BOARD GAMES |
THE ORIGIN OF EXPRESSIONS
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BY DISCOVERY BAY GAMES
The problem with Etymon is that you need friends who actually like etymology to play it. However, with this one my non-geeky pals were also able to enjoy it, which made the overall experience so better! Additionally, this is the only bluffing etymology game on the market, so if you enjoy lying your game to victory, this is the activity for you. The premise is that a phrase is read out loud, and every player rights down a fake origin. Next, everybody votes on what they think is the correct origin. Points are awarded to players who did pick the correct etymology, and to players whose fake etymology was picked. First to thirty points wins! Several times, the goofy word origins will cause you to crack up in peals of laughter, and overall it's a really nifty experience. I recommend you don't get this on Amazon; you can get it elsewhere for as low as $15, which is quite a deal. |
ETYMON: A GAME OF WORD AND PHRASE ORIGINS
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BY "FREEZE, GOPHER!", LLC.
An excellent board game, Etymon is a card game where a group of people compete to see who has the best knowledge of word origins, and how confident they are in that. Though the rulebook seems hastily constructed and a bit too simple, it's easy and fun to play: find the etymologies of ten words, and rank them on how certain you are, from 1 to 10, using each number only once. If you get it correct, you earn the points you assigned yourself. This is a fun way to play, but it has some flaws. First of all, its measly 120 cards mean that after 12 rounds, you will have learned every etymology. This can be prevented if you don't look at the solutions when you're grading the results, but the cards get repetitive nonetheless. Additionally, the whole game seems processed and quickly done. There are several typos, and a few of the "correct" origins proved to be wrong when fact-checked. Don't let that put you off, though: as one of the only etymology games on the market, this will still provide a decent share of laughs, "eureka" moments, and a fun time, at the reasonable price of $19.99. |
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