Draw Your Word and Guess Your Opponents' Words Simultaneously in Pictomania

Can you draw a cowboy quickly? Can you draw a cowboy so that he doesn’t look like a pirate? And what’s that other player drawing? Is it a knight or a fencer?

Pictomania is a drawing game with no teams, no down time, and no roles. You get to both draw and guess every round.

Gameplay

At the start of each round, players draw three word cards and set them on a tray, in the A, B, and C slots. Each word card has several words clearly numbered one through seven. The cards come in a range of four difficulty levels. The game is played in four rounds and players can choose to use cards from increasingly difficult decks each round, or adjust the difficulty based on the players.

In the center of the table black scoring tokens are placed, worth one to three points. Each player also takes scoring points that match their player color, also worth one to three points. Finally, each player takes seven numbered cards that match their player color.

Each player is then dealt two cards facedown. One card will have a number and one card will show a letter: A, B, or C. This will tell you what your word is. Players can be dealt the same letter but they will never be dealt the same number.

Each player then starts drawing their word. Once you are done drawing, you begin guessing what words you think the other people are drawing. You do not have to guess every player if you do not want to. To guess, you select your card whose number matches the word you believe they are drawing, and place it facedown in front of them. You do not guess the letter, so in theory if you played your seven, thinking someone is drawing the seventh word on the A card and they are in fact drawing the seventh word on the C card, you will still have a correct guess.

You may guess even while other players are still drawing, but once you have made a guess you cannot take it back. After you have finished making any guesses you want, you take one of the black scoring tokens in the center of the table.

Once everyone has finished drawing and guessing, players reveal what words they were drawing. If a player’s guess was wrong, their card is moved to the center of the table. If a player’s guess was right, they take one of the drawing player’s scoring tokens (scoring tokens are awarded in the order the guesses are made, so the faster you guess, the more likely you are to earn the higher value tokens).

At the end of the round, you score points for all the tokens you claimed (the black tokens and other players') and lose points for any of your own tokens you still have (meaning you want other players to be able to guess your drawing). However, the player who has the most cards in the center of the table (i.e. the player who made the most incorrect guesses), does not earn points from the black token they claimed, and instead loses that amount of points.

The cards are replaced, players take back their scoring tiles and cards, the black tokens are returned to the center of the table, and a new round begins. The player with the most points at the end of four rounds, wins the game.

Review

Pictomania is a fun take on the drawing game genre. Everyone gets to do both roles every round, draw and guess, so that you always have the best of both worlds.

There’s clearly been a lot of thought put into the cards, and it’s more difficult than you might think to avoid accidently drawing something that looks like other words on the card. Especially when you’re under time pressure.

Drawing, keeping an eye on what other people are doing, and trying to make fast decisions with your guesses, is all a lot more tricky than you expect it to be when first learning the rules. There is also a fun balance between trying to draw a picture people can guess, and trying to rush through so you can get your own guesses in first.

The range of difficulty in the cards offers nice escalation as you play through the rounds, or adjustablilty based on the ages of your game group, making it a drawing game that’s good for adults, families, and kids. However, the scoring system can be a bit cumbersome to teach.

A lot of the components are well done. The tokens and cards are of a nice quality, the game actually comes with full sized pencils that match the player colors as well as a sharpener, which is a nice addition for a drawing game. The tray for the cards is quite flimsy and a thin plastic, however, and it would be nice if it was made of something sturdier.

If you enjoy drawing games, Pictomania is well worth adding to your collection. It does a lovely job of letting all players enjoy the best bits of the genre every round.

Pros: Ability to adjust difficulty, players get to both draw and guess every round, the word cards are well thought out

Cons: The scoring system is a bit complicatd to teach, the card tray is flimsy

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