Are you looking for a game that can relieve stress and be extremely fun at the same time? Something Different is one of those games! Something Different is a party game that you can play with your friends and have a great time!
Game Overview
The base set has 100 cards in the deck. Every player is given seven cards to start. In addition to dealing cards to each player, three cards are drawn from the deck face up and placed into three separate piles. The top card on each pile is one of the rules currently in play. Each player must abide by those rules, otherwise they are penalized by drawing another card. When it is your turn, place one card from your hand on top of a pile of your choosing. This new card replaces the old rule, unless another rule in play states otherwise.
Types of Cards
Cards have both a shape and a color associated with them. Only certain types of cards can be played depending on the rules. A card can carry with it a basic rule or be a special card such as wild cards, duel cards, and switch-a-roos. There is even a card which created addition rule piles!
Wildcards
Wildcards can always be played, regardless of color or shape restrictions. Some wildcards are blank while others have rules on them.
Duel Cards
Duel cards are challenges between the current player and one or more opponents, usually of the player’s choice. Examples of possible challenges are Rock, Paper, Scissors and staring contests . The player who loses picks up a card from the draw pile.
Switch-a-roo Cards
Switch-a-roo cards can change another rule during the game, but the changes are usually smaller.
Expansions
In addition to the base deck, we also used two expansion decks when playing the second time around. The expansions were the Kickstarter only expansion and Something Blank. Vasshu decided against writing on the Something Blank cards, so we just filled in the blanks on the spot.
Confusing Rules
As much as this game can be fun, the rules can be initially confusing. The rules given with the game are not entirely clear on how the game is played. Rules are made clearer by watching a YouTube tutorial. For example, one of the rules in the game is that you can or cannot play certain colors. If you have a certain color with a check mark on it, we initially thought that you can still play any other color in the game; we were wrong. That was not made clear in the written rules.
Also, one rule card states that you will have to ask a player to your left or right (depending on what the card states) a question stated on the card. It is not made clear in the rules if the question has to be answered correctly. If the question is answered incorrectly, the person answering draws a card as a penalty. We learned that after watching the YouTube tutorial.
Final Verdict
Despite initial confusion with the rules, this can be a fun game. There is nothing better than having a great time with your friends and laughing so hard—Vasshu was on the floor laughing on more than one occasion. There was also an occasion when one of the rules was not to ask any questions. Immediately after, I started to ask a question, but quickly stopped myself. Everyone started cracking up. So yes; the rules are a little confusing, but once you understand them, Something Different can be a game worth while.