Game of Phones Review

Game of Phones is for 3 or more players ages 13 and up. The goal of the game is to be the first to collect 5 challenge cards by winning said challenges. All you need to start is a shuffled challenge deck and for each player to have a smartphone. Whoever received a text message most recently is the Influencer and draws the first challenge card.

There are 4 types of cards, Like, Unfollow, Download and Upgrade. From most to least ubiquitous, Like is a challenge where everyone except the Influencer takes part. These challenges respond to prompts like, ‘find a sci-fi outfit for the influencer’, or ‘take a selfie imitating an emoji face’. Everyone places their phones face down, and when everyone is ready flips them over. The Influencer then chooses the response they like the most. Unfollow is a similar concept, except the Influencer can participate, since every player is a judge! Each player takes a turn ‘unfollowing’ and turning over a phone to eliminate the entry. Whoever is left upright is the winner. Download consists of challenges with a clear cut winner. Most missed notifications, oldest text thread, or first response from a random texted family member are some examples. Lastly, there’s Upgrade. These are our favorite, they don’t award any immediate points, but they are challenges nonetheless, just for fun! After you finish the group challenge, place it in the middle as a +1 to the next winner.

The vast majority of these cards are funny or worthy challenges to complete with your phone as the resource. Be it pulling from your camera roll, or using a search engine to fulfill a prompt, you’ll be using every aspect of your device, so make sure you have a good charge (unless you’re gunning for lowest charge card, you maniac.) Our least favorite challenge type is Download, since they’re either over quickly, or challenging you to bother a random contact for a selfie, which is pretty harmless, we suppose. However, texting a totally random number is a card best reserved for groups who are feeling that kind of brazenness. Also, social media denizens will have an advantage, since some challenges require you to plumb for cringey posts or some such else. There is space inside the box for 4 more expansion packs, if you choose to get any.