The box is small, like you would hope for a simple party type game, making it easy to bring out to other people’s houses. On top of that the card stock is great. The cards are thick and crisp, with that nice glossy feel to them.

The colors are sharp, and the chosen font is easy to read. The different ‘types’ of cards are easily distinguishable from one another.

Is Danger The Game easy to get started on?

Yes. This game is very easy to set up. Very easy to read the rules. And very easy to get playing the first time around.

The rules are one small page long. Well, 3 pages long, but that is only because there are 3 variations of the how to play the game. And when I say one page, this isn’t a huge page either. See pic below.

For those that want an extra quick explainer… One person (victim) reads a danger card, and the other players (rescuers), must use a tool (card) and skill (card) to create a story on how they will save the victim. The rescuers all get a chance to object to one another, and the victim choses a winner from the bunch.

Simple = Good when you want to jump right into a game and get people going. I like that about this game.

Does Danger The Game have good replay-ability?

Yes. There are a number of variables at play here, which as you would assume, leads to the game being different every time you play.

You choose a random ‘Danger’, plus all the players will have a random combination of ‘Tool’ and ‘Skill’ cards in front of them. The odds of having all three of these options being the same is very slim! I equate it to games like Cards Against Humanity or Joking Hazard (see both in our Best Party Games article)in the randomness of the games. Sure, some answers from game to game might be similar, but never the exact same stack of answers.

You also have the option of playing different variants of the game (Base, Plot Twist, or Dastardly). Each variant uses the cards in the box in different ways. This means adding new cards, or using cards with a different objective in mind.

These different variants are one of the things I really like about the game. Usually with simple games, you get one way to play and that is it. Not here. Here you get 3 different ways, which can lengthen the game, up the intensity, and the imagination needed.

This leads to the last point about replayability…

Imagination!

You must use your imagination to craft stories or scenarios that go along with your cards. With this, it obviously creates an infinite number of possibilities for the game. It is only limited by the imagination of the players (more on this later).

For example a tool card that reads “A pencil that can draw things into existence.” One player may use this card to draw a dragon to rescue the victim, or another a portal to another dimension, or another to draw a kitten to make them happy. Again, it all depends on the scene in front of you and the imagination of the player.

How Long are Games of Danger The Game?

Fairly short. We found that our games were fairly quick. We would start and finish a game in 20-25 minutes.

That said, we did have some longer games. One went for 45 minutes. The rules of the game state that it is the first person to collect 3 Danger cards. However, you can easily change this to 5 or 10 depending on how long you want to make it.

Also, it depends on the number of people. There isn’t a set amount of people for the game other than needing at least 3 to play.

My Experience

As mentioned, there are a number of things this game got right, so now let me tell you about my experiences while playing this game, and why I think they were what they were.

Like I mentioned earlier, the first few times we played it, I didn’t enjoy myself. The group we had was a regular group of board gamers, and we have varying tastes in games. It was the end of the night and we pulled this one out to finish it off. Not sure if it was because we were so tired, but no one got into the game. There just wasn’t any energy to play it. So we went through the motions.

The next time we tried it early in the night (different group). This time we got into the spirit of the game, however it fell flat again. People were not into making up the stories, and simply thought that the concept wasn’t very fun. We put it away and stopped thinking about it after we were done.

Third time is the charm, right? Nope. Again, we found that people weren’t getting into the concept of telling stories and ‘saving’ someone from Danger with some ridiculous Tools and Skills.

So we put the game away, and thought that was that.

But I didn’t give up on it.

I had success with this game with a couple different groups. One was a group of guys that are very familiar with one another who like to drink, and the other was a group of teenagers. Both groups got really into the game and told elaborate stories, with elaborate rebuttals and comments. It was very entertaining to watch/be a part of. The sheer ridiculousness of the group made it fun.

That’s when I realized that this is who this game is great for. People who love to be ridiculous and argue and one up each other. While I can definitely fall into this category, I typically prefer more strategy based games.

While I find that the cards seem to be trying too hard to be funny, or don’t really mesh the best sometimes, there is some fun to be had. Personally, I tire of these types of games rather quickly, and don’t really want to have to work to entertain/manufacture my own fun on games night.

The other thing I found I liked about this game was the rebuttal portion. This is when you can poke holes in other people’s stories and/or argue with them about how dumb their idea is. Getting worked up and arguing about some ridiculous story had me laughing. In fact one game we got so into rebutting one players stories (who may or may not have been Whitney), that said person threw their cards down, said “I hate this stupid game and you guys”, and quit the game in a huff. Success?!

The arguing portion of the game comes into play a lot with the 'Plot Twist' cards.This is when you can really start messing with other players and add some intensity to the game. Again, similar to Cards Against Humanity, you might find yourself stuck with no good answer... However, a creative person can make any cards work.

That is another flaw I find with the game; the favoritism that can exist. Unlike other games in this genre, where the answers are anonymous and the point giver doesn’t know who is going to win. Here they clearly know who’s answer is whos, and can easily play favoritism. To me, this makes it unfair and can easily ruin a fun game.

Some people simply don’t have good imaginations or are not very good story tellers. For them, this game would be no fun at all. So keep that in mind.

Conclusion

So after all that debate about how to write this review of Danger The Game, I felt I must be honest to myself and to our followers, but also to the game.

That said, I feel like this game isn’t for me, but could be right for some people.

I think Danger The Game is highly situationally and player dependent. It isn’t a game you can pick up and play with any group in any situation and expect it to be a success. However, with the right group and/or the right environment it can be a good, quick, and fun game.

If you are expecting the game to make you laugh and enjoy the night right out of the box without doing much on your own, this probably isn’t the game for you.