Game Daze Park Place Mall Manager Review, May 2009

Drew-

“You’ve Been Sentenced” is to Sentences what “Scrabble” is to Words. The game has won multiple awards and is probably my favorite word game out there. It’s a whole ton of fun.

At the beginning of each round, players are given 10 cards. The cards are pentagon shaped, with 5 words on each card, one for each side. All words on a card are related, either by theme (all baseball terms, for instance) or by word (all variations of the word “Moment”). Each word has a point value from 5 to 20. Players race to form sentences out of their 10 cards. As players finish their sentences, they “knock” on the table with their fist, signaling that they are finished. Once all players have “Knocked”, the round is over and sentences are evaluated.

A sentence must be grammatically correct, obviously, but also must make sense. Any player may issue an “Objection” to a finished sentence if either of the above issues is not correct. A player then may defend the grammar or sensibility of their sentence, at which point a vote is taken. If the vote passes, the sentence stays.

There is a lot of variety in the game and a lot of variant rules out there. Timed play, last player to finish loses 5 points, etc. There are also two bonus point possibilities, both for 10 points; one for first to finish a sentence, one for using all ten cards. I have found it is a better strategy to use your time to use all your cards and not rush for the 10 point bonus for finishing first. Variety also comes from several sets of extra cards: Words, Food, Pop Culture, Sports, and Sci-fi/Fantasy. This allows you to customize your game and give you more stuff to play with.

Anyway, this is a game I highly recommend for parents, teachers, and anyone who likes word games, or games in general. Check it out, you won’t be disappointed.