Smart Ass

Smart Ass is a guessing game. Except you don't want to guess until you're more or less absolutely sure. Because you only get one per round.

There's a board. There are pieces. There are dice (two, nice, big dice). And there are question cards - 220 of them to be exact. Two-sided cards. So that's 440 questions. Which is more than enough for many hours of significant play.

It's the question cards that are most interesting. Because each card is a graduated list of hints - the first being the most general, the last, the most specific. Generally, by the time you hear the last hint, you pretty much know the answer. It's a little like a game of 20 questions, only it's 10 answers.

So that makes it a very different kind of guessing game. Since everybody can guess, it makes it also an unusually involving, and clearly Major FUN kind of guessing game - especially for teens.

If you guess correctly, you get to roll the numbered die and move that many spaces around the track. So, the sting of your victory is somewhat mollified by the balm of blind luck. There are three special spaces on the board, called, respectively (but definitely not respectfully) "Dumb Ass," "Hard Ass," and "Kick Ass." If you land on "Dumb Ass" you can't guess the next round. "Hard Ass" you get a bonus question. "Kick Ass" you have to move back three places.

All in all, there's just enough luck to keep the game open for everyone, just enough challenge to keep the game interesting, and just enough mayhem to keep the game fun.