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Getting the party started
Party games are probably the most popular genre in board gaming and are often cited as perfect examples of gateway games to get people into the hobby.
Simple, quick and easy to learn are the three facets any great party game needs, along with getting people talking, laughing and often arguing!
Games such as Wavelength, Monikers and Muffin Time have become staples in households to get parties started, or ice well and truly broken, and I believe that Green Team Wins can fit perfectly alongside these great party games.
So go get your best green shirt, put on a St Patricks Day hat and indulge in some mint choc chip ice cream, as in this game, going green, is the only way to win!
Green is the Winning Colour
The rules of Green Team Wins couldn’t be simpler. In this fun little party game, you have three types of cards. This or That, Fill in the Blank, or Best of Three. One person draws one of these cards and reads it to the group. So, if the question was, which of these is the best Holiday, Christmas, Easter or Halloween, everyone secretly gets to write an answer. 5 people say Christmas, and one rogue miscreant writes Halloween.
In Green Team Wins the points go to the majority, or in this game’s parlance, they are part of the Green Team. So those 5 Christmas fanatics all join the green team and score points. But the lonely horror fan sits alone in their orange team, scoring nothing. Orange is not the new anything in this game, and if you’re part of the Orange Team, you’re not going to win!
And with that, you have Green Team Wins. It really is that simple. You keep asking other questions, people put in their votes, you can go from orange team to green by voting with the majority or join the dreaded orange from green if you’re an outlier, and whoever has the most points at the end by being in the Green Team wins. That really is all the rules in a nutshell.
While the game may be fantastically simple, you can find within its simplicity an amazing level of fun and joyous social interaction.
Let the Debates Begin
Essentially what you SHOULD be doing when you play the game, is voting for what you think the majority of people will say. You’ve been asked This or That, Ancient Rome or Ancient Egypt. I know Rome is by far the most interesting, you’ve got Julius Cesear, Augustus, mad Roman gods! But my parents bloody love Ancient Egypt, anything to do with Mummy’s and Tutankhamun. So, I suppose I will write Egypt and join the Green Team….
BUT NO! THEY ARE WRONG! CLAUDIUS OVER CLEOPRATRA ANY DAY, I AM WRITING ANCIENT ROME AND GREEN TEAM BE DAMNED!
Because even though you know you should be putting down what most people will write, the so-called obvious answer, sometimes we just can’t help but write what we KNOW to be true in our heart of hearts, and that is where the brilliance of Green Team Wins rears its Grinchy green head.
It is so much fun seeing people’s strangely strong opinions on the best condiment, most delicious flavour of crisp, or what is the deadliest animal, and the ridiculous debates it creates. You feel so strong in these opinions, that winning a silly little board game no longer matters.
The appeal of a good party game is the fact you can whip it out at a house party or at Christmas with family, and not have a long rules explanation. You play something quick that gets people talking and laughing, something you can do while having a drink and catching up with friends or even getting to know someone. It turns out you can really learn about someone when they are confronted with the moral quandary if Winnie the Pooh, Eeyore or Piglet would bring more to a relationship.
I have just found that every time I have brought out Green Team Wins, whether it’s with my usual board game group or with people who have never really played one before, everyone has had a great time, the true hallmark of a good party game.
It helps I am a sucker for any game with a nice white board and pen as well, so it’s a 10 out of 10 straight off the bat for me!
Stop Saying American Things!
My plays of Green Team Wins have been helped and shaped by the fact that I have always played it with people who are trying it for the first time.
There isn’t a huge amount of cards in the box, and while it would be quite simple to write your own questions, (and I encourage you to do so!), I do think it’s the sort of game that you couldn’t get out and play with the same group constantly, otherwise it would get repetitive, and you might start getting the same cards crop up.
However, my biggest bugbear with the game comes entirely from my UK bias. There are a lot of US based questions in the box you won’t really understand unless you’re American. It feels very USA centric, so there are some cards when they crop up which we just don’t bother with. I am sorry, we don’t have PBS here! This limits your pool of cards further, but again maybe this can encourage you to just get creative and come up with your own questions. But in the middle of the game this isn’t always possible, and in something like Green Team Wins you don’t want too many moments of silence, as it works best while the game flows and debates continue to rage on. So, if you’re a non-American player, sometimes you can quickly get taken out of the game.
There also isn’t much depth to the game, by design really, so it isn’t something your usual Gloomhaven fan will get much out of on multiple playthroughs, but not every game needs to be three hours long and take up the majority of the room in your bedroom cupboard!
Final Thoughts
For a fun addition to your party game collection or as a good little birthday present for someone not usually into board gaming, Green Team Wins is perfect for an end of the night last little laugh, or even an ice breaker you bring into the office at lunch time to get to know some colleagues.
I don’t think it’s quite as strong or as inventive as other party games like Wavelength, or the ridiculous hilarity that comes with Monikers, but as a very low cost, straightforward option you can play quickly for some light-hearted entertainment, Green Team Wins is a fantastic game to have available, and I see it becoming a staple at parties for years to come!
