Coodju
# 5 on my "Wife's Top 10
Games of All Time" list.
And is a game about spelling worth your time? The short answer is if you collect party games, then yes. If you only need a few party games, then no.
A longer answer follows.
First, a short description of the game:
The game is extremely simple. First, like most party games, everyone is split into two teams, that do not have to be even. The games only contents are two six-sided dice, with words printed on each side, a one minute timer, 300 cards with 6 words on each, and a score pad. As usual with party games, and even more so with Coodju, this pad can easily be replaced with a piece of paper. In Coodju's case, all it is a paper split into two sections, to keep track of the points for each team.
A player is chosen on one of the teams to start. He rolls two dice. One die determines how words are to spelled. They can be the following... (Using Spaghetti as the example word)
FORWARD (easy) - S-P-A-G-H-E-T-T-I
BACKWARD (fairly easy) - I-T-T-E-H-G-A-P-S
VOWEL (easy, only the vowels) - A-E-I
CONSONANT (fairly easy, only the consonants) - S-P-G-H-T-T
SKIP A LETTER (every other letter) - S-A-H-T-I
OUTSIDE IN (hard, first letter, than last letter, then second letter, than second last letter, etc.) -
S-I-P-T-A-T-G-E-H
There are 6 words on a card. Normally, the first five words are worth one point each, while the last word - the bonus word - is worth 5 points. However, the other die can modify the scoring of the words. The following are the modifications the die can make.
DOUBLE POINT – Means exactly that, all points this round are doubled.
TRIPLE POINT – Our favorite, giving 15 points for that bonus word!
DOCK ‘M – The amount of points your team makes are also deducted from the opposing team’s score.
DOUBLE TIME – You have 2 minutes instead of 1 to spell the words.
PASS – You are allowed to pass over regular words instead of spelling them.
OVERRIDE – You can pick the way words are spelled (on the other die)
At this point, the player flips the timer and pulls a card. He read the words to one of his teammates, who then spells it. If the word is spelled correctly, the reading player reads the next word. If not, play is passed to a different teammate who must spell the word. If no one on a team can spell a word correctly, then the word is thrown out. The reader is allowed to pronounce things wrong to help his teammates spell them. For example, he could pronounce Candidate as “Can – did – ate”. If a team finishes a card, another card is drawn and read until time runs out. Then, points are totaled for the amount of words spelled correctly.
The game is played until one team reaches a certain amount of points (usually 100) at which time the game ends and that team wins!
Comments on the Game:
1). Components – The components in this game are not great, but they work well. The box is VERY nice, as it is a good size, has trays for all the components, and has a short, very clear summary of the rules on the sides of the box. The box is very sturdy and looks good on the shelf. The dice are nice, but with a lot of playing, the words could rub off. (I doubt you would play the game THAT much). The cards are not super quality, but they work for what is needed. They are easy to read, which is important.
2). Web Site – I’m always impressed when a game has good support from the company. Coodju has a nice web site up, with downloadable rules (always a plus!) and some variants on the game. The website looks good, and is easy to navigate at www.coodju.com
3). Fun Factor – I was really surprised. While this game didn’t blow my socks off like Apples to Apples or Time’s Up, it was a lot of fun. I expected everyone to hate it, as it was about spelling, but everyone really liked it. Some of the pronunciations that people made of the words cracked the whole crowd up. Some words that we thought easy to spell just weren’t. Everyone cheered when rolling a “Triple points” and booed when rolling an “Outside In.” The game works well with all ages, and was a lot of fun.
4). Time and Place – This game plays very quickly – as you can set the amount of points you play to. Games can last from 15 minutes to 45 minutes, and are fun. Also, the game works well on trips. We played it on a bus traveling, and it wasn’t too hard. We rolled the dice in the box lid and shouted the words to be heard over the bus noise. Everyone had a good time. It’s easy to throw this game into my traveling backpack of games.
5). And Yet – While everyone liked the game, it just wasn’t as much fun as many of our other party games. I’m sure we’ll play it again, as it was fun, but I have about 20 party games, and this one isn’t one of the top ones asked for.
So, in conclusion – I recommend that you get the game if you find it somewhere for an inexpensive price, and you collect party games. But if you only keep a few party games, and concentrate on war , German, or abstract games – you should pass. But don’t let a hatred for spelling deter you – the game is still a lot of fun. I should no, becuz I amm a horrribel spellir.
Tom Vasel
"Real men play board games"
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