Try Your Best Not to Laugh in Chonky Donkey

Try not to laugh as you give ridiculous answers to a whole range of questions.

Published by Gameright Games and designed for 3-8 players, Chonky Donkey is a party game where laughing will cost you.

Gameplay

There are two decks of cards: question cards and answer cards. Each player is dealt a hand of three question cards. The active player draws an answer card and shows it to the other players without looking at it himself.

Each player then takes turns selecting one of their question cards and playing it, asking the active player the question on the card. The active player must respond with the answer on his answer card without laughing or smiling. If he succeeds to answer each player’s question without a laugh or smile, he wins the answer card. If a player manages to crack him up, that player takes the answer card. Everyone then draws back up to three question cards and a new round begins with a new active player. The first player to win a set number of answer cards wins the game.

Review

Chonky Donkey is a very light party game that can work with the right players. It can be fun to pick the right question to make the answer particularly silly. Also, as the answer giver tries not to laugh, often the seriousness of his response can in turn be quite amusing.

All of that being said, this is a very simple game and if the atmosphere isn’t quite right, it’s likely to miss the mark. Also, to not even be able to crack a smile as the answer giver can lead to some grey area. It’s a lighthearted game and should be treated as such, but a laugh is easier to pin down than a smile.

There are lots of cards included, leading to a large amount of variety, and the print on the cards is nice and large and easy to read. However, the box insert in our copy did arrive smashed and somewhat torn. It’s a minor point, but Gamewright usually meets very high component standards.

This is a game that you can tell pretty fast if it will work for your group or not. If you’re looking for something very light and believe you all will embrace the game in the right spirit, you can definitely have a laugh with Chonky Donkey.

Pros: Lots of cards included, can inspire laughter

Cons: A little too much grey area in smiling rules, slight component issues, needs the right atmosphere to work

Disclosure: we received a complimentary review copy of this game.