Disclaimer: This review is from a review copy of the game that was provided by Facade Games to Open Seat Gaming, but opinions are our own based on several plays of the game.

Game: Trophies
Publisher: Facade Games
Design: Travis Hancock, Holly Hancock
Art: Holly Hancock, Sarah Keele
Mechanisms: Party game, Word association
Number of Players: 2 – 30
Game Time: 5 – 15 minutes

Description: Trophies is a party game that sees players testing their word association skills. The judge for the game will show the letter side of a card and then read a category from a different card and the first person to shout a response starting with the shown letter and fitting the category is awarded the letter card and scores a point.

The judge then moves the card they read the category from to the front so that it is now showing a new letter, and play continues until you go through the deck or you decide to stop. The judge can award the participation trophy card to someone at the end, and after that whoever has the most cards gets the little metal trophy and wins!

Review: Trophies is a neat little game that is great to use as an ice breaker for a game day, and could totally be used at a family gathering as it’s up to the players what words they potentially shout out. You can choose to be as clean (or not) as fits for the group you’re playing this with.

We’ve found that strictly adhering to the rules (awarding the card to the first person to meet the letter and category) isn’t always the most fun, as sometimes a slightly delayed answer will fit better or just be incredibly hilarious. We usually have the judge award as they see fit rather than always going with the first, though often it ends up being the first response anyway.

I really like the fact that each of the cards has a unique trophy on the letter side, as well as an explanation paragraph on the bottom of the category side that describes what that trophy is or to whom it was awarded. It’s really neat to see some of the wacky and silly things people have received trophies for. As an example, there’s a trophy that was awarded to someone for having the most average-sized hotdog bite!

Try, Buy, Deny: If word games are your thing or you want an easy entry into party games that anyone can play, even older children, then I would definitely recommend a buy for this game. Even if you aren’t sure how well you or your group will do I would still recommend at least a try for this as frequently the “wrong” answers (if someone shouts something with the incorrect starting letter, or just something crazy that doesn’t really meet the category) are funnier than the “correct” answers, and you can have a good time even if not everyone is good at word games.

Game on!
Scott – The Solitary Meeple