That's It! A Race to Guess The Right Word

Can you guess a word with just one clue? Shout out all the possible answers you can think of and hope to hear ‘that’s it!’.

Published by Gamewright, That’s It! is a light party game for three or more players, with simple rules, minimal setup, and flexible player count.

Gameplay

The scoring tokens are shuffled and placed face-down in the middle of the table. Each one shows a number from one through five.

Every round a different player will be the reader. The reader will draw a card, which has five items listed on it. The reader will start with the top item. On the left is a description of that item or thing that can fit multiple things, while on the right is listed the exact word the guessers need to name.

The reader reads aloud the first description on the card. For example, the correct word might be ‘pizza’ and the description is ‘a take-out food’. All the other players shout out guesses. The first person to correctly say the word takes one face-down scoring token. If there is a tie, all the players who shouted out the word at the same time get a token. You do not look at the number written on a token when you take it. The reader then moves on to the next description and the play continues the same. The final description on the card is a bonus one, and the player who guesses it correctly gets two tokens.

There is no penalty for wrong answers, and you can keep giving as many answers as you'd like — but if everyone stops guessing and can’t think of any more answers, the reader announces what the correct word was and takes a token for himself.

Once the final bonus word has been guessed, the round ends. Everyone reveals the numbers on their tokens and tallies the points written on them. The player with the most points wins the card. If there is a tie, all tying players win a card. All tokens are then returned, face-down, to the center of the table and reshuffled. A new round begins, with a new reader and a new card. The first player to obtain three cards wins the game.

Review

That’s It! is a fast, fun little party game. The rules are simple, the gameplay is quick, and there’s a flexible player count. There are going to be lots of chortles as you blurt out silly answers in your haste, and it feels great when you hit on just the right word out of the gate.

There’s a wide range of categories covered, and lots of questions provided. Some of them are a little more difficult than others, but with the exception of one description we came across that could potentially go risqué, all the words and descriptions were family-friendly.

For higher player counts, where tokens are likely to be spread out more, the five-point token seems a little too powerful — but the uncertainty of who is winning the round is enjoyable and is a way to keep everyone in the running throughout.

That’s It! comes in a small, portable box. You can have it up and running in a minute, with rules taught and everyone ready to go. The reader doesn’t have to come up with clues, and for the guesses, it’s just about saying all the answers you can think of, as quickly as you can. The result isn’t a hefty game, but it is an enjoyable one, with the occasional brain teaser as you rack your brain for more words when the correct one is proving elusive.

Pros: Flexible player count, easy to teach and set up, lots of cards

Cons: Scoring system can be imbalanced

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