Game: Moods

Thread: Re: Any ideas on replacements for the stones?

subhan — 2008-02-11T16:32:58+00:00

Try some Go stones - how many do you need? I might be willing to pull a couple out of my Go set for you.

Thread: Re: Any ideas on replacements for the stones?

ackmondual — 2008-02-11T06:21:25+00:00

Would it have to be approximate? You could find pretty much ANY typical household items around your house, like coins, buttons, office supplies, bottle caps, etc. to "fit the mood"

Else, the mood stones for this game do remind me of something you'd find in either an arts and crafts stores (AC Moore and Michaels, The Arts & Crafts Store), a 'hippie store' (dunno, check your local stores for this), perhaps places like Bed Bath & Beyond, or Hot Topic.

Thread: Any ideas on replacements for the stones?

artfuldodge2 — 2008-02-11T05:59:11+00:00

I have a copy of the game that's missing the white and black mood stones.

Any suggestions as to where I might be able to find approximate replacements?

Thread: Moods - session report

ackmondual — 2008-01-23T05:11:03+00:00

The day must've taken a bigger bite out of me than I thought, because when the game owner explained it, then again after mentioning I didn't get it, I STILL didn't get it. Watching someone else start off and everyone poised to place their tokens got me into the game and able to participate.

Nowadays, it's difficult to play a game and not be reminded of other board games. For this, it was Scattergories for the 6+ sided die and Apples To Apples for all the words on all the cards.

Five players from p1 through p5. I was p5 and also went last.

When p2 did analytical, she did sound more or less analytical, but her facial expression and cupping her hand under her chin made it very clear. I thought facial expressions and using hands would make things too easy, but I was curious to see how the game would work out anyways, so I just went with it.

I did Triumphant with the phrase "I'm sweating like a pig". Yeah, I 'cheated' as well, by raising my fist into the air like I just won a $50 raffle. Everyone got that

Another player attempted envious. After no one got that, we all commented how envious is typically picked up with context alongside with the mood or tone of voice.

At several points in the game, I noticed there were several moods that I either wasn't sure what they meant or was pretty sure, but wanted to confirm the definition I thought was indeed correct. Would've been nice if they put some brief definitions on the Mood cards, but I took the chance to ask about such words in between turns.
Indignant = A strong feeling of displeasure or hostility
...... I was told that it was something like a smug, superior attitude. I thought of British right away for some reason
Wishy-washy = bland, dull

Good thing too, b/c I attempted wishy-washy. I used my 'well known' monotonous voice to do that w/o using hand motions nor facial expressions. At last with the latter, I've been told I don't have much of that. Everyone got it. I was surprised.

I also got got to do indignant. I didn't have any angles on this, so I did my best to sound "superior", with a dash of British accent thrown in. 1 person didn't get that. The other 3 did, mainly by my reference to indignant sound like British gentleman.

FINAL NOTES....
I ended up in last place. Unfortunately, in the beginning, I should've played my big guns first. Specifically, the 3 and 4pt-ers. Those I would've gotten, but instead, I gotten the 1 to 2 pointers and missed some of the 3 and 4 pointers.

As a twist, we played till the BITTER END. I believe the game was supposed to end once someone crossed the finish line, but we kept playing till everyone finished. In order to prevent conflicts of interest, when it was down to 2 players, someone who finished the game read and performed the moods, since in a one on one, the other player could in theory purposely mess up to prevent his opponent from advancing 1 to 4 spaces while himself only 1 space. Having the full set of 4 tokens, I needed to advance 7 spaces. I messed up the 4 pointer, so having 3 + 2 + 1 token values meant I would need a minimum of 4 turns instead of the minimum of 2 to reach the finish. I ended up using 4 turns to finish the game.

When it's time to perform, the feeling of being in a play, doing a performance, or being in a concert quells over the body. None of us being actors nor improv-trained, we had to take a few moments before each performance of reciting the phrase and trying to match the mood. One of us was quite hilarious, as she needed several minutes at the beginning of each turn to get the uncontrollable giggles out of her.

The other thing to take note of is making sure that the mood you're enacting isn't similar to another one already on the board, else, you're guessers are going to be split. Whether if you're guessing or performing, both are better served knowing this, and if it comes up, you can at least try to compensate for this. I've noticed "joyous" and "triumphant" are similar, but that night, we actually had "envious" and "jeolousy" as 2 possible mood choices.

