I'm not a huge fan of psychologists, and I've never taken an inkblot test. So I certainly wasn't very interested in a game about such things. I bought it, however, for two reasons. One, it was on sale, for a very inexpensive price. Two, it was a board game. So is Thinkblot worth getting? Is it a game worth your time? The short answer is that it probably isn't - that it's fun and okay, but really isn't a game. A longer answer follows… First, a short description of the game rules: The game is very simple. Up to six players are given a sheet from a pad included with the game, along with a pencil. Then, the Thinkblot book is opened. It is a spiral bound book that transforms into an Easel with 75 different inkblot pictures, as well as a fold-out scoreboard. Each player places a peg into one of the colored paths on the scoreboard, representing his score. Now, a special 12-sided die is rolled. Instead of numbers, there are little pictures or blots on each side of the die. Depending on what is rolled, the players write down things on their scoring sheet that they think they see in the inkblot currently showing. Whenever a little blot is rolled (eight of the twelve sides), players write down anything they see in the inkblot mess. When a little bug is rolled (one side), players should write down any creature they see in the picture. When a little face is rolled (one side), they are to write down people, parts of people, or actions taken by people. When a half eaten pear is rolled (one side), players should write down any food they see. And when a little shirt is rolled (one side), players are to write down any clothing or accessory they see. Players then flip a ninety-second timer. As time runs out, they must secretly write down things they think they see in the picture. When time is up, scoring occurs. First of all, you have to persuade the other players that what you saw in the picture is really there. If you cannot persuade a majority of the players, then you get no points. If you can, however, you get two points if no one else wrote the answer, and one point if others also have that answer. If answers are similar, (like dog and mutt) players vote on them to see if they are the same. (It's a very democratic game.) There are also bonus images. When the image is flipped on the easel, some images in the inkblot are highlighted, with answers given by the folks who made ThinkBlot. If the category was "blot", and you match one of these answers, you get 1 bonus point for each. For every point you get, you move your peg on the scoreboard. The first person to get to the finish on the scoreboard (space 36) wins the game! Comments on the game: 1). Transformers: I think it's pretty "cool" how the book opens up not only into an easel, but into the scoreboard. The book is of the highest quality, and the pages are laminated, and should hold up well over the course of time. I'm not quite as enamored with the scoring board, however. While the colors are easily distinguishable, there's really no way to determine who is what color except by memory. And the scoring track has only 18 holes, which means you have to travel to the end of it, and then back along the same track. This means you have to remember what direction each peg is traveling in. It's not a major problem, but we found it slightly annoying when we played. 2). Other components: The pegs were strangely shaped, but functional. The die was fantastic, as the shapes were not stickers or printed on, but were actually imbedded into the die. The scoring sheets were nice, but, like most party games, not necessary, as any sheet of paper would suffice. The box is a nice large square, and is of top quality. All the components fit very well into it, although I would recommend a plastic bag for the die and pegs. 3). Democracy: Having each of the other players vote for your answers sounds good in theory, but in reality, doesn't make sense for a competitive game. It's very easy for a group of friends to dominate the game by voting for one another and leave some players out in the cold. This hasn't happened yet when I've played, but the opening for it is there. We have had some good arguments over what we've seen, but they were all settled amicably. 4). Inkblots: The inkblots are certainly different, although I suspect some of them were not random, and were rather formed deliberately so that certain pictures could be seen. Some of the categories don't go well with certain inkblots, also. Sometimes we would roll the food category, and see nothing resembling food in the picture, unless we warped our minds quite a bit. The bonus pictures are nice, but they pretty much make it so that you can only use each inkblot once, because to reuse it would mean that players would remember the bonus pictures. 5). Fun Factor: This is why I play the game. It's not really a good game - but it is fun to play. It's fun to laugh at what other people have seen in the picture, and laugh when they make up some crazy picture ideas. So, as a game, I can't recommend Thinkblot. As a fun time with your friends, I certainly can. If you looking for some fun, competitive times, steer clear of this game. If you are just looking for fun times, and you see this game for a good price, like I did, pick it up! Back to Table of Contents -- Game! # 10 To Game! List of Issues To MagWeb Master Magazine List © Copyright 2004 by George Phillies. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other articles from military history and related magazines are available at http://www.magweb.com