Game: Catch Phrase

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

latindog — 2008-03-30T01:35:24+00:00

It's not cheating per se but in my opinion it is in violation of the "spirit of the rules." The game is written with nongamers in mind and the ruleset is not airtight. My copy of the rules says that you cannot give the first letter of the word in question. There is nothing to prevent someone from always starting their clues with a word that begins with such a letter (thereby worming their way around the prohibition while giving the necessary information). There are other ways of giving successful clues by the use of codes etc. that would break the game as well. Running down the timer would kill the fun of this game for me whether legal or not.

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

jjacy1 — 2008-03-08T23:02:33+00:00

It is not in the spirit of the game to just hold onto it, I also doubt it's a good strategy as you can give a clue or two that don't work with your teammates and end up losing a point.

Always play to the spirit of the game regardless of winning or losing.

-jjacy1

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

Chachito — 2008-03-08T12:01:58+00:00

Funny video!

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

ColtsFan76 — 2008-03-08T03:55:51+00:00

p0pcult wrote:
I think it's neither, and most definitely spam. Seriously: did you just create your BGG account, and then post a rules question on our front page to pimp your lame video series?

Account Created: 3/7/08
Games Owned: 0
Games Played: 0
Games Rated: 0
Contributions: 1 forum thread (this one)

YouTube Video Posted: 3/5/08
Relevant Tags: Tim Marklevitz

Go away.
Hmmm. Let's see. Starts an argument on a mundane gaming topic. Uses a YouTube video to support his case. Made me laugh my butt off.

Spam or not, I think he's home! Welcome to BGG!!!

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

quozl — 2008-03-08T03:20:31+00:00

If you want to use "strategy", play a strategy game, not a party game.

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

hughest — 2008-03-08T02:08:31+00:00

I think the answer is that the timer is random + or - 30 seconds

Actually, for the digital version I have (one of the first ones) I believe we clocked the timer at ~ 57.2 seconds every time. The beeping is more random but it was the same amount of time. I always thought that it would be better if the time was random as well. Maybe newer versions have this.

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

ironcates — 2008-03-08T01:46:12+00:00

Spam or not, welcome to BGG I thought it was funny.

I think the answer is that the timer is random + or - 30 seconds so there's no way to consistently time the answer. I would think you would probably know this given that the video obviously took some time to produce and probably a few takes. But, maybe it slipped by you

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

catchphrasewhat — 2008-03-08T01:28:44+00:00

p0pcult wrote:

I think it's neither, and most definitely spam. Seriously: did you just create your BGG account, and then post a rules question on our front page to pimp your lame video series?

Account Created: 3/7/08
Games Owned: 0
Games Played: 0
Games Rated: 0
Contributions: 1 forum thread (this one)

YouTube Video Posted: 3/5/08
Relevant Tags: Tim Marklevitz

Go away.

You must be some sort of asshole. I had a question about a game, and I figured this would be a good place to ask others what their opinion is. What's the big deal?

And yes, I attached a video to my message because I'd like to share it with the people in this forum... I think it's funny, and it puts my question into perspective. So, what's the problem?

Like the other person said, "relax!"

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

djbrickhaus — 2008-03-08T00:25:18+00:00

Spam or not...it is an interesting question, and one that has been pertinent in my playings of Catchphrase.

Relax.

Thread: Re: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

puckhead — 2008-03-07T23:45:58+00:00

catchphrasewhat wrote:
My friends and I have this argument every time we play CatchPhrase, and I was just looking for others opinions.

Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy? That's the BIG question.

Here's a funny video explaining the two sides even further:

Youtube Video

Whether cheating or strategy, it certainly makes the game less fun. And it seems to me that type of game is really all about having fun, rather than strategy or winning.

Thread: Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy?

catchphrasewhat — 2008-03-07T23:43:24+00:00

My friends and I have this argument every time we play CatchPhrase, and I was just looking for others opinions.

Is running the clock in CatchPhrase cheating or strategy? That's the BIG question.

