Our convention admittedly tends to focus on the strategic side of the gaming spectrum but that doesn't mean we don't like a good party game when we find one. In fact, my appreciation of party games was rekindled a few years ago when Nick Kellet offered to support the 19th anniversary of FallCon by giving every attendee a copy of his excellent game GiftTRAP. The game centers on the concept of gift giving. Perhaps unsurprisingly, it's a family favorite around Christmastime because of the theme and the fact it plays so well in mixed groups. I was so enamored with the game, I decided to give some of my neighbours a copy, Secret Santa style.Every round players go through the following steps:
- DEAL - deal random gifts from one of the packs of gifts.
- SHOP - think about how you match these gifts to the players.
- GIVE - give one of these gifts to each player (using gift tokens).
- GET - choose which gifts you want yourself (using get tokens Ok, Good, Great & No Way).
- REVEAL - show people what you wanted and what your were given by each player.
- SCORE - the giver and the receiver score for each gift (the giver gets GIVING points, the receiver gets GETTING points).
The player who is the best giver AND receiver of gifts wins the game. GiftTRAP comes with absolutely gorgeous bits, quite befitting the game's name. Nick's hard work, generosity and passion for this project paid off over the last year as his game was awarded the Best Party Game of 2008 by Games Magazine and also recently won a Spiel des Jahres Special Prize, Germany's (and arguably Europe's) most prestigious game award. Congrats Nick! We couldn't be happier for you!
What are some of your favorite party games?
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