Punderdome

While I have listed Punderdome under the book review section, it is not a book – it is a game. It is listed under the book review section because it came from the site I get my review books from.

I pulled out this card game to play with my in-laws. They usually love games, and play them regularly, so I thought this would be a hit. Rarely am I so utterly and completely wrong.

The game was too difficult.

You’re given a short time period to come up with a pun based on two word cards. For instance, we were given the cards “soup” and “sorority” – someone came up with the pun, “alpha-beta-soup”. That was the only worthwhile pun conceived during the short time we played this game.

Everyone was complaining about how awful the game was, saying it was good that I got it for free because if I hadn’t, I should ask for my money back. They thought I should return it (even though it was free) because it was so “awful”. Several days after playing, they still refer to “that game” and how nothing could compare (to how awful it was).

I was disappointed, but not in the game.

There were some moments when puns people came up with were tears-down-your-cheeks funny, and it was hard to stop laughing at how stupid the puns were. I was disappointed because the players had decided the game was awful, and were not going to give Punderdome a chance. The game takes some getting used to, but I think that with enough time, it could be much more enjoyable.

Yes, the time limit is far too short. Yes, it was very difficult. However, there were funny parts. The players I was with kept getting stuck on the fact that there were far too many times they came up blank. Far too many times they didn’t have an answer and ran out of time.

If you decide to try this game, make sure that your players are pun-loving – but most of all, make sure they are patient. Very patient. This is the kind of game that takes a lot of frustration before you adapt. With the people I’m usually surrounded with, there won’t be many opportunities to play this game – because there is probably only a small, select group of people who would actually enjoy playing Punderdome.

Best of luck.

 

Disclaimer: I received this game from Blogging for Books for free in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.