Cranium Wow Game Reviews

• Answering the big question: How different is this than the original?

  
  By A2P6A9FQA6D0SY on 2007-12-05
  When we bought this game, the big question we wanted answered was how different was it from the original? We put off buying it, then when we found it on an inexpensive sale, we figured it was worth the risk.
  
  This game will be appreciated by anyone who enjoys the original Cranium and has exhausted the cards of their first game.
  
  The game is played largely the same way as the original. Up to 4 teams move around the board by successfully completing challenges in 4 categories: Data Head, Star Performer, Word Worm and Creative Cat. The board layout is the same, though it's slightly more decorative this time. If memory of the original serves me correctly, the board is also smaller this time around.
  
  All of the original activities from these 4 categories are present. However, they have also added new activities and changed one of the old activities, slightly.
  
  In Data Head, they've added an activity called "Odd Couple," wherein you choose the two items in a list that don't belong with the others.
  
  In Star Performer, they've added an activity called "Slideshow." In this activity one team member moves the arms and legs of another silent team member as you would a marionette. Think of it as charades with a twist. The goal is obviously to get the other players to guess what the puppeteer is trying to demonstrate with the puppet.
  
  In Word Worm, they've changed "Gnilleps" to be a team game, meaning every player on the team takes alternating turns, adding one letter at a time to spell the word in reverse. They've also added "Mindmeld," a word association game where two or more team mates are each given a topic and have to write down 3 words that immediately come to mind when considering the topic. If any of the words between team mates match, the activity is successfully completed.
  
  Club Cranium activities also still exist, but if I remember the original rules correctly, the way Club Craniums are played is slightly different. However, I could just be mistaken in my recollection of the way they were originally played.
  
  We did find in a few instances that we could not complete some of the activities in a 2 person per team game. For example in Slideshow, the puppeteer was someone from the team that drew the card, but the Marionnete was from a different team so that there would still be someone left on the original team to guess what was happening. We just could not play Club Cranium Slideshow.
  
  I found the Data Head questions were much easier than the first game. All of the other activities remained at relatively the same level of difficulty as before.
  
  The addition of character movers with interchangeable hats and hair was cute, though it does not change anything about game play.
  
  Overall, we enjoyed this as much as the original and like the new activities. If you have the original, you might still want to add this to your game collection, especially if you have exhausted all the cards from your first game like we did and especially at this great price of $15.99 (it retails for almost $30 and I'm not sure if I would pay $30 for a duplicate game). If you do not have a Cranium game yet, I would choose this one instead of the first one simply for the added variety.
  
  

• Great game, lots of laughs.

  
  By A2PVP6TW8FRRCD on 2007-11-27
  Cranium Wow is a very nice incarnation of the original game. Because the tasks are so varied, this game seems to appeal to a wide swath of folks- provided you know how to get a little silly! Definitely not the game for people who take themselves too seriously! This edition appears to be well constructed and I particularly appreciated the organization within the box- as there's a lot of little pieces. You need at least four people to play, and at some point if it remains popular with your friends you'll need to invest in booster packs to get fresh questions, but this is a great thing to break out during a dinner party instead of watching a movie because it keeps everyone interacting....and usually laughing!
  
  

• As good as the original

  
  By AQFV8S4HOZN58 on 2007-12-02
  My family love Cranium games. Unfortunately, we are spread out all over the US so we only get to play together around the holidays. We bought this game to play at Thanksgiving this year and absolutely had a blast. It is just as much fun as the original Cranium. My 12 year old nephew does not always know the humdingers or the cameos but he still enjoys playing. I highly recommend this game for anyone 12 and up who loves the thrill of competition and loves to laugh! For the price of a board game, we have certainly had some "priceless" experiences.
  
  

• Party fun in a box!

  
  By A2KOFNJ938RJVQ on 2007-11-26
  This game is a smash at a party! Mix this game, some booze, and some fun people and you'll have a fun nite. We played and laughed for hours!
  
