Balderdash Game Reviews

• Fun, educational, and hilarious word game

  
  By AIQ15562S4FQG on 2004-06-15
  Balderdash is a great game that combines wordsmithing and bluffing. To begin, each player rolls the dice to determine who will be the dasher first. The dasher then draws a card, reads the balderdash word to the players, and spells the word. None of these words are ones used in everyday language. (Examples include fleer, runnel, pontage, etc.) Each player jots down a phony definition that sounds credible (or, if you happen to know the real definition, write it down instead), and gives the slip of paper to the dasher. And then the hilarity begins. The dasher must attempt to read each definition and the real one without showing any emotion ... which is much more difficult than it sounds! Some of the phony definitions are hilarious, and often the real definition is too. After all definitions have been read, the dasher asks each player which definition is the correct one, noting that player's choice on the slip of paper. At the conclusion of the round, the players who chose the correct definition move two spaces on the board. The players who received votes for their phony definitions move one space for every vote. And, if no player guesses the correct definition, the dasher moves forward three spaces on the board. For subsequent rounds, each player takes a turn as the dasher. This game is fun, educational, and incredibly hilarious. Someone will crack up with laughter in every round!
  
  

• Something good just got BETTER

  
  By A2KS3MVX1PVEHP on 2004-11-19
  Balderdash might be the funniest game my friends and I have ever played. It is basically a bluffing game gone wild. My friends and I have never laughed so hard playing any other game. And we have tried them all.
  The Object of the game is: To make up answers that will bluff other players. Earn points for fooling other players into believing your bluff as well as for choosing the real answer.
  
  The fun part is: Each player, on their turn, will read a word and every other player will write on a piece of paper, not letting others see, the "definition" of that word. Now the "dasher" will read out loud all the fake definitions including the real one. After the laughter ends every one except the dasher votes on which definition they believe is the right one. You get one point for every vote on your fake definition, three points if you vote for the real definition and three points if you happen to write something similar to the real definition (we make it five points). It has happened four times in the many years I have had this game.
  
  THIS GAME GOT BETTER: There used to be only one category in this game - words. But now it has five different categories as Beyond Balderdash does. The difference between Balderdash and Beyond Balderdash is only one category. These are:
  
  Words - As explained above.
  People - Who is or what did this person do.
  Movies - Write about the plot of the movie.
  Initials - What do the initials stand for?
  LAWS (instead of dates as in Beyond B) - You are given part of the law and the players must finish it. This is probably the best category in the game.
  
  More categories add to the element of fun. Not to mention the "accidents". And since diapers are not included I will advice having a bathroom nearby. We sometimes use both games to play with six categories.
  
  If you have only played the original version you have missed on a lot. Is it educational? YES!! Since every real answer is really real my friends and I have learned many things about people, history and ... well you know, stuff. So my final verdict is BUY THIS GAME! And Beyond Balderdash. And the Clasic Balderdash. You WILL enjoy them weather you like board games or not.
  
  
  

• this game is a blast

  
  By A3PRZW1T7YNKFK on 2005-12-01
  There is nothing better then playing Balderdash with a crowd of innovative people. A player reads a card with the title of a movie, acronym, a date, word so forth and the other players must write down the meaning of it. For example the date may be may 4, 1978 and the players write down what they believed was memorable about this date. Then after everyone has written down an answer they are all read aloud along with the right answer and everyone guesses which one they think is right. The outcome-- some creative and utterly hilarious answers . This game is a must have for family get togethers. Its hysterical and imaginative plus there is the extra bonus of learning random facts. Most of the time you'll be laughing throughout so you wont know who wins. We have get togethers and there is never a dull moment once the game comes out.
  
  

• Balderdash/ Definition: A Board Game That Is Guaranteed Fun!

  
  By on 2003-11-28
  Balderwhat? You may be thinking. Well, a good definition, (or...atleast A definition) for it is the game that's fun, entertaining, educational, and the game where your creativity can flow and go wild! It's very simple, someone picks up a card and it'll have a strange word on it. Then below is a definition of the word,and you tell everyone the WORD[not definition] and they have to think up of some zany (sorry, I don't know how to spell that word...it sounds like "Zaynee"...) definition of it.
  Everyone gives their slip of paper to the person who has called out the word and they read all the definitions. You vote for the one you think is correct. If you vote for, lets say a friend, and that wasn't the real one, your friend would move, not you. If you picked the correct definition you'd move up. It's wonderful, and involves a good sized group to play. It involves a lot of socialness too. It's wonderful, I'm a child, and I L-O-V-E this game! You will too! I reccomend you play it! It will guarantee a good laugh or two!
  
