thepollgame

Thepollgame is as fun of a game as it is an opportunity to talk about yourself and learn secrets about your friends and intimates. For something to be as fun as an opportunity to talk about yourself, it's got to be a lot of fun. And that's precisely what we had playing thepollgame (yes, Virginia, it's all one word) during Sunday's Game Tasting.

There were eight of us, which, serendipitously, was exactly the upper limit of how many people the game is designed for. The game supplied each of us with nine voting cards (marked from 0 to 8), a "Declaration Chip" (a green "yes" coin and a red "no" coin that snap together), and a uniquely colored plastic pawn. Central to the game is a box of 220 "Poll Question Cards." Each card has three different questions on it. The person who gets to play pollster for that round selects which of the three questions to ask. For example: "Do you believe that cell phones cause health problems?", "Have you ever danced on a table or a bar?", "Do you think Paul Newman is one of the top 5 sexiest male celebrities?"

Now, if this were one of those poorly conceived, embarrassing, self-revelation games, the fun would pretty much stop there. In fact, I'm getting uncomfortable just thinking about how uncomfortable answering such questions could get. And, yes, you do have to answer the question (using your Declaration Chip). But here's where the genius of the design comes in to transform a ticklish situation into a game that is truly, deeply tickling. To win, you have to predict, correctly, how many people are going to say "yes." So it's not just about you. It's about your knowledge of everybody else. And it's not just about that either. It's also about sheer, dumb luck. Except in the case of Marc, who won the game, and was clearly uncanny in his ability to predict our responses.

And that's what does it, that blend of luck and self-revelation and predictive powers. That's what makes thepollgame into a Major FUN award-worthy experience. The gameboard is elegantly designed. The unusual format of the package efficient and attractive. The rules clear. The turns brief. The pace perfect.

If you want to get your own taste of thepollgame, you can even play it online by completing, of all things, a poll. If you want a claim to fame, you can submit your own original question to be included in future versions of thepollgame. Which, by the way, is something you can also do during the game - not necessarily claiming fame, but creating your own poll questions on the spur of the proverbial moment.

In the words of Darrell Jochum, the inventor of thepollgame: "Potentially surprising answers to controversial questions and the conversation that follows make it a fantastic party game." I couldn't agree more.