Here's a funny video explaining the two sides even further:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl6GSdsEt8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bl6GSdsEt8

Thread: Catch Phrase - incomplete game - [session report]

ackmondual — 2008-02-28T07:56:03+00:00

Total 7 players. We alternated between the 2 genders. Since there were 4 boys and 3 girls. That left 2 boys next to each other due to the uneven # of boys and girls. To compensate for that, when the catch phrase generator reached the 2 boys next to each other, the device would simply reverse direction.

"part 1"
this was via the "old fashioned" devices, using a phrase generator that produces them mechanical, which I'm guessing does so via a round, paper disc with words on them that can be swapped out with other paper discs for more words and categories. Pressing the trigger switches to the next word printed on the outside track of the paper. There was a seperate device for the timer which you press and automatically counts down to end-time
In pictures, this...
]]>

This part went swimmingly... to say things were good. Most of the phrases were being guessed correctly, and the generator was being passed around often. Words, especially one letter varieties like like "teacher", "club", and "crazy" were relatively simple to act out and lead to. There were contestations about just whether or not something was a push or not, but in the end, it wasn't as significant to me. The rules weren't explained to me about how the scoring worked. I didn't even know what color score marker token we were. My guess is it was probably better that way. Unlike strategy, abstract, and Euro-games games where covering the rules is important towards the basics of what u can and can't do, a party game like this can work by just diving into the thick of it w/o too much downtime. The goal would still be to get as many right as possible and/or NOT be the person with the generator still trying to get correct guesses when the timer ran out.

The one complaint was the timer sounded like a bomb about to go off. I'm sure that was the point of the game and timer, but it did sound somewhat nerve-wracking to me as well. For me, it sounded more like SONAR in a submarine when it's picking up an incoming torpedo. Then, AFAIK, the timer was having issues. Never really did bother to ask about it. It was decided they would switch to the newer generator.

"part 2"
The new device looked liek this
]]>
The thing stored phrases and categories digitally, which I presumed its memory capacity was sufficient to encompass all of the paper discs of before. The scoring and timer was also taken care of on the new generator device as well

Unfortunately, the timer still sounds erie. It had a different pitch/frequency, but still sounded like an incoming bomb/torpedo. The boys We shined this part, as the words were more complex, such as "Vegging out", "exploring", and "midnight oil". Granted, we had an advantage since 2 of the girls didn't learn English as a first language. Even if you're fluent enough to go to law school, you still miss many of these 'catch phrases' that one would've picked up in places like middle/grade school and other situations of American culture. Sure, being at least bilingual and fluent enough in an alternate language to conduct life in another country is definately more impressive than being good at Catch Phrase, but it didn't help for the game. Some of the phrases above had the device coming to a complete stop on them as they'd frantically try to convey the catch phrase.

In the end, that didn't last long. The ladies wanted to call it quits to the game and try another one. Understandable, since it can be frustrating. We recorded score on the new device, but some debate on who really scored how much lead me to not bother with it.

Image

Blott — 2008-01-29T19:13:21+00:00

Kelly panicking as the timer runs out.

Thread: Re: Why the Old is MUCH Better than the Electronic Version...

jollypirate — 2008-01-23T01:56:13+00:00

The answers were on cardboard disks. I think you could probably put labels over the words that they contained.

I'm an ocean and half a continent away from my copy, so I really can't give you any more details than that.

Hope that helps.

Thread: Re: Why the Old is MUCH Better than the Electronic Version...

beck_t — 2008-01-22T23:56:19+00:00

I've been trying to make a customized version of Catch Phrase for the classroom for quite a while now but can't figure out an easy way to do it. Anyone know how this one was made?

Thread: Re: Help Me -- How many words do you get per round?

wyldeoak — 2008-01-07T18:02:37+00:00

Thanks much.

The electronic game's timer goes about 50 seconds.

Our plays typically run 4-8 words a round, so very similar to you.

Thread: Re: Help Me -- How many words do you get per round?

