Three for All

Here's yet another variation of Tribond - you know, the game where they tell you three words and you have to guess the word that connects them. The one we just gave a Major FUN Award. Well, Three for All is yet another TriBond-based game, and it's not just a repackaging, or an extension, it's a different, and surprisingly fun game using some really ingenious and innovative gamish technology.

You can think of it as TriBond meets Taboo (or Password or Catchphrase or Paired Up). Instead of someone simply reading you the three words, you have to guess the three words from the cleverly contrived clues as contrived cleverly by the clue-giver. This extra layer of guessing significantly adds to the challenge and excitement of basic TriBonding, because the temptation to guess the Bond, before the Tri is completed, is often dangerously irresistible. Dangerously, because if you're wrong, you can lose your marbles.

Which brings me to the gamish technology for which we fell so completely. There's this electronic timer - very cool, because it not only times the round (one minute), but also times the guess (you get three seconds). The timer sits on top of a hollow base. There's an eight-sided (octahedral) die which is placed inside the hollow timer base. Then, when you swish the base in a circle, the die swishes with it. Because of its octahedrousity, the die actually tumbles around, kinda magically. The number the die shows is the number of marbles you get to put in your cool triangular tray if you or your team guesses correctly.

And yes, you can play with two players, or two teams (even if you don't have an even number of people, even). And the rules are fun and funny (though a tad complex). And the whole thing, in Game Tasting lingo, is just plain delicious.