You and your friends are a bunch of possums and I am a scavenging racoon. But we seek to understand each other so using items I have dug out of the trash and a selection of random words, let's work together to communicate!
That's the "story" behind "Trash Talk", the newest party game from the lovely people at Friendly Skeleton , who were kind enough to send me a copy.
I actually played "Trash Talk" at GenCon 2023. I swear, my friends and I spent an hour just hanging out in the Friendly Skeleton room one evening at the end of the show, playing rounds of this game over and over, adding random people to the mix as they entered the room. It's just that kind of game, one you could have set up at the start or end of the night, that people in the group could easily float in and out of while getting snacks or waiting for another person to arrive.
How to Play: This game is so simple, Rodney can explain it to you in about 8 minutes.
Each box includes an assortment of items straight out of the prize box at your dentist's office. 2 of each. One player picks 3 and then gives their dupes to the other team. Shuffle the cards and draw 3 random ones, putting them face down in a row on the table. Now the "racoon" player goes to work behind their screen, trying to figure out which item best fits with each word. This is a cooperative game, so you WANT the other team to guess correctly - what do you know about them? What do they know about you? What were you all discussing earlier that might tie this together?
After the Racoon says they are done, the possum team begins discussing what they think the placement might be. Once they have all agreed on the matches, the Racoon reveals what was behind their screen!
That's pretty much how we play, but the rule book has additional instructions on how to proceed and make this a longer game, with scoring rounds based on correct/incorrect matches and moving along. But that depends on who you're playing with. That is the thing I love about this - you could really play with all ages! The barrier to entry is VERY low. You could even tell a non-reader what the words said on the card and they could participate in the discussion.
And there's nothing stopping you from buying some "party favors" off Amazon and expanding your trash collection! Big group? You could have multiple games going!
While "Trash Talk!" is a pretty simple game, the idea is fun and at $20, not a huge investment. Is it a ground-breaking step forward in mechanics or design? Not really. But will it perhaps get some new players to the table that you can ease into more complex games down the road? Is it a very approachable family weight game that should engage everyone at the table, no matter their age of gaming experience? Yep!
"Trash Talk!" is a cute and fun and one to keep on your list for that next gathering of friends, gamers or not!
Thank you to Friendly Skeleton Games for sending me a copy of this game!