  

• The best game out there period

  
  By on 2004-06-29
  Premise of this game: word definitions, but don't let that stuffy premise fool you. A person, elected or declared the balderdash `ref' by a roll of dice reads out a word. Only he/she knows what the `real' definition is. The rest of the participants write down their definitions and hand it over to the ref, who reads out each definition. The participants then vote on which is the correct definition. If you guessed right, you get the maximum points, but every person who thinks your definition is the right one wins you points as well, making this the only game that rewards knowledge as well as creatvity. So, the word is Nipter. What is your guess?
  
  
• The ultimate bluffing game
  By A2Z5XUM00YMDGA on 2006-04-18
  I started playing Boulder Dash back in 1996 and since then it has become one of my favourite games. There is no limit to the number of players that can participate in the game. Actually the more that are playing the more fun it is. You DO NOT HAVE TO KNOW the meaning of the words to have fun. What you need is a wild imagination and good skills in bluffing. The game now includes more categories such as dates, initials and movie titles but still the word category I think is the best. If the cards that are provided in the box are finished no problem you can use scrap paper and honestly I have never used the board of the game while playing.
  Be ready for rounds of loud laughs and why not be ready to enrich your vocabulary with words you will never use anyway!
  
  
• Bladder-dash
  By A3D9Y1JDG3O2HJ on 2004-09-15
  Yes, you read that right! My friends and I call this Bladder-dash because one of our friends has been known to laugh so hard that she barely makes it to the bathroom in time. Great group game, especially if you feel like being silly and kicking back and having a good time. I've enjoyed this game for many years now, and continue to pull it out when we have friends over.
  
  
• Wordsmithing at it's Finest
  By A1TKM36EYEQNSM on 2004-05-26
  This game can be a lot of fun if you have the right crowd to play with. Balderdash is unique and a great idea because it so simple to play and you can expand on it.

  I think the best part of the game is when you invent a new defintion of a word and make it sound so good that you get all of the votes. Where did this idea for a game come from? Some genuis somewhere needs to promote this game more to get it out there.

  Again, for simple fun and a quick after dinner game on a calm evening, Balderdash is the game of choice.
  
  

• Balderdash
  By A95TSFHLLFJCF on 2006-03-27
  Balderdash is a riot! It keeps my family in stitches! My entire family is so full of bull we play this easily. Playing Balderdash is a family tradition after Thanksgiving & Christmas dinners and everything in-between. Anytime there is a family gathering the Balderdash game comes out! My grown sons and their wives are full of bull, the grandkids are now joining in, but, it's tough to out bull the mother of bulls! Gotta Love It! Jane
  
  
• Hard to find, easy to love
  By AN04BKAO2HJKY on 2003-10-23
  I played this game at a friend's house and have been looking for it ever since. Its based on what I know as "Dictionary", in which a word whose definition is unlikely to be known by anyone is put into action, and the players all make up a definition. The player whose definition is most convincing to the others wins the hand. Its very imaginative and fun. There is actually a word ( I can't remember it now) whose definition is "a delirious twitching of the bed clothes."
  
  
• Great.
  By AM2F13MC2J1ZD on 2003-09-14
  Entertaining and fun for the whole family over 10. You can be silly while being serious. Young and old will love this.
  
  
• Great Game for the Conman!
  By ATE5SA1VTJNP8 on 2004-04-18
  I really cannot say enough about this game. Words which 99.9% of all English speakers would be hard-pressed to know, are thrown out to the players, they in turn must create fake definitions (or if they know the actual definition, then they move extra spaces on the board)and the person whos turn it is, reads the definitions to the players, and then they must guess which is the real definition. You move spaces based on how many right guesses you make, and how many bluffs you achieve.

  The way the actual definitions are written on the cards is so varied that it truly can be difficult to guess the correct definition. This is great fun for families and friends, it's an especially great way for children to increase their vocabulary, allthewhile having a blast.
  
  

• Board Game Turned TV Game
  By A1Q5GGA25L91ZV on 2004-09-25
  I never played the board game of Balderdash, but I have seen the TV game show version hosted by none other than Elayne Boosler airing weeknights at 8:30 on PAX TV. The board game is great, and the TV game is on the enjoyable level. I'm sure that everyone enjoys the TV version as much as the board game.
  
  
• Tremendous! Super! Awesome! Fun!
  By AWVQR7YYTYJ1L on 2005-08-02
  The original Balderdash game challenged players to make up definitions to a given osbcure word, and then try to guess which was the actual definition of the word to move along the board. Sounds a bit complicated but after a couple of rounds the game has everyone splitting their sides from laughter - since many of the definitions actual meanings are stranger than their fictional ones.
  
  With the new version of the game (aka Beyond Balderdash) there are 5 categories on every card, which expands the gameplay and switches it up a bit, albeit it also limits how many times you can play before running into doubles more often that you would with the original game.
  
