Picture this: Thanksgiving weekend, up North at the cabin, thin blanket of snow on the ground, all cozy next to a fireplace, drinking wine and playing umpteen rounds of Wits & Wagers with the family. Sound like a good time? Without a doubt. (Some of you may need to replace the word family with friends in order to ensure a good time.)
Wits and Wagers by North Star Games is a game for many ages. Our group spanned from age 13 up to 61, and we all had a ball. When the younger kids (ages 5-9) saw how much fun we were having, they wanted in on a piece of the action. So, we gave them clues by supplying them with a range in which to guess and we made up a few questions specific to them.
"Each player writes down a guess to the same question and places it face-up on the betting mat. Think you know it? Bet on your guess! Think you know who the expert is? Bet on them. The player with the most points [chips] after 7 questions wins."
It's a little like bringing Vegas and Trivial Pursuit to your own living room. Only what happens in the living room while playing Wits and Wages doesn't always stay in the living room. For example, I'll be telling you all (a.k.a. the World) a little story about our game.
We had this question, "In 2006, how many knives were discovered during U.S. airport passenger screenings?" Our answers ranged from 50 (yes, 50) to 20,000. We placed our bets, then read the actual answer: 1,607,100. First, all of our mouths dropped and hung open. Then we all stared at our own answers in disbelief... and without skipping a beat, the jabs and jokes starting flying towards the person who guessed 50! (Sorry, Mom.) It's now one of those things she'll never live down.
To give you a better taste for the game, here are a few more examples of questions (answers below):
1. In dollars, what is the average annual salary of a Major League Baseball player?
2. In days, how long was O.J. Simpson's double murder trial?
3. What percent of American families annually spend more than they earn?
4. In days, what was the shortest term of any U.S. president?
5. In what year was Coca-Cola first produced?
6. In what year did Sesame Street first air?
I could keep going because it's quite addicting!
Wits and Wagers would be the perfect holiday gift or hostess gift. But don't take my word for it (or my mother's or my husband's or my brother's or my sister's-in-law, or my nephew's). This game has already won 13 industry awards. You won't go wrong giving this as a gift... unless of course you give this to your friend who is addicted to gambling and wants to play for real money.
Answers to questions above:
2. 252 days
3. 40%
4. 32 days (Harrison died of pneumonia 32 days after his inauguration)
5. 1886
6. 1969
