This was the one game I picked up at GenCon this year, and it definitely deserves it's Game of the Year award. (Spiel Des Jahres, 2010)
If you want something to compare it to, I'd liken it most to Apples to Apples.
Reasons it deserves 5 stars:
It's shockingly easy to learn; new players of most ages understand it instantly
It's a beer-and-pretzels party game where winning and losing are pretty irrelevant
Players can jump in or leave at will
The production quality of the game is high
It's not terribly expensive
It can lead to very fun, punchy play
You can instantly see where expansions could come in without changing the game
It's really fun for adults and kids alike
The reasons I only gave it 4 stars:
It takes 4 players to play the game, below that doesn't make sense
There isn't a whole lot of strategy, so it doesn't have years of replay value
If you are extremely literal, the game is hard to get your head around
I am a fourth grade teacher and I use a lot of educational games in my classroom. In fact, I teach classes throughout the year on games teachers can use to spice up their lessons and increase student interest in what they are teaching. Dixit was a game that was offered to me at a discount because a local game store (CR Toys) had used it as a Demo and they marked it 60% off the MSRP.
At any rate, it sat at the bottom of my class games pile for quite awhile until I decided to just step up and use it. In my class, we always start with me giving the students a demonstration of how to play the game and then I have a few students play with me while the others watch and, together, we learn by doing.
In the beginning, the students seemed to not like the game. The basic rule of how to play seemed a bit strange to them and they had a hard time latching onto the idea. However, as the game rolled on, everyone was enjoying the game and realized how much fun it truly is. It is the first game students want to play during indoor recess now or if they finish work early.
The game comes with 84 large cards. Each card has a beautiful, bizzare, interesting, amazing, or simple painting by artist Marie Cardouat. Each player gets six cards and one player begins as the "storyteller". What the storyteller does is creates a sentence, phrase, title, sound effect, word, etc. to go with ONE of the images in their hand. For example, I might look at one of my cards and think "Aesop's Fractured Fables". I then pull that card out without showing anyone. Everyone else looks at their cards and tries to pick an image that closely matches what the storyteller said and gives that card to the storyteller (without anyone, including the storyteller) seeing.
The storyteller shuffles the cards and flips them face up on the table. Each person (except the storyteller) secretly votes on which image they think belongs to the storyteller. If EVERYBODY or NOBODY votes for the storytellers image, then everyone moves 2 spaces except the storyteller, who does not move. However, if at Least 1 person votes for the storytellers card (but not everyone) then the storyteller gets to move 3 spaces as does everyone who picked the correct card.
In addition, each player gets to move one bonus space for every player who picked their image (except for the storyteller). The first player to reach 30 points on the board, wins. Once the round is over, The storyteller then becomes the person to the right.
In my class, this game has really picked up steam and the students have learned to not be too obvious or to impossible in the sentences they create. I see they offer an expansion pack of images for this game. I will have to pick that up soon this game is well worth the price and would be worth it for any classroom or family!
Buy Dixit (International Rules Version) Now
This is simply a great game.The play is incredibly easy to learn and there is almost no setup time.All players get a few cards and they take turns giving clues.On your turn, you give a clue to one of your cards that is neither too specific nor too vague.Once you give a clue, the other players pick a card from their hand that they think most closely fits your clue.You take all the cards, shuffle them up, and then lay them face down on the table.A player gets points whenever someone picks their card.The only exception is if you are the clue-giver and everyone picks your card, in which case you get zero points.That's why you want your clue to be good, but not perfect.The fun and the difficulty lie in figuring out the perfect clue for each card and that will change every time you play.Some kind of timing device would be useful, though there's not one included in the game.
Last note, the current Amazon price for this game is $75 from an external site.Though it is a great game, that's way too much to pay.I bought it from Amazon a few months ago at 1/3 that price.It may be high priced because it's sold out.If that's the case, let's hope the game gets a reprinting because it would be a shame if more people weren't able to play.
Read Best Reviews of Dixit (International Rules Version) Here
I played Dixit for the first time this month at a board game meetup. It has a deck of picture cards with surreal images on them and a rather odd game board with bunny playing pieces. The bunnies' movement around the board serves as a way of keeping track of the players' scores. Up to 6 players take turns playing the storyteller. On your turn you choose a picture card from your hand and state a word or phrase that describes some aspect of it.Each player then chooses one of their picture cards that comes close to your descriptive phrase. All pictures are shown face up, and every player has to vote on which card is the storyteller's. Don't be too cryptic or too obvious when you think of your descriptive phrase. You only get points if your able to fool some of the other players but not all of them.
It's a very good game and a lot of fun to play. You can catch on to it quickly. It was a good challenge to my intellect trying think of just the right way to describe the images. Age 8 and up can play Dixit. It would be great for stretching little minds and getting them to think abstractly. It could even improve a child's vocabulary given enough time playing it with adults.
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Few games can capture your imagination and creativity as Dixit. Here's how we play:
(actual rules can be found here:)
Everyone gets some cards with beautiful paintings on them. (the art is really quite extraordinary for a game)
Someone selects a secret card in their hand and then comes up with a short phrase to abstractly describe it.
----They want to choose something so that some people will pick their card, but not everybody
----example:They have a picture of a man walking up stairs. They say "Highway to Heaven."
Everyone else secretly picks a card that they hope people will pick with the phrase
----example:Abby chooses (from her hand) a picture of clouds, Betty chooses a picture of an angel, Charlie chooses a picture of a harp
Everyone's chosen cards are shuffled together and then layed out.
Each person (except the person who chose the phrase and original card) tries to pick the original card chosen for the phrase.
----example:Abby and Charlie thinks the angel is the right card, Betty thinks the man walking up the stairs is the correct card
Now the original card is revealed and points are scored. You get points for having your card chosen. If it's your turn (the person who chooses the phrase), you don't get any points if everyone or nobody chose your cards.
The game cards are quite durable. I'd feel safe with them in a 10 year old's hands and up. It is possible to tear the cards or the gameboard (especially in a wicked fit of anger), so I'd keep them away from overly-childish children (or adults).
It's rare that I've played a party game as good as Dixit. I'd highly recommend that you check it out.
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My boys (age two and three) like this train to use on their track master sets. The remote plays the Thomas theme song and a chugging train noise that my sons love hitting the buttons to play. Unfortunately it is very loud and there are no controls to lower the sound. I will be taping the speakers soon on these toys, and I am not typically annoyed by toy sounds. The boys however love it!
