I
received a prototype copy of BILDER in exchange for posting an
overview of the game, which was passed on to another reviewer. I
played the game 4 times with 3, 4, and 5 players. The prototype I received seemed to be laser cut MDF. I painted it silver for my own enjoyment, but
the final version of the game will come with laser cut pieces made from
quality, natural wood. My goal is not to
convince you to back the game, but to let you know how the game plays so
that you can decide for yourself if it's something you would enjoy.
I’m not usually a fan of party games
or word games. I’m not very good at
thinking on the spot, and having to draw or act things out or get others to
guess what’s going on in the crazy recesses of my mind never goes well. So when I was asked if I’d like a preview
copy of BILDER I was about to write it off, but out of curiosity I checked the
YouTube links of how the game is played.
I found myself laughing aloud at some of the examples and getting
excited at a game that’s basically an excuse for grown adults to play with
blocks like small children. I was taken
in by the creativity the game encourages, and agreed to check it out.
BILDER, by Monkeyshine Games, is a
party game in the vein of Pictionary or Charades where you’re trying to get
others to guess a word or phrase. What
makes it stand out from the crowd is the variety of wooden pieces you combine
to build and act out your word. While
you’re not allowed to talk or make noises, you’ll find that only a few words
can be guessed based off of a static scene.
The magic is is in acting out your phrase and adapting to the guesses
other players are throwing your way. It's
at once accessible and familiar, yet something entirely of its own.
What strikes me most about BILDER is
seeing the inner workings of another's mind. Those that are good at the
game come up with ideas so clearly conveyed through the abstract they seem like
geniuses, and others are able to adapt to the group,
leading them to the answer.
A good example is when my friend
picked up a gun-looking piece and held it next to a meeple’s hand, then knocked
over another meeple. She looked at us expectantly and we began guessing,
“Shooter? Killer? Hunter?" She's motioning for more but
we've hit a dead end so she looks around, nodding as she grabs two pieces to
make a house.
The meeple-gunner is in the house,
comes out to knock over a meeple then goes inside again, and then out to knock
over another meeple and back. We're all talking it through at this point,
but still can't figure it out.
She shakes her head and grabs the cogwheel,
her favorite piece. The gunner is in the house, comes out to knock over a
meeple and goes back home, and then she turns the cogwheel and repeats.
"The wheel, that's time. Time is moving
forward?" I ask. She nods excitedly, and keeps repeating the actions
as I finally blurt out "Serial killer!" The use of the cogwheel for time was
brilliant, showing her ability to think outside the box and adapt to our
guesses, guiding us to the right word.
Each word is listed on a “What” card
with a category; B – Beings, I – Imagine, L – Location, D – Device, E – Event,
and R – Rest (as in, all the rest). The
first person that guesses correctly gets the card with the word on it, which
counts as one point. The person who is
getting others to guess the word (the builder) picks a “How” card which tasks them
with building in different ways.
This could be something limiting
such as having to build with your non-dominant hand or having to build with
your wrists touching at all times, or something generous such as getting to
make noises on your turn. If the builder
is able to get others to correctly guess the word while meeting the
restriction(s) of the How card, they get to keep that card for a point
themselves.
Other “How” cards are challenges for
playing with 4+ players. Challenges offer
a wild-card letter for the winner, and may be everything from two people
building at the same time to having to dig through all of the pieces
blindfolded to locate 3 meeples in under 30 seconds.
The first player to spell
B-I-L-D-E-R with their accumulated cards ends the game and earns themselves an
extra 3 points. The winner is the player
that has the most points in total.
It’s all very straightforward, but oh
the frustration when others simply can't decipher what you're trying to
convey!
I was tasked with an “I” - Scooby Doo.
Scooby always runs into Shaggy's arms when he's scared so I started with a dog
jumping, afraid, and running into a meeple’s arms. "Dog bite! Dog
attack!" No... Something else, he's scared. I know! I
grabbed the piece that looks like fire and then the dog getting scared and
running into the meeple’s arms. "Scared dog! Scaredy cat!
Wait, the dog is running from a fire, oh, oh, forest fire!"
How the heck did I lead them down
the path to forest fire?! No, start from scratch... Think, think.
Got it!
 |
| Ruh-Roh! |
I wipe everything away and set up
the car piece with 4 meeples and the dog in front of it, proudly displaying Mystery
Incorporated and The Mystery Machine. Surely,
they should get it now! But no, "Family vacation! Road
trip! Wait, but what does that have to do with a forest fire?"
Sighing loudly I hang my head in defeat.
It's the moments of genius that make
Bilder shine, but it's these moments of failure that make you all laugh until you
cry!
BILDER is certainly a fun game for a
large group, but it suffers the same ailments as other games of its ilk.
It's definitely not the best game for people who don't like to be put on the spot
or have trouble coming up with ideas under pressure. It can also suffer from groupthink
- sometimes it’s tough to come up with a different way of acting out a word when
you've seen something work well in the past. In much the same way, some
clues are so memorable with certain friends that you toss the card out when
drawn because it wouldn't be fair to others. Also, because there are only
so many cards in the deck expansions are needed to keep the game fresh. However, these issues are minor and expected
for this type of party game.
Where BILDER stands out is in its
ability to unlock your imagination, asking you to turn an innocuous piece of
wood into a lightning bolt, a snake, ocean waves, a staircase, a sword from
Minecraft, or whatever else may suit your fancy to get your point across (and
yes, in the games I played it served as all of the above!). It
encourages creativity, and exercises mental muscles that that many adults could
stand to use more often.
Interested in this game? BILDER is live on Kickstarter now!
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