The missus and I absolutely love a party game. Unfortunately, being actual grown adults with grown-up friends who have mortgages, careers, and responsibilities (boo, hiss!), we struggle to get the gang together as often as we'd like. Because of this, we had this little beauty sitting on the shelf collecting dust for a while before we finally got it to the table.
Let me tell you: letting it sit there was a massive mistake. They Made Me Do It puts a spin on charades that I didn't even know I needed.
It starts with every player receiving ten prompt cards. After sorting through them, you pick your favourite five. Each card has a prompt at the top to give you a jolt of inspiration, and a blank space at the bottom for you to write your own custom answer. Once everyone has filled in their cards, you gather them up, pop them into a really well-made plastic card dispenser, and let the chaos begin.
The missus and I absolutely love a party game. Unfortunately, being actual grown adults with grown-up friends who have mortgages, careers, and responsibilities (boo, hiss!), we struggle to get the gang together as often as we'd like. Because of this, we had this little beauty sitting on the shelf collecting dust for a while before we finally got it to the table.
Let me tell you: letting it sit there was a massive mistake. They Made Me Do It puts a spin on charades that I didn't even know I needed.
It starts with every player receiving ten prompt cards. After sorting through them, you pick your favourite five. Each card has a prompt at the top to give you a jolt of inspiration, and a blank space at the bottom for you to write your own custom answer. Once everyone has filled in their cards, you gather them up, pop them into a really well-made plastic card dispenser, and let the chaos begin.
Nitty Gritty Stuff
Once you've written down your answers—some of which your grandmother would definitely not approve of—all the cards are loaded into the dispenser. If you have four players, that's twenty custom clues in play.
You split into teams, start a 60-second timer, and turn the dial on the back of the dispenser to track the rounds. The game is played across three increasingly frantic stages:
- Round 1: Describe It. The clue-giver has to describe the answer they've drawn without using any of the actual words on the card. For example, one of the slightly less provocative cards we had was: "Name a person whose cult you'd join without knowing what it was about." The player had written her favourite male celebrity—Ryan Reynolds (and honestly, who can blame her? The man is gorgeous and I definitely don't have a massive man-crush on him, promise). The describer can say anything they want to paint the picture, as long as they don't say "Ryan" or "Reynolds." Every card guessed correctly is kept by the team for points.
- Round 2: One Word. All the cards go back into the dispenser. This time, you can only use a single word to prompt your team. Going back to our friend Ryan, we used the word "Deadpool". Because you've already seen all the cards in Round 1, this becomes a high-speed test of memory and association.
- Round 3: Act It Out. The final round is pure mime. No words, no noises, just you desperately flailing your arms around trying to act out whatever filthy or bizarre phrase your mates wrote down in phase one.
At the end of the third round, you tally up your points to crown the winners.
The instructions also mention that you can "immortalise" a card at the end of the game by using the permanent marker provided to write over a prompt permanently. Personally, I am absolutely not a fan of permanently altering anything in a board game. It gives me proper heart palpitations in Gloomhaven when you're supposed to put a sticker on the board, so that feature is entirely optional and a hard pass from me!
Tips and Tricks
- Engage Your Brain: The most important aspect of this game is memory. The deck of cards doesn't change between the rounds, so pay close attention to what is guessed in Round 1. It will make your life ten times easier when you're limited to one word or silent charades later on.
- The Sweet Spot: When writing your prompts, try to make them easy enough for your team to guess, but not so blindingly obvious that the opposing team can easily snatch the points on their turn if the timer runs over.
- Keep It Light: This is a party game designed for pure, unadulterated laughs. Don't take yourself too seriously—the fun is in watching your friends squirm while trying to act out ridiculous things.
Likes & Dislikes
Likes
- High Production Value: Everything is really well-made, from the quality of the cards to the sliding card dispenser.
- Incredible Variety: The prompt cards cover a massive spectrum, ranging from items you might only use in private to silly questions about cults and movies.
- Easy Onboarding: The box comes with a handy QR code linking to a quick "how to play" video, though the printed rules are also wonderfully short and sweet.
- The Artwork: The box art is bright, modern, and looks great on the shelf.
Dislikes
- The Ink Threat: It's barely a dislike because you don't have to do it, but my teeth genuinely won't stop itching at the mere idea of permanently writing on a game component with a Sharpie. Keep that marker away from me!
Two Player Aspect
Obviously, this one is designed to be played 4 plus players but you can absolutely play this as a couple it just wont be as competitive you could forget about points and just play for fun. Although my missus would whoop me as her short time memory is absolutely disgustingly good.
Final Verdict
Is They Made Me Do It going to be the brain-burning centrepiece of a serious, heavy strategy board game night? Absolutely not. It’s not complicated, it doesn't require you to think five turns ahead, and it won't strain your tactical muscles.
What it is, however, is a brilliant piece of entertainment for the end of the night when you've had a few grown-up drinks, or a daft icebreaker to play while you're waiting for the takeaway to arrive. It successfully takes the best elements of Cards Against Humanity, What Do You Meme?, and Scrawl, and rolls them into one beautiful, hilarious package. I recommend this one highly!