ColtsFan76 — 2008-01-07T13:56:52+00:00

I haven't really paid much attention. We used to play regular Catch Phrase but have recently switched over to the Electronic version. It seems the time is different between the two. And I have no idea how long either time is. 30 seconds seem too short, 1 minute seems too long. Maybe it's around 45 seconds?

From what I recall, we typically have 6 players when we play and on the original, I might see the thing twice in one round. So I would say we got 8~10 words out on average. With the Electronic one, I want to say I was lucky if I saw it even once per round. So maybe 5~7 words.

So if the timer is around 45 seconds, I'd say 10~12 is probably how many words you can get out in a minute. 5 seconds per word sounds OK if you are passing the game, clicking to the next word, think about it and try to get a couple clues out.

Thread: Help Me -- How many words do you get per round?

wyldeoak — 2008-01-07T12:30:33+00:00

For the purposes of a game night at church with a wide age range, I would like to run Catch Phrase as a cooperative game similar to Hoopla. In Hoopla each person tries to get everyone else to guess their word and everyone tries to get all the words guessed before time runs out.

To set this cooperative version up I need an estimate of words solved per minute.

How many words does your group typically get for each round?

Thanks much.

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

Chad_Ellis — 2008-01-02T12:04:18+00:00

wyldeoak wrote:
I agree with your comments totally. You did a nice job of capturing what makes this such an effective party game. It has been a party favorite of ours for years. I don't understand why it gets so little respect on BGG. Thanks again for your review.

Catch Phrase doesn't look like a really good game. The box cover is virtually clip art and the core mechanic of "try to guess your teammate's keyword by the clues s/he gives you while time is running" has been done in many forms. Add to that the bias this site has towards "real" games and I think it's easy to see why something like this gets overlooked.

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

dysjunct — 2008-01-02T06:39:33+00:00

Chad_Ellis wrote:
Different game categories need different things for success. In my view, a party game should do the following:

1. Involve everyone.
2. Be easy to play...but not boring.
3. Create lots of laughter.
4. Get adrenaline pumping.
5. Be unfun for no one.

QFT.

This could double for a Party Game Manifesto. Designers, take note!

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

wyldeoak — 2008-01-02T02:24:16+00:00

I agree with your comments totally. You did a nice job of capturing what makes this such an effective party game. It has been a party favorite of ours for years. I don't understand why it gets so little respect on BGG. Thanks again for your review.

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

fullerbd — 2008-01-02T01:22:59+00:00

oops I guess you are right. We always played that you couldn't.

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

Chad_Ellis — 2008-01-02T00:05:46+00:00

fullerbd wrote:
Usually this rule goes out the window during play, but technically you are not allowed to Gesture. It's very hard to keep from doing it, but I just wanted to point out the correct rule. Of course there is no harm in allowing players to do it, as this is a game based on having fun.

I was quite surprised to see this, especially since the game summary specifically states that you can, so I double-checked the rules. The rules also specifically state that you may gesture. Ironically, however, I learned that you aren't allowed to use a rhyming clue, which we played as legal! In any case, your last sentence is both correct and the important one -- the exact rules aren't terribly important as long as people agree on what is OK and what isn't.

Thread: Re: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

fullerbd — 2008-01-01T22:09:26+00:00

I agree Catch Phrase is one of the best party games, I've never met someone who didn't enjoy it. Usually this rule goes out the window during play, but technically you are not allowed to Gesture. It's very hard to keep from doing it, but I just wanted to point out the correct rule. Of course there is no harm in allowing players to do it, as this is a game based on having fun.

Thread: Catch Phrase: my new favorite party game

Chad_Ellis — 2008-01-01T20:44:19+00:00

This New Years Eve was spent at a friends party where about half of the evening was devoted to a 5-on-5 session of Catch Phrase, a game I had barely heard of before. It is now my favorite party game.

