Let’s play Concept the guessing game on Overboard

Group entertainment has always included guessing games. Charades Pictionary are approachable enough that just about anyone can play, but that doesn’t mean everyone always has a good time playing. It can become very embarrassing if you don’t have any structure or understanding of the thoughts of others. That’s exactly the result ConceptThis is what you are trying to avoid. Jaya Saxena, our guest and colleague at Eater, had an amazing time with us playing this game in the most recent episode of Overboard.

Concept’s changes to the typical guessing game formula start right away. Two players work together to give clues to each other, instead of one clue-giver. This makes the game less reliant on figuring out a single person’s way of thinking. Even if the prompt is difficult to understand, it’s possible to draft an additional player.

The team can’t talk once they’ve drawn their prompt. The team must communicate the clues to each other using the game board. Concept pawns. The board is full of simple iconography representing categories like “real person” or “mythological being,” or more conceptual ideas like “fast.”

The clue givers first place the unique “main concept” pawn on the icon that best represents their prompt. For instance, if their prompt is “T-rex,” they’d put the pawn on the Animal icon. But if their prompt is “Jurassic Park,” they’d categorize it as a Movie (or Book). The next step is to flesh out the main idea with cubes of the exact same color, providing more information. For T-rex they may add Old and Big.

Polygon

If those details aren’t enough, they can add a “sub-concept” pawn. The sub-concept is something which is closely related to the main concept but that the team doesn’t want the players guess. In continuation with the T.rex prompt, the group could put a sub-concept-pawn on Mouth. They might also add details like Sharp/Pointy, Weapon, or both.

The majority of icons are on Concept’s board are vague enough that misinterpretations are guaranteed to happen, but the game isn’t rigidly structured. There are no penalties for the team removing or changing the clues they’ve laid out, and the rest of the players can guess as many times as they’d like.

Points are awarded to the team when their clue is guessed, as well as to the player who guesses correctly, but points aren’t really the… point here. Concept is at its most entertaining when attempting a tough prompt — quotes and aphorisms are especially fun to figure out, as you’ll see in our episode above. You will enjoy the episode, so be sure to subscribe and check out Overboard’s other videos!