‘Telestrations’ game review
By Ed Appleby, Illustrator
It was only a matter of time before I reviewed a game that required drawing. Telestrations is a party game for four to eight players published by USAopoly in 2009. Each player is assigned a word, which they write on a white board. The board is then passed to the player beside them, who interprets that word in a drawing. Play continues until the boards reach their original players and they see what kind of monstrosity has been created.
The game is basically a combination of Pictionary and Telephone, and I have played the public domain version called Eat Poop You Cat before. Even so, the addition of a timer, reusable whiteboards, and card-selection mechanic makes Telestrations more party friendly than pencil-and-paper-heavy Eat Poop You Cat.
The gameplay itself is hilarious. There have been few instances where I have had more fun playing a party game. The publishers have added a scoring system to the game if you want to be more competitive, but they also encourage you to ignore it and just have fun.
This is definitely a situation where having more players is always better, and there is an expansion that allows you to go up to twelve players. I can also attest that being a professional illustrator does not help as much as you might think.
A lot of hardcore game players may stick their noses up to party games, viewing them as a sort of Bud Light of gaming. But I found the game to be a load of fun. Something you can play with little kids as well as a good ending to a long night of gaming and drinking.
