Phrase Party Review

Sometimes I find myself wishing I had a game on hand with me while I am on the go.  For instances like vacations with rain, road trips, or long appointments, even small group meetings, I don't often have physical games on hand.  Now, with Phrase Party, I have that option!

Phrase Party, which I have downloaded on my iPad and iPhone, is much like Catch Phrase or Taboo.  This is a word game in which requires the player to guess the word without gestures, saying what is sounds like or starts with.  The cool thing about Phrase Party, is that it can be played three ways; by yourself against the computer, with other people in the room, or online.

When played alone, the computer says clues, which also flash across the bottom of the screen, and blanks are given to show how many letters the word or phrase is.  A scramble of possible letters is also shown at the bottom of the screen, so players simply pick letters and put them in order to spell the word.  For people who are good with word scrambles, this is an advantage as often the word can be determined by this alone, but not always.  A 1.5 minute timer beeps and the screen flashes momentarily to signal time remaining, speeding up as time gets shorter.  At the end, a beep sounds to signal the end of the round.  Scoring is automatic based on how many words are entered correctly

When played in teams, with other people, the electronic device is simply passed back and forth between teams.  The person holding the device explains the word to their partner or team, continuing. Once a category is chosen (one is given automatically, the players have the choice to choose another), simply press the start button and game play begins.  The screen offers clue prompts while the word to guess is on screen. A 1.5 minute timer beeps and the screen flashes momentarily to signal time remaining, speeding up as time gets shorter.  At the end, a beep sounds to signal the end of the round. Scoring is done by the team, but tapping a + to add points.  Both team's points are shown on screen.

Online play requires a Facebook sign in.  Once logged in with Facebook, any friends who also have the game installed are shown.  If no friends are showing, there is the option to "make a new friend" by allowing the app and Facebook to search players to pair you with.  Once an opposing player is found, game play begins similarly to the single player method.  Coins are earned for wins.

The game has many customizable options, including the ability to record game play (in case you are super competitive and need to review), game difficulty, sound schemes, timer length, points per game to win, number of teams, even the ability to name teams.  Users can also create custom phrases for the game and purchase new phrase packs if so desired.

There is so much potential in your hand with this game, and hours of laughs and fun - all without having to carry around a box and loose cards or game pieces.  I am a big fan of this new app and have already put it to great use for a recent weekend party with friends.  I definitely recommend this app!

*I received this product for free in exchange for my honest and un-biased review.