One of the hot new games being introduced this year is Balderdash, brought to us by the Games Gang, the makers of the all-time favorite Pictionary.
Balderdash has been the No. 1 game in Canada for the past two years and is being introduced in the United States for the first time.Balderdash is a variation on the old "dictionary game," where players come up with definitions for strange and unusual words and try to bluff their opponents.
Several games have been developed around this theme in recent years, but Balderdash, selling for approximately $30, appears to have hit on a winning formula that makes it fast-paced and fun. Players are given a word and have to make up a definition. Those definitions are mixed in with the real definition, and players vote for the one they think is correct. Points are awarded for a good bluff as well as for picking the correct definition.
How well would you do at Balderdash? Here's a sample of some of the zany words that might test your imagination. See if you can separate the real meanings from the bluffs:
1. If someone offered you a ZOPILOTE, would you be:
a. accepting a blind date?
b. receiving a school diploma?
c. eating a type of Texan turkey buzzard?
d. collecting a rare coin?
2. If you were to WHEEPLE, would you have:
a. tripped while walking quickly?
b. poured flour on your kitchen flour?
c. made a poor attempt to whistle loudly?
d. hiccoughed rudely?
3. If you were practicing ASCOLIA in your spare time, would you be:
a. making clay pots in all shapes and sizes?
b. weight-training a specific muscle?
c. doing a sport dance in which the dancer hops on one leg upon a greased wineskin?
d. mastering Asiatic languages?
4. If you found yourself engaged in DIBS, would you be:
a. bartering with a storekeeper?
b. laying the cornerstone for a new building?
c. playing an old children's game with sheep's knuckle bones?
d. temporarily indisposed?
5. If you just saw a COLPOLTEUR, would you have seen:
a. a venomous snake?
b. a songwriter?
c. a Bible salesman?
d. a baboon looking for its mother?
ANSWERS:
The correct definition for each word is c.