Sentences You Won't Find in a Textbook: A Preview of Farce

At some point game designer Guy Walker realized that he wanted to liven up the dinner parties he hosted for his friends and family. An avid fan of party games like Cards Against Humanity, he sought to create something that encouraged laughs, insults, and adult humor. This idea eventually led him to produce Farce Card Game, which he now hopes to successfully fund through Kickstarter.

Gameplay

Like many humorous social games, Farce is very light on mechanics and rules and supports anywhere from 2-12 players. The goal of the game is to acquire the most laughs each round. Players accomplish this by using the cards they are dealt to come up with funny, inappropriate, or simply farcical sentences and then reading them aloud to the table. Each participant is dealt a hand of 12 cards which they use to construct their sentence. Cards consist of three different categories which attempt to break the English language up into three different categories: Fragments, Words, and Connectors. A standard hand consists of 3 Farce Words, 6 Farce Fragments, and 3 Farce Connectors. During a round each player can use any combination of those cards to form their sentence. It’s not always the longest sentences that end up being the funniest, so each card should be carefully considered.

Players are then given a couple of minutes to look through their hand and create their sentence. Each card type will provide players with a variety of options to choose from, so players are often not limited to a single phrase or word on a given card. Everyone takes their turn reading their sentence out loud and then a point is awarded to the player who achieved the most laughs. While extremely simple on the surface the gameplay ends up offering depth simply because of the potential choices in any given hand. A number of wild cards are also provided in the 568 card deck, which allow players to insert the names of celebrities or other players into their sentence.

Review

Unlike similar party games Farce seems designed to avoid burn out. The sheer amount of cards and options makes the possible sentence combinations practically infinite. Coming up with creative and funny sentences adds both variety and challenge to the experience, which makes the laughs earned much more gratifying. A game like Farce greatly benefits from the right situation, group, and mindset.

Mature and adult themes are present throughout most cards, so it may not be a great selection for everyone, but for those who don’t mind the crude humor it will certainly deliver on the fun. This game seems perfectly paired with a few drinks and a group of friends who don’t mind poking fun at each other. If you like what you see, be sure to take a look on Kickstarter.

Pros: Simple rules, lots of laughs, tons of replayability

Cons: Not appropriate for all audiences

Disclosure: this preview is based on our evaluation of an unpublished prototype of the game, which is subject to change prior to publication. While a modest payment was received to expedite the review process, our thoughts and opinions expressed here are honest and accurate.