Apples to Apples
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Apples to Apples is a fast-paced party game of pairing words. It takes about half an hour to play. It is available through Out Of The Box Publishing.
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Equipment
The original boxed set contained:
- 108 green cards (green apples) each of which has an adjective such as frightening or fresh printed on one side.
- 324 red cards (red apples) each of which has a noun such as Eleanor Roosevelt or lollipops printed on one side.
- A tray for holding the cards.
Four expansions were available adding 72 extra green apple cards and 216 extra red apple cards. In 2002, Expansion Set 3 won the Origins Award for Best Card Game Expansion or Supplement of 2001.
As of 2005, the original set and its expansions have been retired and replaced by a "Party Box" with the combined contents of the basic set and its first two expansions, and a "Party Expansion" set with the combined contents of the third and fourth expansions. A Junior edition is also available.
Rules
From four to ten may play. At the beginning of the game each player is dealt seven red apple cards (nouns), and one player is selected to be the first judge.
On each turn the judge draws a green apple card (an adjective) and places it face up for all to see. The remaining players each quickly select a red apple and place it face down. The slowest player to select a red apple is disqualified for that turn, and retains all of his red apples.
The judge shuffles the selected red apples so that it is unclear which player contributed which, and then reveals them. The judge decides which of the red apples is most nearly described by the green apple, and one point is awarded to the player who contributed the winning red apple.
Players draw cards to increase their hands back to seven red apples, and the responsibility of being judge passes to the left.
The winner is the player who first reaches a predetermined number of points.
Variations
The official rules condone the judge picking the match that is "most creative, humorous or interesting" as opposed to the one that is best described. A particular judge might think it hilarious if Helen Keller is played on visionary, and give that match the point over Galileo. Each judge has wide discrection. If desired, however, the players may explicitly agree to judge based on which red apple is least described by the green apple, or by which is most ironic, etc.
Strategy
Lobbying for the appropriateness of certain matches is allowed and encouraged. For example one may say, "Don't you think Michael Jackson is rather frightening? Remember the baby incident..." One is not required to lobby for one's own apples; on the contrary it is both fun and sporting to praise interesting matches offered by other people.
It is wise to play to the judge. Some judges are prone to look for the most technically correct match, whereas others tend to vote for the funniest or most creative association. Also be aware of the judge's biases. If the judge is a chain-smoking Democrat, and turns over the green apple disgusting, you may have a better chance of scoring with George W. Bush than with cigarettes, regardless of how much you personally like them apples. Because of this, in a large group, a player who knows only one or two of the other players is unlikely to win.
When none of your red apples seems likely to win, it may be wise to throw away a boring one in order to draw a new card.
External links
- Official Page (http://www.otb-games.com/apples/apples_basic.html)ja:アップルトゥアップル