  A general breakdown of what you have to bluff in each category:
  
  Movies - make up the plot to a given title
  People - explain what accomplishment the person has achieved
  Initials - devise a clever acronym
  Laws - what does this one mean?
  Words - the classic Balderdash standby.
  
  My only other complaints with the game are you run out of answer slips quite quickly (thank god for the refill pack I got) and you need a lot of people to make the game interesting...at the very least you need four, but the more the better. I'd say 5-8 is a nice number. This is a great game for the whole family - I've been playing it since I was 8 or 9 and have only gotten better.
  
  
• great group or family game
  By A9A5T3PTC1WQN on 2006-07-14
  We really enjoy playing this game. It is good for a wide range of ages and is a great mixer game.
  
  
• An Evening Of Laughs You'll Want to Repeat Again & Again
  By A1PY5H8ZY5F35H on 2004-11-24
  I fell in love with the original version of Balderdash my best friend owned. Everytime we had a family gathering, that game was the one thing we pulled out if things got dull. So when I got the gift for Christmas from my best friend, we cracked it open and broke in the new game. Not only is the new version just as good, if not better, it brings back great memories.
  
  The reason this game rates so high is not only the laugh factor, but also the fact that no matter your age, you can play this with a large group of people from 13-73, and EVERYone has a good time. I find that now most board games date themselves in the way of pop-culture.
  
  This game ranks as my Number#1 all time favorite. I like how I can play this game with my parents, my twenty-something friends, and my siblings. I have yet to meet anyone who did not have a good time playing this classic. No one feels left out for not being up to date on current entertainment news or a certain type of musical genre. It's all based on the definition of a word/person/place/thing - so the possibilities for answers are endless.
  
  In the old version you were given a word and asked to write down your definition (whereas now you get several categories). Then the person reading the word writes down the actual definition on another slip of paper and they all go into one pile. The person who knows the real answer, reads all definitions/answers and everyone votes on which answer they believe is correct. If someone picks your answer you get to move ahead a certain amount of spaces, if you pick someone elses, they also can move ahead one space or more if someone else selected their answer as well.
  
  Everyone can make up funny definitions, serious sounding definitions/explanations, and with the new categories offered with this just released version it expands the game even more.
  
  Although I like Cranium, I still find that Balderdash has been the best I've played and enjoyed the most while playing with a diverse group of friends/family.
  
  You must pick up a copy of this game and invite over a group of friends for a night of stomach cramping laughter! It would definitely be a holiday hit.
  
  
• Good party game
  By AENS008HCBVC5 on 2005-03-26
  This is a great game to play at parties or take on vacation. Many of these words might be too hard for children. But, for adults it is a lot of fun. The object is to come up with a definition of some obscure word in order to fool your opponents.
  I have A lot of fun with this game. I generally like to come up with some riddiculous answer
  
  for example: One word was Throp- I gave the definition "Something a 'thrabbit' does!"
  
  Many of the words are nouns. and many of the words are technical jargon of a specific field or profession.
  
  Its a good vocabulary biulder. Great practice for the game of scrabble.
  
  
  
• Fun for adults too
  By A2BBZGVLEGIAVN on 2005-04-17
  You have to have a sense of humor to play this game. It's not actually educational so much as fun. Most of the words on here you would never have heard of, unless of course, your major is Old Dead English Words. This game is great for drinking parties. It's also fun for just easy laughs with friends. The game is basically about how well you can bull*hit.
  
  You make up definitions to words or you pick the actual definition of obscure words. Keep a straight face and be as creative as you can. Your own imagination makes this game fun!
  
  Definitely try this game! It's a lot of fun once you start it. This game works best with a decent sized group of people (more than 4).
  
  The more creative you are, the more fun you will have.
  
  
  
• From the Board Games Editor at BellaOnline.com
  By AQSU58L0QIE2G on 2005-12-04
  This is one of my personal favorite board games of all time; so much so, in fact, that I secretly rate all games on a "How long it took me to put it down and play Balderdash instead" scale.
  
  This game will bring out the liar, the actor and the wordsmith in you, and is most fun when played with a bunch of people. You may run out of playing slips, but pieces of scrap paper work just as well.
  
  This game is a good one for road trips with lots of people (e.g. an "away" game, a church field trip, etc.), you don't even necessarily have to keep score, the winning is not the fun part, the PLAYING is what's fun.
  
  
• Balderdash 2
  By A3T3NU23O4ZQ55 on 2006-03-24
  This is the second Balderdash game our family has purchased. Always good for many laughs!
  
  
• 2nd generation Balderdash
  By AWQLUIW2AZ5HP on 2007-03-08
  I owned the original Balderdash game many years ago and loved it. I recently ordered the game on the internet and we played it the other day for the first time. This game is a variation in that it has 5 categories where the original only had unusual words. Quite honestly, I enjoyed the original much better than this newer version and we only played the game using the first category (unusual words) rather than all 5. The other 2 players were new to the game and really enjoyed it.
  
