Apples to Apples
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Wikipedia-Article "Apples to Apples"
Apples to Apples is a fast-paced party game published by Out Of The Box Publishing. It is intended for four to ten players. It was chosen by Mensa International in 1999 as a "Mensa Select", an award given to five games each year.
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Rules
Each player is dealt seven "red apple" cards; on each is printed a noun or noun phrase (Madonna, Lightning, Socks, Mahatma Gandhi, Street Gangs, London, The Universe, A Locker Room, The San Andreas Fault, Science Fiction, etc.).
One player is appointed as the first "judge". She draws a "green apple" card on which is printed an adjective (Scary, Smelly, Patriotic, Rich, Aged, etc.), and places it face-up. Each of the other players places (face down) one of his red apple cards which he feels matches the green apple card. The judge shuffles the red apple cards then turns them face up (without knowing who submitted each) and chooses the one she feels is the best match for the green apple card. The player who submitted that red apple card wins the round, and takes the green apple card to signify the win.
The official rules condone the judge picking the match that is "most creative, humorous or interesting". A particular judge might think it hilarious if Helen Keller is played on visionary, and might give that match the point rather than Galileo. A judge's decision is final.
All players then draw cards to bring their hands back up to seven, and the responsibility of being the Judge passes to the player to the previous Judge's left.
The winner is the player who first wins a predetermined number of rounds. (The more players, the lower the recommended total.)
Variations
If desired, 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.
A variation known as "Baked Apples" allows all players to play one red card, with no time limit, onto the table. The judge then puts the cards down in reverse order, one at a time, explaining why he or she did not pick the card. The winner not only gets the green card, but becomes the next judge. This variation is rather common among Apples to Apples fans.
Another variation, known as "Apple Turnovers", has players playing green cards from their hand of 5 to best describe a red card.
Another variation works by handing out paper clips and allowing the combination of red cards that are played. For example if the green card reads "sexy" you can clip together "cocaine" and "underwear."
An optional rule is that the slowest player to select a red apple is disqualified for that turn, and retains all of his red apples. (The rule sheet that comes with the game describes this as an optional variation, however, the rules online describe this as part of the basic rules [1])
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 think cigarettes is a better match. 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.
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.