Like This, Not Like That! A Review of the Party Game No Context

Using only other picture cards flipped to their yes or no side, try to get other players to correctly guess your secret picture.

Featuring artwork from the webcomic Mr. Lovenstein, No Context is a party game from Skybound Tabletop, designed for 2-6 players and playable in 20-30 minutes.

Gameplay

A certain number of cards are dealt to the target row, and a certain number are dealt to the comparison row. Each player is then dealt a card that will correspond to one of the target cards based on its position in the row. This is your card.

Players take turns drafting a card from the comparison row. When you draft a card, you then play it either on its yes side to indicate that it is somehow similar to your target card, or on its no side to say that it is either dissimilar or somehow the opposite of your target card. Once a card is drafted from the comparison row, a new card is immediately drawn to replace it.

Drafting will continue until each player has drafted three cards or everyone has placed a bet on each other player. You can place a bet at any time. To place a bet, you place a betting card face-down in that player’s area, which indicates which target card you believe is theirs. Once a bet is placed, it cannot be moved. You cannot bet on the same card for more than one player.

Once the round has ended, you check the bets. For each player, only the people who placed the first two correct bets for the target image score points. The first player to guess correctly scores two points, the second player scores one. You also get one point for having your card guessed by at least one player.

You play three rounds of the game and the player with the most points wins the game.

Review

No Context is similar to other clue-giving, picture-based, guessing party games. Still, both its production and components, as well as its unusual aesthetic, set it apart and make it a worthy entry into a slightly crowded field.

The scoring system is fun. There’s a reason to hold off as long as you can, to get more clues as to what a player’s card might be, but you’re also incentivized to bet early. Also, since a bet can’t be moved once it is placed, and you can’t guess the same card twice, there is a lot of push-and-pull with how quickly you place those bets.

There are many cards included in the game and being able to use each one to either clue yes or no, means you have a lot of different combinations you can make for giving clues. The game board is also laid out really well to keep things organized. The board is not strictly a necessary component, but it’s a welcome one.

Some of the cards are humorously grim or a bit adult in theme. None of the artwork is crude or R-rated that we noticed, but it’s more thematically aimed toward an older audience that is more likely to appreciate the humor or style. That being said, while the artwork won’t be for everyone, its unique and unusual style does make the clue-giving and comparisons of the game quite fun and often enjoyably challenging.

Pros: Fun and challenging clue giving, great components, fun betting system

Cons: Artwork will not be for everyone, there are a lot of similar games

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