Apples to Apples
Apples to Apples is a party game
originally published by Out of the Box Publishing, and now
published by Mattel. It is designed for four to ten
players.
There are several versions of Apples to
Apples including: Apples to Apples (2001), Apples to Apples Junior
9+ (2002), Apples to Apples Kids, Apples to Apples: Jewish Edition,
and Apples to Apples: Bible Edition.
The game was chosen by Mensa
International
in 1999 as a "Mensa Select" prizewinner, an award given to five
games each year.
Apples to Apples was named "Party Game
of the Year" in the December 1999 issue of Games magazine and
received the National Parenting Center's seal of approval in May
1999.
Rules
Each player is dealt seven "red apple"
cards; on each is printed a noun or noun phrase (such as "Madonna",
"Canada", "The Spanish Inquisition", "Michael Jackson",
etc.).
The judge (a chosen player) draws a
"green apple" card on which is printed an adjective ("scary",
"frightening", "patriotic", etc.), and places it face-up on the
table for everybody to see. Then each player (except the judge)
chooses a card that they think is the best match for the green
apple card, and places it face-down. The judge shuffles the red
apple cards, reads them (often aloud), and decides which noun is
the best match for the adjective. This decision is subjective; the
official rules encourage the judge to pick the match that is "most
creative, humorous or interesting". Some might think it humorous if
"mud" is played for delicious, and might give that player the
point.
The player who submitted the chosen red
apple card wins the round, and takes the green apple card to
signify the win. All players then draw red cards until they have
seven again, and the role of "judge" may pass to another person
(generally going to the next player in line, though some rules have
the round's winner becoming "judge"). Some editions of the game
suggest discounting the last red-apple card played, to encourage
players to place their cards down more
quickly.
The winner is the first player to
accumulate a pre-designated number of green apple cards; the more
players, the lower the total.
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