Bite Your Tongue! Card Game Overview
Confession time! When we got our first game that was packaged in a custom neoprene rubber case, I hated it. As I recall, my first exposure to these soft-sided containers was with Happy Salmon. Not only did it not stack on a game shelf, the components had to be tightly squeezed back into the bag every time we were done playing. I really longed for a normal box.
Next came Monster Match. And then Dirty Pig. The packaging was starting to grow on me. What they lost in storage convenience they more than gained in ease of transport and durability. No needing to worry about crushed boxes or split corners. In theory (although we haven’t tested it) they are washing machine safe. But the biggest benefit comes from when we travel. These small containers fit almost anywhere! We’ve shoved them into a coat pocket, jammed them into a shoe in our luggage and even zip-tied them to a carry-on bag. Every single one still looks as good as new even if the contents are well-played! My confession – I really like them now.
There’s a brand new card game by R&R Games that comes in one of these squishy containers, Bite Your Tongue! Another great feature of this type of packaging is the ability to have them produced in nearly any size or shape. This particular one resembles a vintage Rolling Stone album cover! But don’t worry, you don’t need to sing to win at this game!
Bite Your Tongue! is a quick card game about guessing objects the other person is describing. Sounds simple enough, but it wouldn’t be an R&R Games game if that’s all there was to it. You and up to seven other players can only give clues while performing one of three required actions. Keep reading, it will all make sense in a minute.
Included in the ‘bag’ are 200 object cards, 20 scoring chips, a 60-second sand timer and a scorepad. Place the card deck in the center of the play area along with the scoring chips. Pick a start player to become cluegiver and deal them six of the object cards facedown. Another player becomes the timekeeper while yet another keeps score on the scorepad.
During each round all players, except for the cluegiver, will be trying to guess the objects listed on the cards. When everyone is ready, the timekeeper starts the timer and yells “Go!”. The cluegiver then begins by looking at their top card and reads aloud each of the three clues in order and following these rules:
The first clue must be expressed while the cluegiver pinches their own nose closed. The second clue may only be said while biting their tongue so that it doesn’t move. The third and final clue must be given while both holding their nose closed AND having their tongue hanging out of their mouth!
Everyone else tries to guess the item, but each player is only allowed one guess per clue. If the cluegiver fails to give the clue using the correct method, that card is skipped. As soon as someone guesses the answer correctly, that person is given the card to keep for scoring. Any other players who guessed at the same time will take one of the scoring chips.
The cluegiver continues giving clues on subsequent cards as long as there is still sand left in the timer or until all six cards have been resolved. If a card is skipped for any reason, it is out of the game an cannot be returned to. Once the timer runs out, the scorekeeper tallies players’ scores on the pad, receiving one point for each card or chip in their possession. Any cards not used by the cluegiver are shuffled back into the deck. All roles (cluegiver, timekeeper, scorekeeper) are rotated clockwise and six cards are dealt to the new cluegiver. Another round commences in the same manner!
Once all players have had the opportunity of being the cluegiver one time, scores are totaled and the person with the highest amount wins Bite Your Tongue! A longer game may be played by going around the table multiple times. Ties can be solved by a sudden death round where only the tied players are cluegivers (and never guessers)!
While recommended for ages 10+ because of some of the card answers, you could easily go through the deck and remove ones that you don’t think your younger children would be familiar with. The game play is fun with all ages, so we would encourage this modification so all ages can play!
Bite Your Tongue! was available at summer game conventions and will be fully released on November 15! Pre-order your copy for under $16 direct from R&R Games or on Amazon or ask your favorite local game store to order a copy for you. In the meantime we’ll be watching R&R’s Facebook and Twitter feeds to find out if they plan on making any more games in these custom pouches!
What do you think about games coming in non-traditional boxes?