Gameplay is extremely simple. The components are a circular disk which functions as a hot potato and a timer that beeps increasingly quickly before buzzing. (There is enough of a range in when the timer goes off that you can't tell exactly when it's going to go off, but as the beeps get closer together it creates some nice tension, aka panic.)

The disk has a window through which the player with the disc can see a word, name or very short phrase, e.g. "on a roll". The player with the disc gives clues until one of his or her teammates correctly guesses the word, at which point the disc is handed to the other team. They click a button to get a new word (the words are contained on disks, so when you go through one you can swap it out) and the process continues. When the buzzer goes off, the team that didn't have the disk scores a point. Moreover, if they can correctly guess the word that the other team was working on at the time, they score a bonus point. The game plays to something like eight points. We played that if a team had answered their question but the other team hadn't yet received the disk no points were scored.

Different game categories need different things for success. In my view, a party game should do the following:

1. Involve everyone.
2. Be easy to play...but not boring.
3. Create lots of laughter.
4. Get adrenaline pumping.
5. Be unfun for no one.

A lot of games like Pictionary, Trivial Pursuit and Cranium come up short on one or more measures. While it can be fun to watch people do their exercises, the involvement level of people whose turn it isn't can be low. Some of the exercises are challenging but anyone playing them will have moments of boredom as well.

More seriously, in each of the mentioned games some people really dislike play and in fact find it embarrassing. Maybe they suck at trivia and feel stupid when the crowd goes, "Wow, what an easy question" and they have to admit they don't know the answer. Maybe they hate drawing or performing.

The beauty of Catch Phrase is that its clues aren't hard to do -- in fact, they're often extremely simple. You read "mother" and say, "not father, but..." You can act, you can point to the thing if it's in the room, you can do almost anything short of actually saying what it is. Taboo might give you the same clue but try to make it difficult by ruling out use of words like parent, father, maternal and mom, with the result that people actually succeed or fail. Who wants that when you're just trying to have fun, especially if a lot of the people in the crowd aren't gamers and don't want to be competitive?

Catch Phrase creates the tension by ultra-fast-paced action and the simple fact that the timer is about to go off. When it's close to going off the disk can be four people away and you know there's a good chance it will still make it to you. Everyone is completely engaged because there's never more than seconds before someone on your team is giving clues, and even if they aren't you know the buzzer might go off so you want to figure out what the other team is working on.

That tension is a lot different (and, IMO, more friendly and fun) than the timer tension in Pictionary, for example. In those games the timer applies primarily or exclusively to one team and it measures whether they succeed or fail at their task. In some cases this means there is no tension at all and even when there is tension it's tension because someone might fail. If I want to beat someone (or lose, depending on who does better), I'd much rather play a serious game. If I'm looking for a fun party game, who needs failure?

Image

Andre_g54 — 2007-07-29T10:35:18+00:00

CATCH PHRASE ELECTRONIC HANDHELD Game

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Kyellan — 2007-07-27T04:45:42+00:00

Catch Phrase II, glowing in the dark bag as it contemplates "everything"

Thread: Re: Why the Old is MUCH Better than the Electronic Version..

wyldeoak — 2007-05-29T22:59:14+00:00

The problem I have with the old edition is the size of the print. My old eyes have difficulty reading the smaller print (especially in the dimness of the wee hours) as compared to the size of the words in the electronic version.

We bought and enjoy the electronic version specifically because it is easier to read and have been pleased ever since.

Thread: Re: Why the Old is MUCH Better than the Electronic Version...

Helenoftroy — 2007-05-28T22:03:10+00:00

jollypirate wrote:

I hear the new version has 10K words or so, and that is surely a plus, but I'll be keeping my old version just the same.

But you can't beat customizing the game for themed parties.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/fileinfo.php?fileid=20913

Thread: Why the Old is MUCH Better than the Electronic Version...

jollypirate — 2007-05-28T12:29:26+00:00

Just played "Electronic" catch phrase for the first time and didn't enjoy it nearly as much as my old "manual?" version for some very simple, yet not trivial reasons.