Another fun game. Not a game I see myself playing all the time, but it's fun to do every now and then. Comparing this to Apples To Apples, I'd LIKE TO rotate between the two for variety, but unfortunately, I know that A2A is far more popular and will be played much more often. I may be motivated to get this game for myself, but we'll see

Thread: Moods - review

ackmondual — 2008-01-12T23:24:38+00:00

Pretty straightforward social/party game, and most unique I've played to date. Moods, depicted by various mood cards such as "bashful", "joyous", and "sarcastic" are placed such that they fill 10 slots on the board. A list of phrases are generated randomly by another set of cards. These phrases are random and whimsical, such as "I'm sweating like a pig", or "we have nothing to fear but fear itself, and snakes".

The player who "acts" or performs rolls a 10-sided die and privately notes the roll # and the mood card it corresponds to. His goal is to recite a random phrase from a phrase card in a tone, manner, facial expression, and limited/modest hand movements such that the guessers guess the mood correctly. For the performer, the motivation is each player that guesses correctly moves his marker or pawn one space closer to the goal.

The guessers on the otherhand, after the performer makes up to 2 attempts recite the phrase to match the correct mood, each place a token numbered 1 through 4 on a card slot they think the performer was trying to convey. Guessers are motivated in where guessing the mood correctly advances their marker the number of spaces indicated on the token they just placed.

First marker to reach the finish spot wins. That's pretty much it. The components are simple as well.
-8 stones of different color are used for the markers. They are nice looking, and while I was able to tell red and orange apart, Some people may confuse the 2, especially in low light situations. Also, by placing the yellow marker on the yellow spot, it blended in very well with the board color. Almost like one of those small lizards that cameflouges itself. At least I was still able to make out the glass surface's shininess on it. The orange marker was slightly darker than the orange spot, so that wasn't as bad
-What I presume is a standard 10 sided die
-a small cylindrical container to allow the performer to roll the die and keep it covered to NOT allow anyone else to see the roll made
-each of the 8 players getting 6 tokens... numbered 1 through 4, and the other 2 blank
-a deck of mood cards
-a deck of phrase cards that come with an upright dispenser/holder
-instructions
-foldable game board
center is where the mood cards go, 10 slots in a 2x5 grid, outer ring is where the 'scoring' takes place, by advancing the markers after successful rounds.

There are some key points I'd like to bring up. What makes this game different from all the other party games I've played is while what someone says is important, in Moods, HOW you say it is the significant part. This is evident as the "what you say" is dictated by the game, but the variable is your voice and tone.

Ironically enough, people who are apathetic in their tone will probably fare off better. A possible strategy I've noticed is since a performer can get one point for each guesser that guesses correctly while a guesser can get 1 through 4 points (depending on which token they put down), it seems you'd be better served by being a bad voiceover person or pretending to be one. However, if everyone is trying their best, then there should be some successes every now and then to ensure a smooth and even gameplay. Otherwise, there may have been something in the rules to address this, but I doubt it.

Guessers can submit any of their tokens numbered 1 - 4 for their guesses, but only after all 4 of them are used up and all of them returned back to the player can the same token can be reused again. This leaves another decision to make in addition to guessing the correct mood. How much should you wager? Do you trust or know any of the players well enough to put down your "big guns"? You're going to lag too far behind if your 3 and 4 point tokens go to waste and only advancing 1 to 2 spots per turn.

When guessing, both the guesser and performer need to be aware of similar moods. For example, it's possible to mistaken "joyous" for "triumphant" or "envious" with "jeolousy" and vice versa for each pair.

Although props aren't allowed, like a flower to signify "romantic", limited/minor hand/arm movements were, such as cupping your hand under your chin for "analytical", apparently were allowed. I felt this would make some of the moods easier, maybe too easy, like shaking your fist like angry old folks are known to do, or triumphantly sticking your arm or arms in the air like when someone makes a penalty shot in soccer or a 3-pointer in basketball. I believe house rules would allow anyone to customize the game to the group's skill level and preferences

For a unique party game, pick this up. It may not get played as much as Cranium or Apples To Apples, but it'll definately be a great change of pace. Last but not least, it's worth noting that in Apples To Apples, ALL of the adjective and noun cards have definitions on them, so for anyone who doesn't know the meaning of words, they can still get by. Moods doesn't define ANY of the moods for you, so it may be helpful to have a dictionary handy, perhaps even the smallest pocket dictionary you can find to keep inside the storage case when gaming on the go.

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manolito84 — 2008-01-11T17:22:22+00:00

"Expression!" German Components & Box Front

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manolito84 — 2008-01-11T17:19:58+00:00

German Box Front of "Expression!"

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herman_the_german — 2007-11-21T00:40:28+00:00

Game components.

