Average Reviews:
(More customer reviews)First, let me say I am a huge fan of the original Guesstures. Game play was fast, frenzied, and just a lot of fun. I thought it was a good idea to make an electronic version of the game, so I went ahead and purchased this.
The concept is still the same - it's really a fast paced version of Charades.
Game play is fairly simple. A word shows up on the screen and you must act it out. If your team is able to guess the word, you push the button and score a point for your team. Push the button again, and another word will show up. Act this word out and try to get your team to guess the word. This continues until time runs out, and the goal is to act out as many words as you can in 30 seconds.
The timer is built in and the game keeps score automatically. There's even an option to contest points if you believe the opposing team was cheating. These are all good things.
The key difference between the electronic and original version is how it handles the "final word." In the old version of the game, if you couldn't act out the last few words, you just miss out on those points. There was no penalty. In this version, your team must guess the final word and you must hit the "completed" button before the timer runs out. If you are in the middle of acting out a word before the timer runs out, you gain ZERO points for that turn. So even if you successfully act out two other words, if the timer runs out in the middle of your third word, you get no points.
The problem with this method is that after your team guesses a word, you must decide if you want the next word to show up or if you want to stop playing and just let the timer run out. Words are of varying difficulty so it's a fairly big gamble to keep going. What ends up happening is people will act out one or two words very quickly and still have about 15 seconds left on the clock. Because of the fear that a difficult word will show up and that all points for the round will be lost, people choose to just stop acting. This leads to about 10-15 seconds of dead time where people wait for the timer to run out. The dead time is annoying because no one is doing anything and the timer just keeps clicking away.
If you can find the original version of the game, I recommend purchasing that. If you can't find it, this version will be fine. Just be prepared for a bit of frustration or dead time.
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Update Feb 2010: A new version is now available. Guesstures
With this new version available, I must recommend strongly against purchasing the electronic version of Guesstures. The latest version returns to the first and far superior format of the game.
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Electronic GuessturesIf you can gesture, you can Guessture! Electronic Guesstures is the portable game of intense improvisation. Thirty seconds per round is all you have to act out and get your team to shout out as many correct words as possible. Earn 15 points and you win the game! The electronic game automatically tracks your score and counts down the time in each round. Features a portable module that you can take with you anywhere -- play it on the move! Game includes Electronic Guesstures module and instructions. For four or more players. Requires three "AA" batteries, not included. Measures 6"L x 5"W.
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