  

• Wow Cranium Game -- Advertising to Wrong Age Group

  
  By A2IL2VU6BAEZ5Z on 2008-01-02
  This game was bought for my daughter, who is 10. Although it was in the group of suggestions for 9 - 12 year olds, it is really a game for 16+ years old, and should not be advertised in the 9 - 12 year-old category. My son is 13, and even he had trouble on a number of the questions, and my daughter was almost at a total loss on most of the questions. It was a bit of a disappointment, although when she gets older, I am sure it will be a lot of fun to play.Cranium Wow Game
  
  
• Even better than before!
  By A3RU2P4FAACQ1J on 2007-12-19
  I got it as a birthday gift a little over a month ago, but I've played with other people's sets to so I've played it quite a bit. So what's different about this from the old Craniums? Well, a few rule changes, different die, new games, and movers. The rule changes are pretty minor: the soonest birthday rolls first and I think that's new. When you get to the middle of the board you do all 4 categories in clockwise order and then your opponents pick one more for you to do, which I believe is new. The die has 10 sides for the 4 colors plus purple to fast track to the brains. The new games are Side Show (move a team mate's body to get your team to guess whatever the card says), Team Gnilleps (spell the word backwards, except that the whole team has to participate now), and Mind Meld (everyone on the team writes down 3 things in a category and if 2 people match in 1 item then you win the roll). I think that's it, but I haven't played regular Cranium in a while so there's also Copycat (act like the person on the card) and Odd Couple (pick the 2 things on the list that don't belong) in case that wasn't in original Cranium. The movers are cute and the hair is changeable. There are 12 in all, and your box comes with 4 of them. Oh, and it has 600 cards which appear to be all new and has some more pop culture mixed into them.
  
  So how does it play? To be honest, it's faster and at times can be easier. There are a number of easy cards, and some hard ones. Then again, difficulty is subjective based on who you're playing with. But still, the purple color on the die makes the game a lot faster. You can finish a whole game with 2 teams in under an hour. If you have more teams though or if you get a lot of hard cards the game can take about 2 hours. Despite this though, it's still a lot of fun. I find my friends pining to play it whenever we have out get togethers. I think it really does revitalize the series with great presentation inside and on the outside of the box, and it's a lot better than getting a booster pack if you have an old Cranium set. It's pretty much what you've come to love, plus more. Yeah, it has quite a bit of easy cards, but that doesn't mean your team will get them. I don't regret getting this game at all, and I think it actually doesn't work too bad with small groups (though it's obviously best with larger groups).
  
  
• Bring the Family Together
  By A192Z1UVDNK88E on 2007-12-26
  Even the most silent teenager and the shyest adult will get lively and laugh as Cranium Wow players have to act things out (like charades), or sculpt or sketch something and have others guess what it is (like Pictionary), or solve a tough trivia or word puzzle. We own the original and were thrilled there was a new edition with all new challenges. 600 cards!! is enough for several holiday gatherings with plenty left over for parties or just playing with friends or fam.
  
  
• WOW is right.
  By A3GHF4Q98U8SCZ on 2008-04-30
  We are also fans of the original Family Fun game. We also own Hullabaloo which is absolutely fantastic for younger children. My five year old son cannot get enough. As a family we play Cranium WOW quite often on our game nights and the variety of activities is very stimulating for our two teens as well as the youngest. A true multigenerational adventure.
  
  
• Wow . . . what a fun game :)
  By A1AE1O4QOO10EE on 2008-07-31
  We were trying to find a fun, easy game to play when we go over to our friends houses for dinner and game night. we had a blast with it! No matter what talent you have, there's a little for almost everyone's skills. Makes the most shyest, uncoordinated person show their silly side. We've had the best laughs with this game, towards the end of the night we were everyone was getting silly, it's a great game! We highly recommend!
  
