Snow days, and even regular school holidays can be tough when it’s just too cold to tell the kids to go play outside. Coming out of Christmas vacation and my family’s first annual Tabletop Gaming Championship, I know from personal experience that there’s only so many rounds of Uno and Sorry that one can go through before taking to the internet to see if there’s any family games that can be played in total and complete silence. Don’t get me started on Monopoly.
Utter Nonsense is not a silent game. It is, however a great break from shuffling cards for another round of Cribbage, simple enough for any child old enough to form sentences to participate in, and funny enough that the adults won’t be surreptitiously “enhancing” their eggnog just to cope with the boredom.
Similar to games like Apples to Apples or Cards Against Humanity, Utter Nonsense involves combining two cards in fun ways. In this case the card types are humorous phrases, and odd or downright bizarre accents. Every round, the judge rotates and picks a winner. First one to the chosen point total wins! Just try saying “Who left the milk out? Who, who, who, who?” in a Chicken accent and not laughing.
One of the Naughty Edition accents and phrases.
The game comes in two flavors: Family, suitable for the whole family with phrases and accents along the PG (or E10 for you ESRB types) level. For those without kids, or looking to crank the party up a notch once the kids are in bed, there’s also the R-rated Utter Nonsense: Naughty Edition which takes things in a more risqué direction.
Available both online and at Target retail stores, it’s too late now to pick up one or both editions of Utter Nonsense before the bomb cyclone clobbers Northeastern America, but there’s always the next storm!
