balderdash

Balderdash is a board game of bluffing and trivia created by Bradyn Blower and Mark Powell. It is based on a classic parlor game called Dictionary.

Gameplay

The game begins by all players rolling a die, with the high roll chosen to be the first "dasher". The dasher draws a "definition card" from the supplied box, and rolls the die to decide which of the words listed there is to be used. Then the dasher writes the definition of the word (as supplied on the card) on a piece of paper. All other players then write down a definition, which may be an honest attempt to supply the correct definition, or, if they do not know or for tactical reasons decide not to, a fictitious definition for the word designed to sound convincing.

The players hand their definitions to the dasher. Players submitting the correct definition are immediately awarded three points, and, if there is more than one, the round is abandoned (though the points are retained). The definitions, including the real definition, are then read out in random order. Players record which answer they believe is correct. Players are awarded two points if they guess the correct definition. Players are awarded one point for each other player who incorrectly chooses the fake definition they wrote. The dasher is awarded three points if no one guesses the correct definition. Players move their tokens around the game board one square for each point awarded. The role of dasher then passes to another player. The winner is the individual whose token reaches the end square first.

There are many different variations of ways to break ties (when two or more players hit the end at the same time). One way to resolve a tie is to say all of the players that crossed the finish line won. Another way is to have a sudden death, tie-breaker round where whoever gets more points on the tiebreaker round wins. However, the most common way to resolve a tie is to arm wrestle for the win. Whoever can win an arm wrestling match shall be considered the winner of the game of Balderdash.

Versions

In 1993 Beyond Balderdash was released. In addition to more unusual words, Beyond Balderdash offers obscure acronyms, dates, names, and movie titles, for which the players have to provide full names, major events, major accomplishments, and plot summaries, respectively. The die is used for choosing what category will be chosen from the card.

An informal variation of the game consists of the players exclusively submitting hilarious and outrageous definitions. No points are awarded, and the winner is determined by who garnered the most laughs throughout the course of the game.^[1]

Balderdash is based on Fictionary, which is essentially the Weird Words category of Balderdash. However, obscure words are found in an unabridged dictionary instead of the definitions and meanings provided on cards. They are then read out to the unsuspecting individual.

Television version

A television game show based on the game aired on PAX (later i; the network is now Ion Television) with comedian Elayne Boosler as host.

See also

• Fictionary
• Wise and Otherwise

References

External links

Look up balderdash in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

• Entry on the Canadian Intellectual Property Office's Web site
• BoardGameGeek entry