How was I supposed to guess 'prince'? (Disney Guesswords)

You can feel your heart racing, your palms starting to get sweaty.  You try to communicate the word in front of you to your teammate.  Hand gestures, tone inflections, anything to get them to get this one lousy word.  The lights slowly go down, one by one, but you don't notice.  You focus on the word in your head, trying to send it.  Will they manage to get it, or will the buzzer cut off your guessing?  You look up, and the other team is smirking.  All is fair game is Disney Guesswords.



GAME DESCRIPTION:  Disney Guesswords is a 4-12 player co-operative game that plays like Password.  Each team has 1 player that attempts to get every other member on their team to guess a specific word, all related to a Disney series. The goal is to get to Disney Castle.

EQUIPMENT:  The majority of this game is played with the electronic gadget conveniently shaped like a Mickey Mouse head.  To start, the player reads the clue (if any) located on the disc placed in the gadget.  Time begins once the first team presses the giant green "1" button located on one of the ears.  Then, without saying any form of the word, the host, or clue giver, has to try to get the rest of the team to guess the word.  If successful, the host hits the green button to stop the clock.  Your team progresses on the board based on the number of lights still lit times 2. The team then passes to the opposing team, where they push the little Mickey glove to get the next word.  If either team gets stuck on a word, either team may skip the word once per game.

FAILING:  If your team fails to guess the word before all 5 lights go off and the gadget buzzes, that word then goes to the opposing team for a chance to steal.  As they have already heard the clues, there's a significant advantage to the team who gets this opportunity.  If neither team manages to guess the word before time runs out, the word is skipped, and play progresses to the next player.



CONCLUSION:  Simple to learn and simple to play doesn't mean it's simple to win.  Sudden loss of communication, brain farts, and word stumbling are rich here.  Sudden upsets can occur at any time, and the chance of suddenly falling behind is always prevalent here.  Plus, there is always the option of playing with the side B, which eliminate the hints.  This is a great game for family nights or Disney fans.

AFTERTHOUGHTS:  Does this work without the little gizmo?  Sure, if you're willing to time when all the lights go out.  If you're willing to make a thing to hide the clues so each team only sees one (which isn't actually that hard to craft) or forego the cards entirely with your own clues.  Sure, it's possible, but I feel like it really just ties the whole thing together, and the design makes it less of a Disney gimmick and more of a Disney game.