Half Truth is a trivia game designed by tabletop titan Richard Garfield - creator of Magic: The Gathering and King of Tokyo - and Ken Jennings, the highest-earning contestant on TV quiz show Jeopardy of all time. As the game only takes 30 minutes to play, it keeps players entertained for just the right length of time. Who’s it best suited for? The Spruce / Sage McHugh Competition: With a million games on the market, the ‘best’ is up to personal preference More recent versions of the game come in travel-size tins, which are great for taking out and about, but only contain 55 cards, so after a few games you may remember the dates. That limits replayability, but you can mix and match different sets (each of which have different themes, such as inventions or British history) to increase complexity, and older versions of the games have more cards. Each question card lists 8 clue on it. Starting at the top of the list the player reads down the clues and other players can shout out an answer at any time. But, players only get one go at answering each question. So, if they get it wrong they’re frozen out responding to the rest of the clues.

Smart Ass is certainly a good addition to our selection of general knowledge games though. And it seems that 13 year olds aren’t too old for a bit of a laugh at calling someone a “Smart Ass”! The wider range of challenges means Cranium should appeal to a more diverse playgroup than just the trivia experts. The original game skews a little older due to the difficulty of the challenges, but there are family-friendly versions of the game for young ones. Before the answer is revealed, you bet on which guess is closest to correct. Feeling confident? Bet on yourself. Think someone else knows better? Bet on them. Points are awarded based on these bets. In practice, it’s more of a conversation-starter, as players take turns reading out interesting questions and then discussing the surprising answer - it’s a bit like watching an episode of the comedy panel show QI. It comes in a small box so it can easily be taken to gatherings or the pub. One small criticism is that some of the questions are true or false, meaning answering them is less a shot in the dark and more the flip of a coin. Colourbrain simplifies the trivia format by making every question about colours. Each player holds 11 cards of various hues, and has to place down the correct cards to questions such as “What’s the colour of the lid on a jar of Marmite?” The questions are a mix of general knowledge and pop culture, so kids and adults can play together - there’s even a Disney-themed version of the game.Colourbrain A family-friendly quiz where every answer is a colour Players answer using multicoloured cards in Colourbrain.

It’s visually pleasing, with lots of tokens and chips to play with, and the base game contains over 500 questions, meaning it should last a long time before you have to repeat any cards. The questions cover a broad range of topics, from sports to pop culture and history, meaning it should cater to most players. It’s a great game for family gatherings. The game requires no skill to play other than having the ability to answer trivia questions. It is a basic roll and move kind of game and that gives this game a low complexity level. Set Up – Playing Rules & Instructions There are two halves to the game. First, two players go head-to-head in a buzzer round where they must list movies on a topic like “based on a book” or “set in the future” until someone fails to answer correctly or runs out of time. The victor then gets a chance to win cards by acting out one movie, reciting a quote from another and using just one word to describe the last, so their team can guess the correct title.When you land on this space, you will skip the next round. If you would have been a guesser, you cannot submit an answer. If you would have been the reader, the player to your left becomes the reader for the next round. Setting up the Smart Ass board game is very easy. It consists of a board, board movers, two dice and the questions cards.

Dumb Ass – this is a penalty space. If you land on this you can’t answer the next questions. Basically, it’s like missing a turn.As the game has an age of 12 and over and involves trivia and humor, it is suited for parties. One other aspect of the game is the fact that it is suitable for up to 8 players, which makes it perfect for party situations. This casino-style mechanic adds a fun element, as you try to work out who knows the most about a topic. One potential gripe is that the questions are very America-centric, so if you have no idea about US sports or culture you’ll be making more blind guesses than educated ones. The answers are so specific (in this case, 18% and the Dallas Cowboys) that players must make an educated guess - the closest guess wins the point, and the team with the most points wins. Smart Ass is all about showing off if you know the answer. Or even if you just think you do. It’s perfectly acceptable to shout out the answer and totally goes against the way that some kids feel that it’s not right to be seen to be smart. How to play Smart Ass Should no one guess the answer correctly, the reader gets to roll the number die and move their playing piece the corresponding number of spaces.

Should there only be two players, the player that doesn’t land on the Dumb Ass Space gets to roll the number die and move the corresponding number of spaces. The game then continues normally with both players playing the next round. Hard Ass Space Eventually, the first player to get into the center of the board become the Smart Ass and the winner.

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If no one answers the question correctly after the last clue is given, then the player who asked the question wins the round. There are a number of rules throughout the game such as landing on the Dumb Ass space which means that the player that lands on that cannot answer or ask the next questions.