Apples to Apples

Apples to Apples is a card game of comparisons. The fun lies in trying to convince other players that your cards are better than theirs. It's about practising the subtle, or sometimes not so subtle, art of persuasion.
　

Award Winning Game
Apples to Apples has won many awards: -

- Party Game of the Year
- The Best American Game Tiger Award
- Mensa Select National Competition Winner

Object of the game
The object of Apples to Apples is to match red cards (places, people, things, events ie. nouns) with green cards (describing words ie. adjectives) - and convince players that your match is the best.

Example round:
Green Card = Smart
Red Card = Prince Charming, Genetic Engineering, Fireworks, Goldfish

In the above scenario, the Green card is shown, and each player has produced the Red cards as an answer to best match it. Players have to be QUICK, because the last person to put out a card is not included in the round.

One player in each round is the designated judge. It's up to them to decide who has the closest match. Players use their utmost powers of persuasion to convince/goad/impel the judge to pick their choice as the best.

Card = Smart

Genetic Engineering - You can see that at first glance Genetic Engineering could look one of the best answers - but what of its possible disastrous consequences? Is it really so smart?

Prince Charming - What about Prince Charming, was he just a good looking himbo, or was he actually quite smart because he got it on with Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty?

Fireworks - Smart? They are great and smart! Used all over the world to join peoples in celebration, they are surely one of the smartest inventions to assist the community in joining as one and creating that certain camaraderie and bonhomie.

Goldfish...On first glance, they're no so smart... On second glance they're not so smart.

As players have to be quick to throw down their answers, sometimes crazy cards are thrown out simply because of the pressure of the moment (see Goldfish above).

Also, if you only have one card left you have no choice in what you can put down! It's then when your ability to convince someone into believing your case comes into play.

The winner of the round receives the green card. The winner of the whole game is the person who has a predetermined number of green cards - depending on how many people are playing. For example, with four players it's eight green cards to win, with seven players, it's five cards to win.

There are so many red and green cards, there are thousands of combinations and permutations that could happen, ensuring that you get a unique game every time you play.
　

Why Apples to Apples is fun!

• Trying to impel the judge to choose your card with as many reasons you can think of!
• With the right mix of players, the game can get quite rowdy and vocal!
• Trying to make up reasons when you know your card is totally off the mark
• When players misunderstand the meaning of words there are hilarious consequences-
  
  eg. my mum thought a Mortician was a Taxidermist, and put it down as her answer to 'Misunderstood'. In her explanation she clearly had no idea what a Mortician was - she was going on about stuffed animals - and thereby showed that Morticians really were, Misunderstood. She won that round.
  　

What's in the Apples to Apples box?

The edition we have is the delux Apple Crate Edition, which means that the game comes in a fancy wooden crate with extra cards. Our pack consists of:

749 x red apple cards
249 x green apple cards
7 x blank red apple cards (to make up your own words)
3 x blank green apple cards (to make up your own words)
1 x rules


Handy Apples to Apples Hints

a) Play to the judge

This means if you know the judge well, you should panda to their particular personal sentiments when it comes to choosing your card or the arguments you use to convince them of your match. For example, in the first example above - if the judge was a professional geneticist, the Genetic Engineering card would probably have won as being 'Smart'.

b) Be quick, and know your cards!

Know your cards really well from the start, and fling out your best one as fast-as-you-can. This will give you the best chance of winning.
　

Ratings

Ease of understanding the instructions: 9/10
Belly laughs: 9/10
Fun for everyone: 8/10

Download Apple to Apples instructions (PDF)

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