Slamming: Although the original version cautioned you not to whack your console too heartily, everyone at our gatherings always gave it a sound spank (satisfying in itself) before passing it on and was rewarded with a pleasing "Ka-chung." On the rare occasions I play slot machines, I pull the handle rather than push the button. And imagine potato chips without the crunch. Different experiences for sure.

Tossing: Catchphrase is essestially a "Hot Potatoe" game, and when we played my "classic" version the disk goes sailing around the room and not infrequently clattering across the floor. When I played the new version last night, it was a much more controlled atmosphere. The electric console is just that, "electronic" and we know to handle electronics with care. Secondly, it's quite a bit heavier than the original, so an exuberant toss feels more reckless, and nobody wants to be the kid who always winds up hurting someone else when they play. Really, the game lost much is it's frenetic pace compared to the mechanical version.

The Disks: I kind of like the old disks that you change manually. There is something very retro about it. More than retro, perhaps even divine. I get a very Joseph Smith vibe every time I have to change the disk.

I hear the new version has 10K words or so, and that is surely a plus, but I'll be keeping my old version just the same.

Image

DavemanUK — 2007-03-23T00:37:24+00:00

Also known as 'Password' by Waddingtons (1995)

Image

kilroy_locke — 2007-03-21T04:21:32+00:00

Game Title on Components

Image

kilroy_locke — 2007-03-21T04:20:49+00:00

Components

Thread: Cut Throat Catch Phrase, Quicker Game for Odd Players

jollypirate — 2007-03-04T14:17:16+00:00

We developed this variant last night in response to a sudden "Now, we have an odd number of players" situation.

Instead of just forming lopsided teams Matt suggested we play individually, which worked great.

Basically, it gets the game back closer to its "Hot Potato" roots. If you're the person caught last with disk, instead of figuring out any points, you are then "out" of the running for WINNER (though not "out" of the play). You play until there is only one person left.

Everyone tries to guess the word each time, so you stay continually engaged. And yes, people could help to knock you out by just withholding answers as you hold the disk, but no one in our group did. If you play with people that serious about winning a party game, I suggest you make new friends.

In addition to speeding things up and leveling out teams, towards the end it adds a bit of head to head excitement missing in the group game.

We were down to seven players, and this varient worked great and continued the fun. Too many more players and I don't think it'd work, but probably work fine with less.

Thread: I am looking for a timer!

big-chad — 2007-03-01T04:52:29+00:00

Recently the timer on my Catch Phrase went out. Rather than buy an entire new game I am looking to see if anyone has one around that they are not using. i'd be more than happy to buy it from you in Geek Gold or cash, or pay postage, or whatever you see fit. Drop me a PM. Thx.

Thread: A fun, quick party game

Sinister Dexter — 2007-02-13T16:23:28+00:00

Catch Phrase is a light, quick party game for two teams of players. Each team tries to guess the secret word that a team member is describing to them, before a timer goes off. The publisher lists a playing time of 30 minutes, but our games have often been less than 15 minutes. Partly because of this quick playing time, it’s a good game if you needed to add a party game to your collection.

Components and Gameboard

The game comes with 16 cardboard disks of words – several dozen on each disk – and a disk player that they fit into. You also get a playing board with a scoring track, and two tokens – one for each team – and a timer. The disk player has window through which you can see a word or phrase, and a lever on the side. To switch to a different word, you hit the lever.

Game Play

I won’t describe all the rules, but here’s the gist of the gameplay. Each round, the team with the word disk player chooses a clue-giver to start. The other team starts the timer. The clue-giver looks at the word or phrase in the window, and attempts to get his team to guess it. He can use gestures and other methods, but there are some limits to the ways he can describe the word. After his team guesses the word correctly, the disk player passes to the other team, who hit the lever to switch to another word or phrase. When the timer runs out, the team holding the disk player loses that round. The other team gets to move their token one space. The first team to get their token to the end of the scoring track wins.

