Product: Did you know that “urban•slime•icious” is the act of drinking water from a public water fountain by placing your mouth completely over the nozzle? Ever used the word “ego•oxious” in a sentence before? We didn’t know these words existed until Out of the Box Publishing sent us Faux•Cabulary, its new game for 3-7 players, ages 13 and up. In it, players are presented with a definition and use word cubes to try to make a word that best fits the definition.

In the bright red box comes a set of 180 Faux•Cabulary cards, 21 word cubes (six-sided dice with word fragments printed on each side), six cube covers, a card tray and a single sheet of rules.

Gameplay: You have to love a game that comes with a single sheet of rules. The rules for Faux•Cabulary are extremely simple. The Wordmeister draws a Faux•Cabulary card and reads the definition to the other players. Each of those players blindly draws three word cubes and tries to make a word that fits the definition from the word fragments (like “omo,” “ary,” “itis,” and “tang”) on his or her cubes. Players can use one, two or three cubes to make their word.

Once the players have made their words, they hide them beneath a cube cover and submit them to the Wordmeister. The Wordmeister mixes the words up so he doesn’t know which one belongs to which player and reveals the words. By using them in sentences and comparing with the definition, the Wordmeister decides which word best fits the definition and awards the winning player with the Faux•Cabulary card. The job of Wordmeister then moves to the left of the current Wordmeister and play keeps going.

The number of Faux•Cabulary cards a player has to earn to win the game depends upon the number of participants (seven cards must be earned if there are three players; six cards with four players; etc.).

One addition we made during our review games was to have the Wordmeister either close his eyes or turn away from the rest of the players. The reason is that if you’re paying attention, you know who uses one or two word cubes rather than all three. I recommend players institute this rule as a matter of course, but definitely with younger players who might be tempted to tip the scales.

Marketing: Faux•Cabulary is a delightful game — or “max•o•fun” — and fits into Out of the Box Publishing’s library of thoughtful and enjoyable titles. Similar to Apples to Apples, Faux•Cabulary is both family friendly and appealing to adults.

Put together a display and call it “Party Game Central!” or something along those lines. Include the hot-sellers, like Faux•Cabulary, and a couple of those that need a push, and put them on display. Have a copy of the games open and ready for demo. When people ask if Faux•Cabulary is only for seven people, point out that the more people involved, the more fun that can be had, with players forming teams.

Faux•Cabulary should scream “USEFUL!” to educators. When you are talking with your local school districts about products that are good for teachers and students, mention Faux•Cabulary to English teachers. It can help build cognitive skills and reading comprehension, but is also fun.

Keep a list of the funniest words that are created while you play Faux•Cabulary. For instance, we came up with “max•phat•o” for a burger so large that it could cause death after consumption. Make a sign that says something like, “Ask about our new MAXPHATO.” When a customer does ask, use it as an icebreaker to tell them all about Faux•Cabulary.

VITAL STATS

Product: Faux•Cabulary

Publisher: Out of the Box Publishing

Stock No.: 3210

MSRP: $29.99

Availability: Contact your favorite game distributor or call 800-540-2304

BOTTOM LINE

Appealing to wide audience

Can be played with large groups

Thoughtful and fun!