Snake Oil

How to play

Snake oil has a similar style to it as other card base games that have been released over recent years. Meaning individuals in your group will take turns to be the arbiter of comedy and award cards to the funniest player. Each person will pick up 6 snake oil cards (with the green border) and one will pick up a profession card. The profession card will be double sided, and you can choose which side you want to be. After this, each person other player will put two of their snake oil cards together to create and pitch a product that they think would be best for the profession chosen. There is no set order to this so whoever thinks of their pitch first gets to give their pitch first, and once complete the next person can go. The professional then choses their favorite pitch and gives them the profession card. This continues until everyone has had the opportunity to be the professional and the person with the most won profession cards wins. Very simple.

How does it play

Do not let the simplicity of this game fool you. Much like similar games such as Cards against humanity, Snake Oil can consume hours of your life before you know it. The beauty of Snake Oil however is that it can be played with anyone. I have played this game with both my family and friends, and we have all had an excellent time every opportunity we have had to play it. As imagination is the key to a good game, you can play the same game with 2 different groups of people and have a wildly different experience based on their thoughts and use of the cards.

An example of this is what has come to be referred to as the “Pain Road” within my group of friends, where one player chooses the profession of dictator, and we were all pitching ideas. Then someone decided to pitch the pain road, detailing all the horrific and humiliating things someone would have to go through if they wished to complain to the dictator about how they were running the country. After a good 10 minutes of hysterical laughter a clear winner was announced. This contrasts very differently to the Flower Sword that was pitched during a family game for a secret agent because it would look cool.

The fact that you can explain your ideas and why they would make an excellent product adds so much to this game, meaning you rely less on good cards and more on your ability to make a good idea from them. I have had this game for a couple of years now and it is a go to when you cant be bothered, or don’t have the time for something that requires set up.

My thoughts

Games don’t get much simpler to play that this one, and that simplicity means that it can be an excellent way to get friends and family playing in no time. It started for me and my friends and a game we could play for a few minutes and put down, but we quickly realized there is no such thing as just one game of Snake Oil.

The fact this can be played with almost anyone (as it is for those ages 10+) is a huge bonus so can be enjoyed if you want to use it as a game for family night, or one to play with friends. None of the cards have anything on them that would not be suitable for those 11 and up, but the open nature of the game means that if you are playing with adults who have a particularly crude sense of humor, there is still plenty of room to be filled with their ideas.

The price fits it in the same area as other card based games, but this is one that I would genuinely recommend over most others. There is a little bit of luck required with the cards, but most of the work is the product you can create from them. All in all, it is an incredibly fun and intuitive game with very little complexity and a mountain of replay ability.