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matthewgeom — 2007-05-24T17:14:15+00:00

Moods - Phrases

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matthewgeom — 2007-05-24T17:12:21+00:00

Moods - Moods

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matthewgeom — 2007-05-24T17:10:55+00:00

Moods - Gameboard

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-03-09T15:32:39+00:00

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ArtEmiSa64 — 2007-03-09T15:32:06+00:00

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skelly9131 — 2006-03-20T21:15:13+00:00

Thread: Make Me Smile - A review of "Moods"

vetinari7878 — 2006-02-15T15:59:36+00:00

Basics

Players: 3-8

Average gaming time: 15 minutes (depends on the performance ability of the players - decent actors should be around these playing time, less thespian-oriented fellows could take more)

Complexity: Very Low (a typical party game)

Components

Gameboard, 120 phrase cards, 60 mood cards, 32 voting chips (4 for each player), 8 player markers, 1 ten-sided die, 1 dice cup.

Overview

It's all in the way you say it.

Moods is a typical zany party game from Hasbro, in which the players compete to advance on a track and be the first to reach the finish line (like "Taboo", for instance). The players advance by rightly guessing which mood their fellow players are acting out, and by performing well enough that people guess the mood they're acting out.

Gameplay

Each player picks one phrase card, and has to act it out in one of ten different moods, chosen among the cards laid out on the gameboard. Sample moods range from "silly", to "nervous", to "threatening" and so on. The phrases could as easily be "I feel sexy" rather than "I speak fluent Klingon". Obviously the weirder it is the pair of mood and phrase, the more fun the players have when the "acting" player has to perform.

The acting player throws a die, hiding it with the dice cup, and then proceeds to perform the line on the phrase card, delivering it in the mood written on the card next to the number on the board that is shown on the die. The other players have to guess which one of the ten moods on the board he is currently acting. More often than not, there are similar enough moods on the board that the choice is not so blatantly obvious.

A player has 4 voting chips numbered from 1 to 4, all of which he has to use once before taking them back in his hands. All the players put their chips on the board at the same time, then the acting player reveals the die, and so in which mood he was acting out. If the guessing player chooses rightly, he advances the number of spaces shown on the marker which he used for the guess. If he guesses poorly, he goes back the same number of spaces. The acting player advances one space for each player that rightly guesses the mood he was trying to act out. All the mood cards guessed at by at least one player are discarded, and new ones are drawn from the deck. It is now next player's turn. The first player to reach the final space on the track wins.

And that's all there is to the game.

Comments

I think Moods is a good party game, even if for me it is not in the same league as overall better party games, like my beloved "Time's Up". Having said that, there are some flaws to report.

The scoring system is obviously not a work of Reiner Knizia, as it suffers from several problems. For instance, in one of the games we played, one player performed so badly during one of her turns that everyone guessed wrong at what mood she was trying to suggest; in the end, she won, possibly because of that obvious blunder (everyone went back a number of spaces, because we all were so sure of the mood she was acting; obviously we were wrong). You could wish that, even in this sort of game, a player would be penalized for doing poorly, and not have an actual advantage for it.

This is naturally a relatively minor drawback, considering that the game is just a party game, so rules lawyer and competitive players should know better and just steer clear of it.

Moreover, a single game seems to play out a little too fast for my taste, considering that most games are over in just about 15 minutes. Of course, you could tweak the rules a little by having to go on several laps of the gameboard for the win, or simply by playing it a couple of times one after another.

In the end, you could say that if you are in the right mood (pun intended) to have some fun, then Moods, while in no way a masterpiece, is certainly a good way to pass an hour with your friends by being silly together.

Wrap-up

Pros
- A good way to have fun with your non-gaming friends by acting silly; pretty entertaining as far as party games go
- Plays very fast

Cons
- Doesn't work with people who are very bad actors or who hate to be laughed at
- Scoring system a bit awkward, could certainly have been better

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edosan — 2006-01-30T22:12:51+00:00

Thread: Session Report

Zinger — 2003-11-04T22:04:39+00:00

As I had some family members over, I tried out Moods on the group. Those present were: Chrissie, Ryan, Larry, John, Terry and me. What's nice about this game is that it is simple to teach and does not last that long. I would say we were done within a half hour. So non-gamers do not get agitated by the length of the game. I found the chip placement mechanism a bit awkward. Since we played with 6, hands bump and chips get knocked out of hands or moved away, and "following" becomes too easy. Still, it is what it is, a simple and fun party game. Almost every turn was a laugh out loud moment-- you soon notice that those with scant acting talent have the same voice and facial expressions for all happy types and sad types, which makes it all the funnier. I got tripped up on a difficult combination: "Are those handcuffs real?" said in a jealous mood. This scored me 0 points and scuppered my chances-- I ended up in 5th, beating only Terry, who clearly did not enjoy the acting part but did enjoy the watching part. Terry and I were also hampered by only having 2 moods to act vis a vis the rest of the group, since the game ended on John's third turn. It might be fairer to allow the cycle to complete and then determine a winner.