Comments

I played this game a couple times with my family recently – my wife and two kids, and my father-in-law (who usually doesn’t play anything but card games). The game play was very fast. We played both games in about a half-hour. I’m not usually a fan of party games, but this one was fun for three reasons:

- there was little downtime – the disk player passed back and forth sometimes in a matter of seconds, so you have to stay alert for your turn.
- since one team always scored in a round (the one not holding the disk player), one team is always getting closer to a win
- the total time of each game was only about 15 minutes; this game could almost qualify as a “filler”.

There was one hilarious moment. It was our 6YO daughter’s turn to be the clue giver. She looked at her word, and told my wife (her teammate), “It’s a bad word.” My wife treaded carefully, “Damn… no… how about darn it.” We were all stumped, and the timer finally expired. Our daughter revealed the bad word: “In your face!” We busted out laughing at that. That said, the one caveat that I had about the game was the choice of words and phrases. Some parents may find some of them awkward or objectionable in front of kids – for example, “make love” or “string bikini”. Other times, a phrase was simply unfamiliar to our kids, so they would need to switch to another one, which used up their time. Overall, though, they handled most phrases well. If parents are uncomfortable with their kids encountering these words, but like the game concept, they could try Catch Phrase Junior.

In conclusion, Catch Phrase is a fun, quick party game. If you have a diverse gaming group, and you need to add a party game to your collection, this would be a good one to add.

Image

Geosmores — 2007-01-02T20:01:06+00:00

Game Timer on game board - 1994 Parker Brothers Version

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Geosmores — 2007-01-02T18:50:37+00:00

Close up of Game Disk - 1994 Parker Brothers Version

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Geosmores — 2007-01-02T18:48:50+00:00

Game Board - 1994 Parker Brothers Version

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Geosmores — 2007-01-02T17:58:37+00:00

Box Cover - 1994 Parker Borthers Version

Thread: How to play with uneven teams

jerdwyer — 2006-11-05T19:04:28+00:00

I tried this 5 person variant yesterday and it worked well. Divide into two teams of two with one "spoiler." The spoiler is a person who belongs to neither team and guesses on everything. If the spoiler gets a word before the team member does then the person giving the clues must go on to the next word rather than pass the timer. Ties go to the team.

There was a many a groan of despair as the spoiler would get a word as the timer ran down. Some people will enjoy the role of spoiler more often than others of course.

Thread: Fantastic party game - no down time

jerdwyer — 2006-11-05T19:01:52+00:00

This is one of my favorite party games (especially for groups of 6 or 8) because there is no down-time. Unlike some games where you spend most of the game waiting for other people to move, turns in Catch Phrase cycle every few seconds so you are constantly involved.

Thread: Re: Electronic Catchphrase 1st vs 2nd edition

jerdwyer — 2006-11-05T18:59:52+00:00

Very roughly, the 1st edition has 1500 words. It's never been an issue though because it's not like trivial pursuit where you can memorize the answers. I can repeat word sets after a few months and everyone has forgotten the first time we did them.

Thread: Re: Electronic Catchphrase 1st vs 2nd edition

mrbass — 2006-10-09T21:29:56+00:00

2nd edition catch phrase has 10,000 words, the catch phrase jr has 5,000 words. How many words does the first edition have anyone know?

Thread: Electronic Catchphrase 1st vs 2nd edition

drasher25 — 2006-03-20T02:31:00+00:00

Does anyone know what the differences are between the 1st and 2nd edition Electronic Catchphrase (other than the appearance)? Thanks!

Thread: Session Report

BoardGameGeek — 2002-05-02T17:47:47+00:00

While the second Puerto Rico was winding down, the four Linie 1 players found themselves with a couple of minutes on their hands, so it was time for electronic Catch Phrase.
Teams of two are probably the worst way to play this game, but it's still quite fun. Maybe the most fun was causing the Puerto Rico players to shut their door to muffle the beeping sound of the electronic device (or maybe it was our loud pleas to our partners ).
Randy and RalphG defeated Rachel and BillB, 7-6 in about 15-20 minutes.