Tabletop Review: It’s Obvious!

Designer: Jay Bucciarelli

Publisher: Friendly Skeleton

Social deception, lies, accusations, secrets, and crazy ways to call out friends! All are used to gain the advantage in this simple, fun, and creative party game called It’s Obvious!

It’s Obvious is pretty straightforward in concept, since most people have played the game “Would you rather,” but this game comes with a twist. No, I will not reveal the twist right away, because that is the best part of the game.

Basics

Unlike a lot of card games, It’s Obvious has a pretty simple set up. Each player gets 2 cards, one black and one white. These two cards are used to “vote” which choice you will choose from the revealed card. There will be a stack of cards with choices on them, such as “Pirates OR Ninjas”, and that stack is placed in the middle of the group. The host, or main player, will reveal a card, every player will place one of their voting cards (black or white) face down in the center of the group. Make sure to keep your vote secret! When everyone has voted, the voting cards are shuffled up, and revealed. A tally is taken for each side. This is when the game gets fun and exciting.

Up until this moment, no one should know how any other player has voted. Did they pick Pirates or did they pick Ninjas? So now that the votes have been revealed, the ones in majority are the “Obvious” responses, and the ones in the minority are the “Oblivious” choices. For example, playing with 2 other friends, I picked Ninjas, but they both picked Pirates. Therefore, Pirates would be Obvious, and Ninjas would be considered Oblivious.

Now comes the time to figure out who chose the Oblivious answer. How do you do that, you may be wondering? Well, you ask! A discussion over why Pirates are better than Ninjas will break out, and each player will explain why they chose the Obvious answer in hopes to convince everyone that they voted that way. Obvious players will be on the hunt for the Oblivious players, while Oblivious players will try to accuse other players of being the Oblivious ones, rather than themselves. Lie, convince, debate, and accuse each other.

After a round of explanations, accusations, fake hurt feelings, outright lifes, and a few questions between players, everyone must vote who they feel chose the Oblivious answer. A quick count from 3 to 1, and then on 1, everyone points at who they feel would be an Oblivious player, accusing them of their obvious wrong answer!

For example, when playing with 3 other friends, and I had picked Ninjas, I would try to convince them that I chose Pirates, in hopes to convince them that one of the other players picked Ninjas, and not me! Then I would choose another player to point at when choosing who would be the Oblivious player of the round.

If the Obvious players find all the Oblivious players, then the Obvious players win. But if the Oblivious players are not found, then the Oblivious player wins!

Sounds Confusing, Right?

It is much simpler when looking at the cards, and when you are playing the game. It actually moves fairly quickly, and the more people that are playing, the more fun can be had when discussing the choices.

Here is a quick breakdown of a round:

1. All players get a Black card and a White card.

2. Host, or chosen player, reveals the top card from the deck of choice cards.

3. Players secretly choose which side they want by placing the corresponding card on the table in a pile together.

4. The pile is shuffled and counted out to find which side received more votes. That side will be the Obvious side. The side with less votes becomes the Oblivious side.

5. Discussion about the side ensues. Accusations and outlandish claims are thrown around the table to convince other players or to oust other players.

6. Everyone takes a vote to try to eliminate other players. The Oblivious players will try to claim others are actually part of the Oblivious side. The Obvious players are trying to find the Oblivious players.

7. If the Oblivious players get through the round without being caught, they win. If the Obvious players find all the Oblivious players, then the Obvious players win!

And that's it! That is how the game goes. Seven easy steps, including deception, coercion, and flat out lying to others so they believe someone else is at fault.

The best way to describe this game would be a mashup of Among Us and Would You Rather. The simple choice of Would You Rather, mixed with the accusatory and coercion of Among Us.

And it is absolutely fantastic!

Conclusion

If you need a simple, fun, and crazy party game, where you can lie and deceive your friends and family, then It’s Obvious is obviously for you! The groups that I played with enjoyed this game so much, that we went through over half of the 200 cards that were in the deck of choice cards.

IT’S OBVIOUS IS A MUST BUY FOR ANY PARTY GAME NIGHT!