Final order: John, Chrissie, Ryan, Larry, Stephen, Terry.

Most enjoyed this quite a lot, and said it was funny, but I'm not sure anyone would be clamoring for it again.

Thread: User Review

TomVasel — 2003-05-25T04:55:03+00:00

A successful party game is not a game - but rather a fun time. It shouldn't matter who wins and loses, but how much enjoyment people get out of the session. Moods accomplishes this with great success, and is one of the most hilarious party games one will ever play.

So should you buy this game? The short answer is, if you need a good party game and already have Apples to Apples, Balderdash, and Time's Up!, yes! A longer answer follows.

First, a short description of the game: The Moods gameboard is set up in the middle of the table. On the gameboard are ten spaces, each numbered 0 - 9. From a deck of "mood" cards, a card is placed on each space. A sample ten words might be "apologetic", "jealous", "wishy-washy", "tense", "crazed", "sleazy", "suspicious", "confused", "silly", and "threatening". Each player is then given a "Mood stone" of a certain color, which they place on the Start space, and four voting chips - numbered 1 through 4.
Gameplay is very simple. On their turn, a player takes a dice cup with a single ten-sided die. The player rolls this die, and secretly looks in the cup to see which number they've rolled. They then draw a card from the phrase pile, These phrases range from "Are those real handcuffs?" to "I can't believe you said that." to "Rome wasn't built in a day" to "Are you flirting with me?".
The player must then read their phrase, using the mood of the number they rolled. After the phrase is read, the player calls out "1,2,3, Vote!" and everyone puts down one of their voting chips on one of the mood cards on the table. For example, if I think that you most certainly said "I speak fluent Klingon" in a "mellow" way, I'd put my 4 vote chip on the "mellow" number. If I wasn't so sure, I might only put down the 1 vote chip. After everyone has voted, the 10 sided die is revealed. Everyone who voted correctly moves their mood stone around a circular track outside the board - one space for each vote on their voting chip. Incorrect votes get nothing. The person who read the phrase gets one vote for each person who voted correctly.
After points are totaled, all the mood cards that have a vote on them (whether right or wrong) are removed, and replaced with new mood cards. All voting chips are discarded. When a player has used all four of their voting chips, they get them back. So you cannot use your 4 vote chip every turn - rather you use it every fourth turn. The game continues until someones mood stone passes all the way around the board - making them the winner!

Thoughts on the game:

1). Components: I thought the components were top notch quality. The mood stones were very nice, and with eight different colors! The only thing I can say negatively is that the orange and red stone were fairly difficult to tell apart. The voting chips - poker style (but the size of Axis and Allies chips) are completely distinguishable - and look colorful and nice when used. Card stock is not great, but is good and functional. The box is of good quality and is a nice size to fit on the shelf.

2). Rules: The rules are very well written - it's a simple game, after all - on one sheet of paper. You can explain this game to people in less than 2 minutes - and get a game started anywhere.

3). Variety: There are enough phrases and adverbs to last for quite a few games. If you decided to play the game every day for a month, I suppose that the cards would get old, but if you pull it out once a month or so - it should remain fresh.

4). Acting: This is the tricky part of the game. It's great fun when it's someone else's turn to read - but you will hate it when it's your turn. You just have to get over your stage fright and read the card. It is embarrassing when you have to read "There's nothing sexier than a lawnmower" in a "perky" tone, but the crowd will love it. And just think, next turn will be somebody else's. But word to the wise: This game will be a complete dud with a dull crowd. It's not like Apples to Apples, where even a boring person can toss a card easily into the middle of the table. Each person must give a decent effort when reading the cards. Let yourself go - it's a lot of fun!

5). Winning: This game isn't really about winning. Sometimes a person is SO obvious in what they read that the other 7 people playing vote for the correct answer. When this happens a couple times - that person will easily win. But who cares? This game isn't about winning - it's about watching people make fools of themselves.

6). Fun: As with all games, I rank the "fun factor" seriously. A game may have great mechanics, but is it downright fun? And Moods is a clear winner here.

7). Price and availability: Moods is not a very easy game to find - as it is fairly expensive, and not many places carry it.

This game seems to have flown in under the radar. It's not the easiest game to find, or the cheapest, but if you can afford it - I advice that you snag this party game for a fun, fun alternative to your usual party game batch.

Tom Vasel