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Are you ready to play a game?  I should explain that this is not the usual type of game that I review for Gadgetspeak.  Rather than a computer game offering visual representations of different environments as you search for clues and carry out tasks, this next game involves cards designed to pique your imagination and creativity as you produce your own visual imagery.  The game in question is Randomise with the UK spelling of the title giving the clue that this is a game developed in the UK.

However before getting to the actual card game, lets take a brief look at some background information.  The game’s life began as Hazel Reynolds set out to create a game that would be appealing enough to lure her 12-year old sister away from the addictive presence of her iPad which had become the constant companion of Hazel’s younger sibling and some could say was dominating her life. 

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With assistance from her husband, Chris, Hazel developed the prototype of the game that became known as Randomise.  After playing the game with friends and family, Hazel and Chris were encouraged to raise development funds from the Kickstarter service.  The response was so successful that we now have the Randomise game with illustrations created by Hazel’s friend Leelu (www.leelu.net) to amuse ourselves over the coming months.  By the way Hazel’s little sister is a big fan of the game.

The game of Randomise is played between two teams as were the certain broadcast offerings, such as Give us a Clue, which provided the initial inspiration for the concept behind the game.  While the game was originally designed for the younger members of the family to help encourage their creative processes and ability to pick up on visual clues being delivered by the opposing team, the game can be played and enjoyed by anybody aged 8 and older.

In this game you have to take on the role of a random character, in a particular mood, performing a specific action.  After splitting the available players into two teams, the game is played with a special pack of playing cards plus one or two additional extras which you need to provide yourself.  These additional items consist of pen and paper plus a method of timing the action such as a watch or stopwatch.  The playing cards, clearly marked A, B or C, need to be separated into three distinct piles which then represent the current emotion you need to adopt plus your actual character and whatever task is occupying you.

Prior to taking your turn, you need to designate whether you will opt for the Easy or Hard choice of the three defining options.  You also need to state whether you will describe, act or draw the identity you have adopted.  You could, for example, become a warm/loving/wooden chameleon/ghost/kingfisher who is carving a sculpture/playing air guitar/howling at the moon depending upon a random selection of the numbers 1, 2 and 3 deciding upon by the opposing team.

Depending upon your choice of performance, you will have 30 seconds when describing your challenge without using word, rhyming equivalent, letters connected with the cards; 60 seconds for miming as you act out your character performing the task; or 90 seconds as you draw a scene without the use of letters or numbers.  The opposing team will be in charge of the timing while the other members of your team attempt to guess your identity by shouting out suggestions.  Points are awarded for successful guesses with bonuses also available.  For more variety, a number of alternative forms of game play have been created with details being included in the instruction sheet supplied with the game.

The playing of this game does have a tendency to become rather boisterous at times.  It can help to have somebody appointed as a referee or adjudicator to help decide on any disagreements which are likely to occur.  While there are more than a million different random identity combinations, the pack of cards included a number of blank A, B, C units so you can add some of your own suggestions to suit certain groups of players.  Currently Randomise is available from Amazon.co.uk priced at £11.99 and this would make a suitable purchase for those looking for group entertainment action that does not involve a processor – well apart from the human brain.

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