  
• Loads of Fun
  By A23P007NB160AP on 2008-01-01
  Excellent group game especially at parties. We have played it with different sets of people, and everybody loves it. The key to it is the variety of cards, which makes it constantly entertaining. Also the game does not drag on and on like some of the other board games. With 2 teams the game generally gets over within 90 mins, which you will never feel because of all the fun you are having. Highly recommended.
  
  
• Family WOW
  By A906IH463AYN3 on 2008-01-07
  GREAT game, easy to learn and play. Fun for all, best if played in teams with a group of 6 or more. A must have.I highly recommend this for all 13-45.
  
  
• WARNING: Game can cause endless nights of fun!
  By A1LFD2FSTM4MUZ on 2008-01-10
  My friends and I played this game during our Christmas Party. I bought this game after reading all the positive reviews on this site and I am glad I did. We spent at least 3-4 hours playing this game. I think it took longer because we took so many breaks in between the game. But needless to say it was highly entertaining and is a great way to "break the ice" with people you don't know very well.
  
  
• WOW!!!
  By A2R1VKM2ZF63EB on 2008-01-12
  This is the third Cranium game I have bought so you know from the start that I already love the game. I've also bought the junior version for a gift. We (6 of us in our 40s and 50s) played on a Sunday afternoon that went into the night. We all wanted to play again so we have now set up a Cranium Club for the first Sunday afternoon of the month. I love the new cards. My only complaint is that none of us knew the music! I guess we need to play with some younger people too.
  
  
• Tougher than the original
  By A3JQQZKZDM1RK3 on 2008-01-12
  If you think the previous version has become too easy, Cranium WoW should provide you a challenge. Still fun, but may be too difficult for some youngsters. It also has new challenges like Puppeteer where you perform charades, but using someone else.
  
  
• awesome
  By A2Z4YT1J1DY54N on 2008-01-13
  i love this game. we play it all the time, and i'm even buying the expansion pack we play it so often. the little people are so cute too, and the whole game is designed very nicely.
  
  
• Great family fun!
  By AREPUYDLUDA9M on 2008-01-29
  As the parent of two twenty somethings we have really enjoyed playing this game together as a family and the kids have also borrowed it to play with their friends. It is easy to split up into teams to include a greater diversity of ages and the categories are broad enough to include most people's interests. Great fun.
  
  
• Improvement to a classic
  By A3Q03SGHW52XGS on 2008-03-06
  In college, my friends and I used to play Cranium as often as we could. It was a great source of cheap and exciting entertainment for broke college students. Even though we're now working and no longer broke, my friends and I still get together every so often to play Cranium. It's just as fun these days as it was in the past. We've recently stepped it up to Cranium Wow and the new version is even more fun than the original. Cranium Wow combines the classic Cranium with some of the fun new categories from Cranium Turbo like Team Gnilleps (backwards spelling) and Sideshow (Using your teammate as a puppet to act something out). If you love Cranium, you'll love this version. If you haven't played Cranium, what are you waiting for?
  
  
• Great
  By A3A6JN275K4VAB on 2008-04-20
  great board game, me and my friends had a blast! especially with Sideshow
  where one of you acts as a puppet and someone else controls you, and i was really impressed with the quickness of its arrival, i ordered it and within 2 to 3 days i got it
  
  
• cranium... but even better
  By A3020GQD3LRMTP on 2008-07-20
  yes, apparently it IS possible to make the classic cranium EVEN BETTER!
  this game is a lot of fun and highly recommend it with a lot of players.
  
  
  
• Fun for most
  By A3AX95U8KX76PJ on 2008-08-23
  Cranium wow is more fun than the original Cranium and the price on Amazon was excellent, about $10 cheaper than everywhere else. We play this game for hours. Some of the questions are for an older audience (because of older tv shows, actors, and songs that are mentioned) but overall it's for everyone. There are new catagories adn all new questions so if you have the original Cranium, this is a great upgrade.
  
  

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