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Team3 is a team-based, semi co-operative, dexterity and communication party game for three to six people.
I need you to imagine something for me. Imagine you are at one of those team-building, ice breaker events. That type where you have to interact with Kevin from finance even though you will probably never speak to him again. Those ones that management pass off as “Away Days” but really it's just the staff room with all the chairs piled up in the corner. Now imagine the team building game you are given to do is actually fun! Real, proper, fun! Now imagine your workmates are people you would actually choose to play games with.
Boom, you are playing Team3 from Brain Games.
The Game
The aim of Team3 is to work together to build a structure pictured on a blueprint out of colourful blocks as fast as possible. But, there is a catch, more on that later.
Today I'm reviewing the pink version of Team3, cunningly named Team3 Pink. There is also a green version. Each version has a different mini-expansion inside. You can get one copy of each box to take it up to 12 players.
What to do
At 3-5 players you choose three players to go first while any remaining sit out for the round. At six players you split into two competing teams. This is a particularly fun way to play.
The first player, the Architect, has in front of them an image of a structure that needs to be built out of blocks. The Architect must describe the image on the blueprint to the Supervisor player. Here we reach the first hitch. The Architect cannot talk and the supervisor cannot see the blueprint. So, the Architect must describe the image using mime and gesticulation.
Now, the supervisor player must tell the builder player what to build with good old fashioned words. The Builder then attempts to build what is being described to them. But! Yes, there is another catch. The builder has their eyes closed! That's right, the builder cannot see the pieces or what they are building. Let chaos, hilarity and just a hint of frustration ensue.
What's in the box?
Each Team3 box comes with a brightly coloured set of chunky plastic blocks in a variety of shapes. There is a set of blueprint cards across three different difficulty levels and a plastic stand. The cards are different in the two versions. The rulebook is brief and clear and gets you playing quickly.
The pink version comes with the “Dimension Tension” expansion where rather than building the shapes in two dimensions you have to build them in three dimensions. Frankly, I think I'd struggle to do that with my eyes open!
The green version has “Mind Merge”. In this one, you play in a team of five with two architects, two supervisors and one builder trying to build two structures, one with each hand. Umm, yeah, maybe next time.
What is it like?
Team3 works very well as a social game. Yes, it's not easy, but at the easier difficulty levels, the challenge is actually more doable than you might imagine. It's a great game to play over and over again to try and finely hone your team's skills.
I've played Team3 with a few different groups now and everyone has enjoyed it immensely and asked to play it more. Even people who I thought would struggle with the concept have enjoyed it. After a couple of practices, you will get into a groove and find efficient shortcuts for getting over the information you need. You will find you have a knack for mime or translating mime into words, or building things with your eyes closed that you never knew you had. It's always good to have new things to put on your CV. I take great pride in currently being unbeaten at this game. I've jinxed it now!
Final Thoughts on Team3
Team3 is both silly and stimulating in equal measure. I've found it to be an excellent party game and a break from the current crop of word-association type party games on the market. It makes a good alternative to other team-based party games such as Codenames or Trapwords. I thoroughly recommend giving Team3 a go.
