How Many Ways Can You Say 'Fun' in Similarities?

How many synonyms can you think of for the word ‘crown’? Only four will score you a point, but maybe you want to take a risk and try to name an antonym instead.

Published by Ten Maniacs, Similarities is a party game for 2-8 players with a15-30 minute play time.

Gameplay

Each round, a card is drawn. Players are careful to only look at the back of the card. The back will show one word such as 'polite' or 'taunt'.

The timer is started, and players immediately begin. Each player has a board and they either write as many synonyms for the word as they can think of, or they write a single antonym for the word.

After the timer runs out, players flip over the card. Each card shows four synonyms and one antonym. Different synonyms are worth different numbers of points ranging from 1-5. Players score the associated number of points for each synonym on the card that they also wrote down. If a player chose to write an antonym instead and his word matches the one on the card, then he scores 12 points. However, if the player fails to guess the correct antonym then he loses 12 points.

The first player to reach 30 points wins the game.

Review

Similarities is a party game that almost feels more like a game show-style quiz game. Players aren’t just coming up with any synonyms, they have to be the ones listed on the card. Now, players can increase their chances by writing down lots of them, and people almost always get at least one. But hitting the right, high-scoring synonyms is key — and it is satisfying when you do manage to write down the five-point word.

Matching the antonym is hard and we often failed to do it when we tried. Even though it's not easy to pull off, it’s a nice option that gives players falling behind a chance to catch up or a way to steal victory from someone else. The penalty for guessing the wrong antonym, however, feels much too harsh — a small penalty may be fine, but negative 12 points can really ruin the fun. It might be a good idea to use a house rule for this.

Players are supposed to track their points on their dry erase boards that they write their words on, so it's easy to accidentally wipe something off that you didn't intend. It's best to just track points on a separate sheet of paper. Finally, the artwork on the box just doesn't look very slick or engaging.

The core idea of Similarities is enjoyable, and while the presentation could be improved, the core mechanic is an interesting one and gives the game a slightly different rhythm than other party games.

Pros: Has a little bit of a different feel than other similar party games, interesting catch-up mechanic using the antonym word

Cons: Poor presentation, harsh penalty for failing to guess the antonym 

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