A Few Words About ‘Snippets’

I received an early version of Snippets for review purposes, and figured my kids and I would try it out together for a family game night. Well, before that could happen, my two younger sons (ages 12 and 10) took it out to the front porch and played it with their friends. By the time I returned thirty minutes later from walking the dog, the game was done. Later that evening, my 10 year old biked over to his friend’s house for a sleepover, packing the game with him. Finally, a couple days later, I had a chance to play.

What’s Included?

The game comes in a small box (clearly small enough to pack for a sleepover). My demo version included 63 cards, 2 answer pads, 4 pencils, a one-minute sand timer, and an instruction booklet. The full version will contain 300-400 cards, 4 answer pads, and 4 pencils. The cards each contain a three or four-letter “snippet.”

What’s the Point of the Game?

To come up with as many words containing that snippet as possible. Once the round is complete, scoring begins. Players call out their words, and cross out any words that anyone else has also written down. There are numerous bonuses outlined on the inside cover of the answer pad.

What was the Response?

My 12 year old is a big fan of Scattergories. I may have billed this as being similar, so the game didn’t quite live up to his expectations. That said, he may have also been upset at perhaps scoring fewer points than his brother one round (he, too, can be competitive). Nonetheless, I decided to ask him, the 10 year old, and T, the 10 year old’s friend, a few questions about what they thought of the game.

How easy were the instructions to understand?
12yo: Easy to understand.
10yo: Easy.
T: Yeah.

How easy were the instructions to explain to others?
12yo: It was pretty easy. in less than a couple of minutes, we were able to explain it to friends.
10yo: Easy.
T: Easy.

How many rounds did you play?
12yo: About five.
10yo: 20, both of us.

How did you do?
12yo: I did pretty well. I won two of the five rounds.
10yo: Good, not too good, though.
T: Not that good.

What did you think of the game?
12yo: The point of the game wasn’t to get the most words, it was to get the most bonuses. Even though you get seven words, you still might not win when someone else gets three words, because the game is about getting bonuses.
10yo: It was hard to beat people that were good at spelling and stuff.
T: It was really fun but hard playing with a lot of people.

So how do you get bonuses?
S2: By either having the most remaining words, having the fewest crossed out words, or the longest remaining word. Then there was also the most remaining words with bonuses. And also for some of them there were some special bonuses on the card, like one of them was “ing” and a special bonus was +5 points for most number of remaining words without ending in “ing.”

Did your friend enjoy the game?
S2: I think he liked it, though [T] didn’t seem that excited because he seemed to get less words.
S3: Yeah.
T: Yep.

Next time you play, what approach will you take to win more?
S2: Focus on the bonuses.
S3: Do what I did in the last game, which is beat my mom (laughs), who got her MFA in writing.
T: Just try to win.
S3: Oh yeah, and hope I’m lucky that I already did that card so I’ll remember more.

What Age Range is this Game For?

The game is targeted to folks 12 and up, and this is based on extensive research by the game makers. My ten year old wanted to play, and has enjoyed playing (he’s a bit competitive that way), but one minute, it turns out, is too short a time for him to come up with very many answers. However, because of the bonuses (one being for having the fewest crossed out words), even those who can’t come up with many words can still remain competitive.

I made myself cross off any words that the kids weren’t familiar with, and tried to strategize to keep it fair. One round, I challenged myself only to write down words that were at least 13 letters long. Another, only to meet the bonus on the card.

One minute is not a lot of time, so the rounds go by crazy quickly. My ten year old really enjoyed the game, as did his best friend, and they didn’t seem to mind the fact that they didn’t come up with very many words. Just a few words, and the bonuses helped boost their scores. Nice touch.

I’m looking forward to playing with adults and kids of all ages, to see just how the dynamic changes. One of the things I like about this game is that it is adaptable and challenging in different ways depending on the players. And when the full version comes out, rest assured you’ll find it in my house!

Where Can I Get This Game?

A Kickstarter for this game is now live, so the only place to order it, for $30, is through the Kickstarter campaign, and later through the Snippets website. In the future, they plan to sell expansion packs with extra cards, “junior” editions for kids, and other themed versions, as well as offering an iOS and Android app when the game ships. For now, though, the game will have to be enough. And for this wordsmith, it is.

Disclaimer: GeekMom received a copy for review purposes, yet the opinions are entirely my own.