one of our family’s favorite games. You select a card from your hand that ‘matches’ the card in the center. Then the person who is judge on that round picks the best ‘match’ to see who wins the round. I put ‘match’ in quotes because you can pick cards that are related to the target card, or cards that are most humorous. Sometimes the humorous ones win, and they make the game loads of fun. My [..] daughters play with us. This version has a few cards with words or people that they don’t know, but we let them trade in their cards that they don’t understand. This makes it a learning experience also since we explain the words to them when they trade them in. We always have a blast with this game. I highly recommend it.
5 Stars Apples to Apples Game
Our whole family played this game several times. It is a riot. Very fun. Alittle more than I wanted to pay. Was delivered fairly fast.
Buy/More Info
