Test your readiness to survive life 2- 4 players ages 12 and up
I bought The Worst Case Scenario Game on a whim one day. What could this game possibly be like? I asked myself. It was more than I thought it would be. A little wacky, a little crazy and full of “What!?”
If you like trivia games that are a little different like the Logo Game, Pictopia (one of our favorites) and Anomia and games that are a little whacky like Kerfuffle, then keep reading but be warned–this one is like NOTHING I’ve ever played before.
Object of Worst Case Scenario
The object of the game is to reach the finish line with the most amount of gold coins.
The Pieces
The Worst Case Scenario has some of the most unique movers I’ve seen. Each piece is a figure of a person on cardboard. Next, each player places the five stickers that represent the arms, legs and heads of the players. (More on what makes is unique in a bit.)
The Board
The art work on the Worst Case Scenario is very simple. There are yellow, gray and red spaces that are linked by lines and multiple paths to choose.
Playing Worst Case Scenario
A player rolls the dice and moves along their chosen path the corresponding number of space unless they pass a yellow space. The yellow spaces are monitory to stop on. After moving, a player must answer a question card.
Each question card has a Worst Case Scenario question and three answers. Questions include “How to deal with a boss who is a control freak,” and “How to travel on an avalanche-prone trail,” and even “How to survive a swarm of killer bees” and “How to get skin out of a zipper.” What happens when the question is answered depends on what type of space they are on.
Yellow spaces – if a player is on a yellow space and answers a question correctly, then he gets a gold token. On the other hand, if he answer wrong then he looses a body part. Yes. If you answer wrong you remove a body part sticker.
Gray spaces – if a player is on a gray space and answers correctly, then she stays put. If she answers incorrectly, you guessed it, she looses a body part.
Red spaces – if a player answers correctly then he can choose to either get back a missing body part or get a gold token. On the other hand, if he is wrong then he loses a body part and a gold token.
The Graveyard
If a player loses all of her body parts is she sent to the graveyard. But wait! She is not out of the game. Instead, she removes the head piece from her cardboard and places it on the spot where she was. While in the graveyard, she rolls the dice on her turn trying to get a 6. If she rolls a six she is free. If after three unscuccessful turns of trying to roll a six, she is also set free.
When she is set free, she rolls the dice again. This number dictates how many body parts she goes back to the game with. If she rolls a six, she gets all five body parts back and a golden token. She then places her mover back on the last space she was one but does not answer a question until her next turn.
Golden Years
The last space before the finish line is the Golden Years space. When a player lands on this space, he rolls the dice once more. This number is the amount that the question is worth. If he rolls a five and answers correctly, he gets five gold tokens. On the other hand, if he answers wrongly, he must pay five golden tokens. No body parts are removed on this space.
Life’s Final Stage
After passing the golden years space a player then adds up her gold tokens to see where she can live. She needs 10 golden tokens to go to the Mega-Million Mansion, 6 for the Comfy Condo, 3 for the Shady Rest Old Folks Home and if she has less than three she is on Skid Row.
But the game’s not over.
Once a player has reached the end, she continues to answer questions on her turn until all players have passed the Golden Years. If she answers correctly, she gets a golden token. Incorrect answers means she has to pay a gold token.
Winning Worst Case Scenario
When all the players have entered into one of Life’s Final Stage—including the graveyard—the game is over. Next, players add up their golden tokens and the player with the most golden tokens wins.
Tie Breakers
If there are two players with the same amount of golden tokens, then the player with the most body parts wins. If they have the same amount of parts, then they get a tie-breaking question. In the event that the question doesn’t settle the tie, then they roll the die and the highest number wins.
What We Like
I have to say that when we first started playing Worst Case Scenario, we thought we’d lost our minds. But, we laughed so hard playing this game, I mean who knows that the correct way to survive a mob of kangaroos is by backing slowly away? Or how to avoid a bar fight in Australia? And the fact that you loose body parts? What kind of game does that?
The next good thing about Worst Case Scenario is that there are a lot of cards. You would have to play a lot of memorize the answers. Also, there are very few cards that are outdated—rare for this kind of game. I guess the best way to catch a snake for meat doesn’t change much.
Next, there are some good facts to know in the questions—how to use a fire exterior, how to treat a sunburn, how to react if your car skids off the road. As parents, the questions let us start discussions with the kids.
Lastly, this is an easy game to play over Zoom or Skype.
What We Don’t Like
The artwork on the board is really very simple and not in a good way. The body part pieces could also easily wear out or get lost. And some of the questions are…just ridiculous. (The best way to treat hemorrhoids in the wild? Who knows or needs to know that?)
Conclusion
Worst Case Scenario is maybe the most unusual game we have ever played. The loosing body parts, the laughable questions, the return from the graveyard…all had us in stiches. As a fun time, Worst Case Scenario is great. As a serious game, not so much. Our recommendation is to pick this game up if you see if in a used store for some great entertainment, otherwise find a different game for your Family Game Shelf.
If you want a good laugh you can get your copy of Worst Case Scenario here. Canadians can shop here.
To survive the Worst Case Scenario of a boring family game night, find a game in our reviews, card and dice game sections.
Rating: 3
Julia:
Carrie-Anne:
Pros: lots of cards, unique, lots of laughs
Cons: artwork, some questions are bizarre
Mom: good conversation starters, some good advice,
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