Image: Gamewright
Get a cat. Hope for a sunny day. Go with your gut. Use duct tape. What’s the best advice? Obviously, it depends on what you’re trying to do: build a better mousetrap, go zip-lining through the jungle, or host a movie marathon.
That’s just a teeny peek at some of the To-Do List items and Advice cards from Sounds Like a Plan
Each player starts with a six Advice cards. During each turn, one player is the Planner and the rest are Advice Givers. The Planner flips the top To-Do List card, which has three activities on it. The Planner rolls the die, which determines what type of advice is desired, and then the Advice Givers each select an advice card from their hands. The cards are mixed up and given to the Planner, who ranks them and awards points to the Advice Givers.
The die throws in some variations on what type of advice you’re looking for:
- Best: the best advice for your chosen activity
- Worst: the worst advice for your chosen activity
- Grandma: Advice cards should reflect what a grandma would say
- Kid: Advice cards should reflect what a little kid would tell you
- Psychic: You choose an activity but don’t tell everyone what it is until after everyone has turned in their Advice cards; then you pick the best advice for your chosen activity
- Wild: you get to choose which of the five faces to use
You could play the game with just the cards, but the die mixes things up, and the Psychic option makes things particularly challenging. And it’s always great to get Worst when none of your cards are good advice for the current activity.
I wasn’t sure about Sounds Like a Plan at first. It’s what I consider a “party game,” like Taboo or Pictionary—a game that doesn’t require a lot of strategy but is more about the humor. It’s not the sort of game that I generally play with my regular game night group. However, I broke it out and everyone loved it: it’s just a lot of fun, and it doesn’t take long to learn or play, maybe about half an hour per game.
Sounds Like a Plan is for 4 to 8 players, ages 10 to adult. I did let my six-year-old join us for a game since she really wanted to try it, but there are a lot of idioms on the cards (for instance: “Keep your nose clean” or “pick Grandma’s brain”) that she really just didn’t understand, so it’s not one that she could play without somebody to help her decipher the cards. Other than that, the game is not difficult and works for a wide range of ages.
If you’re looking for a a fun family game that will have everyone laughing, check out Sounds Like a Plan
Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m planning to “dig a hole to China,” and I’ve been advised to “get a good night’s sleep.”
Wired: A huge collection of To-Do Lists and Advice makes for some hilarious combinations. The die introduces randomness and variety to an Apples to Apples-style game.
Tired: The board isn’t really necessary, but it looks nice.
Disclosure: Gamewright provided a review copy of Sounds Like a Plan.
