When I first received You've Been Sentenced (McNeill Designs, 2005 - no designer credited), I immediately had three thoughts. First, I thought that the game's name was a cheesy pun; secondly, I was impressed that the game came in a pentagon box (the first and only that I own); and thirdly, I couldn't believe the amount of cards that came in the game. There are 540 pentagon-shaped cards, each with five words on them, making for a total of 2,700 words used in the game. If nothing else, the game certainly has a lot of diversity!
And actually, You've Been Sentenced is fun, and the sentences and such can be pretty funny. I certainly came in with a skeptical attitude, because I was afraid that the game would force one into using words; but the options are rather large, and the word selection on the cards is truly well done. The game will certainly please those who are fans of party/word games, but isn't too terribly taxing, and makes for a fun, enjoyable experience. There are several games available to play with the cards, but I want to talk about the basic game, the "Civil Court" version.
All the cards are thrown into the box and shuffled into one big pile, face down. Each player takes ten cards from the box and places them face down in front of them, ready to begin the first round. One player takes a score sheet, and the game is ready to begin!
In a round, players turn over their ten cards and attempt to form a grammatically correct sentence with the words on them. They rotate the cards, placing words next to each other to form a sentence. Cards may have several versions of the same word ("juiciest", "juice", "juices", "juicier", "juice") or a group of words of the same type ("or the", "over the", "next", "off of", "on the"), ("was", "is", "am", "are", "will be"), ("South America", "Europe", "North America", "Australia", "Asia"). Once a player has finished a sentence, using as many of their cards as they like, they knock on the table, signaling that they are finished.
Starting with the first player that knocked, each player then reads their sentence to the other players, who then decide whether the sentence makes sense. For example, I just pulled ten cards out of the box and made the sentence, "We will be outside crushing Australia spaces". I then must argue that my sentence makes sense and is grammatically correct. All the players then vote whether the sentence is correct or not. Each player whose sentence was considered good scores points for the cards - five points for each card used, with some harder words scoring ten or twenty points. The first player to knock in a round scores a bonus of ten points, and anyone who uses all ten cards also gets a ten point bonus.
Some cards are "Wild Cards", which can be used for any single word, but score no points. After all sentences are scored, all cards are discarded, and the next round begins. Scores are recorded, and the game continues until one player reaches 200 points, at which point the player with the most points is the winner! Another variant uses a sand timer, which is flipped over after the first player makes their sentence. Any player who doesn't finish their sentence in time scores no points.
Some comments on the game…
1.) Components: The pentagonal box is probably not the sturdiest box in the world, but it really is quite unique and holds the cards well. At first I attempted to store the 540 cards neatly in the five corners of the box, using a foam piece to hold them in place, but I eventually realized that I could simply throw them in the box. Each card has some nice graphic designs, and the five words on the cards are well done and easy to read. The cards can be laid on top of each other for ease of reading the sentences and seem to have taken some good beatings in stride (I took some extreme methods when first shuffling the cards). All the cards and timer fit quite easily in the box.
2.) Words: I was really impressed with the selection of words. There are a decent amount of wild cards amongst the mix, but even without them, it's almost always possible to make some kind of sentence. You would be surprised at the versatility that fifty words offers you; and if anything, it will increase players' vocabularies.
3.) Rules: The rulebook is a four page booklet that very clearly explains the rules. They can also be found, along with several other games, at the games webpage, www.ybsgame.com. While the other games are interesting, I prefer the basic game the best, without the timer. The only time I would bring out the timer is if I were playing the game with someone who was simply too deliberate and slow. The timer might help them to move a little more quickly.
4.) Versions: More versions of the game are planned, with foreign languages, children's versions, and more on the way. I think some of the ideas sound great - and can't wait until I see them. Right now, the basic game works well with teenagers and adults, although the concept is sometimes more difficult for elementary children. As a learning concept, it works well, but the pressure of it being a game may be too much for them.
5.) Fun Factor: Most of the fun in the game comes from laughing at the silly and nonsensical sentences that others make up. The voting can be nasty in some groups, I suppose, but it's usually obvious as to whether a sentence makes sense or not. Sometimes, however, a person is so hilarious in their defense of their sentence that the others simply give it to them. Often, an explanation is needed to make the sentence be logical, and the back stories often are interesting and humorous.
6.) Word Games: I think the game might appeal to those who like word games but don't want to do any writing or hard thinking. In You've Been Sentenced, players simply rotate words so that they fit together and make sentences. Yes, that takes a bit of brain power, but it's not as difficult as it sounds, making this game a fun, leisurely activity (unless, of course, you include the timer).
I could recommend the game because it has a unique box structure, or because it comes with more cards than any other game that I've ever seen. I could recommend it because it can be used with English classes or folks wanting to increase their language skills. I could recommend it because it can handle up to ten players fairly easily. But I won't - I'll simply recommend it because it's fun.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
www.tomvasel.com
