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Utter Nonsense: Family Edition a hilarious game for holiday gifting

My husband has a thing about accents. He's long goofed off with our girls by speaking in (egregiously incorrect) accents, from Spanish to French to Australian and so forth. He gets a ridiculous kick out of hearing Siri speak in different languages, and has his own Siri set to the Australian male voice.

So when I mentioned I'd been offered Utter Nonsense! The Hilarious Accent Game free for review, he was all over that. "Oh, you gotta get it!" he announced (in what I think may have been an Australian accent with a Spanish lilt).

I requested the game, and as soon as it arrived I saw its potential for wacky fun with my loved ones.

Utter Nonsense: Family Edition is a card game perfect for group/family fun. Phrase cards and accent cards dictate what players must say and how they're to say it.

The 450 phrase cards are exactly that — cards with goofy sayings (and some fun references only a few might get... such as "You can tune a piano but you can't tune a fish" and other pop culture quips).

The 50 accent cards? Well, there's a wide variety of wacky ones, including — to my delight — a Grandma accent. Which means I could stump one and all just by speaking in my regular voice/accent/sound.

How to play Utter Nonsense: One player is named the "Nonsense Judge" (the one deemed to have stinkiest feet, per the directions). The Nonsense Judge deals seven phrase cards to each player then selects an Accent Card from the top of the Accent Card deck.

Players then choose a phrase from their hand, read it in the accent dictated by the card drawn by the judge (acting it out, too, if so desired), then the Nonsense Judge chooses which player's phrase and accent combination was funniest. That chosen winner becomes the Nonsense Judge for the next round.

Once a player wins five rounds, he or she is the Utter Nonsense winner!

An example of game play, straight from the maker:

That's how it was designed to be played. I, though, kind of like our own made-up charade sort of variation. Players take turns drawing a phrase and an accent, performs for the group, and whomever can guess the accent goes next. No winners, per se, just ongoing fun and frivolity. 

Another variation would be for all to take a stab at the same phrase/accent combination and choose as a group who was funniest... or most spot-on.

Utter Nonsense: Family Edition is designed for ages 8 and up, 4-20 players, and takes 30 minutes or more to complete. Game play can get pretty wacky and wild — if a few caveats are kept in mind:

  • The game is for ages 8 and up, but youngsters should be fairly proficient readers in order to keep things fun, not frustrating for one and all.
  • A good sense of humor — and good mood — is a must. Grumps and sourpusses will put a damper on nonsensical displays of delight, so wait until the time is right for playing with Grinches. (Though, there is a "Grinch" accent in the Holiday Pack!)

Speaking of Holiday Pack, there is indeed one, a 32-card set sold separately (which I was fortunate to have the PR folks send along for free with my review game):

Utter Nonsense: Family Edition has an MSRP of $24.99 and is available at Target. Find out more about the game (and its "naughty" version for adults, too) at UtterNonsenseGame.com. Additional Nonsense news can be found on Utter Nonsense social media channels:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/utternonsensegame/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/NonsenseUtter

Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nonsenseutter/  

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/utternonsensegame/

Utter Nonsense game play photo courtesy Utter Nonsense

Disclosure: I received this product free for review; opinions are my own.