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Do you like party games like Just One, Codenames or So Clover? If the answer is yes you don’t need to read the whole review instead just get a copy of Sounds Fishy in your shopping basket and prepare for a hilarious time.
It is not hard to work out that I really like this party game from Big Potato Games. The concept is very simple. One player reads out a question and the other players all have to provide a fake answer except one player who has to tell the truth. The guesser then has to find as many of the wrong answers as possible without accidentally revealing the correct answer. Points are then awarded and play continues with the next player.
The fun and hilarity in this game comes from the crazy answers people give and you are 100% sure they are lying only to be told it is the truth. People can really try to put you off by seeming unsure when they give an answer or look ‘shifty’ all with the aim of throwing the guesser off the scent.
Seeing Red
When you open the shiny box you will see the game includes some pretty nice components for a party game. There are 200 questions which should last quite a while, lots of points tokens, eight red herrings and one true blue kipper. These fish are the highlight of the components as they are beautifully drawn and shiny. They will definitely attract people to the table to play.
It is worth pointing out at this time this is a party game and although the game is great at four players the fun only increases the closer you get to the maximum player count of ten.
To start a game you take the true blue fish plus a number of red herrings so there are one less fish than players. Fish are randomly allocated to all players (except the guesser) and players secretly look at their fish to determine if they need to tell the truth (true blue) or a lie (red herring). Players keep their fish with the shiny side face down.
The guesser will take a question card out of the sleeve so they can only see the question whereas the other players can see the back of the card which provides the question and answer. The other players then have 15 seconds to come up with an answer which they then tell the guesser one at a time.
The guesser then flips the fish of a player they think lied. If a red herring is revealed the guesser gains a point and can continue to try to find more red herrings or stop if they wish to do so and retain the points. If the guesser reveals the true blue before exposing all of the red herrings they lose all of their points and play continues with the next player becoming the guesser.
In a 4 to 5 player game you play two rounds and with 6 to 10 you just play one round. The player with the most points at the end of the game is the winner.
I Get The Point!
This game includes some lovely points tokens which look great on the table. Points are allocated to the guesser as well as the red herrings and true blue kipper depending on how well the round played out.
The guesser will gain 1 point for each red herring they flip plus 1 additional point if they guess all of the red herrings (hence only the true blue answer is left). However, the guesser will lose all of their points if they flip the true blue too early. The red herring players will receive 1 point for every flipped fish on the table if their fish remains unflipped. The true blue kipper will receive 1 point for every unflipped fish on the table if their fish is flipped.
Sustainable Gaming
This is a plastic free game. All of the contents and box itself are made from paper and cardboard. The insert, which holds everything perfectly, is made of recycled paper and it certainly has that smell which reminds you of its green credentials.
I really like how some board games companies are taking the environmental issues seriously. As a hobby we to do tend to like grandiose productions with lots of plastic minis and gloriously over produced components. Big Potato Games have committed to reducing their carbon footprint by reducing the size of their games and packaging, and going plastic free where possible.
Sounds Fishy Final Thoughts
This will take pride of place with my party games such as Just One, Codenames and So Clover. It is simple to teach, everyone can play from the little kids to the tea-swilling grannies, the fish are adorable and shiny, and with 200 question cards out of the box it will be a long time before you come across a question you have played before. Sounds Fishy will cause laughter and fun and this will only increase the higher the player count.