  
• MASSIVLY improved from the first version
  By A1W4HQPL1GXHLO on 2005-03-16
  I just played the new version for the first time last weekend at a friends. Wo... so much better! Instead of just thinking up definitions for crazy words, you can also think of...
  
  Film Plots: You are given the name of a movie, such as "Hot Under The Collar" and you make up a one sentence plot description.
  
  People: You're given a name, such as "Jennifer Leland" and you makeup why she might be famous. (I don't care for this category too much... too hard to tell from a name what someone might have done.)
  
  Initials: You're given a set of letters, such as D.H.F.C. and then you makeup something it could stand for.
  
  Silly Laws: "In New Jersey it is against the law to bake apple pies..." and then you finish the sentence.
  
  All players hand in their made-up definitions, descriptions, etc to someone who reads them all, along with the REAL one, and everyone tries to guess which one is legitimate.
  
  I would personally disagree with the reviews which say this game isn't meant to be taken seriously, and the idea is to be as silly as possible. I think it's quit fun to try and concoct answers that fool people into guessing that yours is the correct answer. But however you want to pay it, there's no doubt that this is one the all-time great party games, and it's well worth the twenty-five bucks. If you try it and don't have an absolute blast, email me and (depending on my mood) I'll refund your money. :-)
  
  Enjoy!
  
  
• the best "get together" game for an evening of laughter
  By ALMP7FRELITT2 on 2005-10-22
  This game is absolutely hilarious. Lots of fun to play, and you learn new definitions of words while doing it. I haven't laughed (and cried, cause we laughed so much) while playing any other game as much as this one. It was fun for all, an awesome game. A must buy if you are a game player.
  
  
• balderdash
  By A1XUX5D02I86MC on 2007-01-12
  We've had a great time playing this game. I would not recommend this for anyone under the age of 14. The idea is to fool your opponent with complex definitions or believable ideas. It would be tough to keep up with the adults at the table, in this respect. Happy playing.
  
  
• Balderdash
  By A10UPKN9G2QKVD on 2007-01-18
  This game is difficult at first to understand which side of the cards are the answers and which is the questions. It's no fun with 2 people. A lot of writing in this game I didn't care for.
  
  
• Fun fun fun!
  By A2Q5WSSCNEWSM6 on 2007-02-06
  We played this game after dinner on Christmas day with my family and boy we found a lot of people out of their comfort zone trying to come up with "spoof" answers. You will discover right away who the "creative minds" are. Not good for those who need parameters or right and wrong answers.
  
  
• Family Fun Keeps Everyone Laughing
  By A2IM726TW69WRK on 2007-01-09
  Our family loves this game. It brings out the creative side of people of all ages and is very fun to play. There are 5 catigories. Movies, weird laws, initials, word meaning, dealers choice. Everyone takes a turn orchestrating the game while the rest of the players make up ficticious answers. Then that same person reads everyones made up answers along with the correct answer and you have to guess which is made up and which is the correct. We played many times over Christmas with teenagers and gramdma too! Everyone was having such a great time we didn't want the game to be over. Turn off the TV, make some popcorn and re-connect with your family with this fun, no pressure to win game.
  
  
• Great word game, creative, various possibilities
  By A2I6E66AGN7AUH on 2004-02-23
  This game rocks! It's probably the most fun you can have with a word game. Great for kids to learn words (especially some really obscure ones that even adults don't know). Adults can easily invent variant rules (for instance, drinking game rules), practice bluffing skills, and exercise creativity! Fun for all.
  
  
• Games like Cranium and Rigamarole are even more fun
  By A2U01IN6YFRDSV on 2004-12-07
  I love Balderdash. It makes you think and laugh. How perfect is that? But now that I've experienced games like Cranium and Rigamarole, it's hard to go back to a game that's just the same thing over and over. These newer games do an ever better job of getting the crowd thinking and laughing, and on many more levels.
  
  Rigamarole, for example, has one game where you tell a story using the words on the card, but try to keep the other teams from guessing the words. They're funny words, like mullet, flamingo, or ignoramus. That's just one game, out of many many other games. I really like the more modern concept of multiple games in one box. WIth so many choices, something is bound to facilitate laughter and conversation.
  
  So that's my vote. Balderdash is good, but if I have cool group, I always break out Cranium or Rigamarole.
  
  
  
  
• Too Much Fun
  By A24CFI8TDKL7TC on 2004-12-22
  This game has become a holiday tradition with our family when we all converge at Christmas or Thanksgiving!
  
  It is a riot to play! It helps you work on your creativity, too, if you're lacking in that area!
  
  Get it! It's great!
  
  

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