Six Second Scribbles Review
Advert: this game was gifted by Gamely Games, this has not affected our opinion.
Like a gunfight in the Wild West you’re going to need a quick draw to play the small box party game, Six Second Scribbles from Gamely Games. Unlike the gunslingers of the American Old West you’ll fortunately be armed with pencil and paper rather than pistols. “I can’t draw” I hear you say, well hold your horses and close your bazoo… I’ll tell you more before my unusual comparisons are met with tumbleweed…
Gameplay
Set up is spectacularly easy with each player requiring a sheet of paper from the small pad included and a pencil, also included. The cards need to be divided into their respective types: Easy, Tricky and Almost Impossible. Then, the game is ready to begin.
Each player takes a card from the same pile, on this are ten items that the recipient of the card needs to attempt to draw in a minute. Everyone looks at the card at the same time and the timer (not included) starts. Players then put pencil to paper, and attempt to draw as many as they can. Once the time is up, players write the overall theme of their card on their paper. They then pass their piece of paper to another player for them to guess the drawings. There is no time limit for this bit, but it should be a fairly quick process. Players then pass the drawings back to be marked. Players score points both for the number of their drawings guessed correctly and for their correct guesses. After three rounds, scores are tallied and the person with the most points wins!
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What it’s like
Firstly, for those that say “I can’t draw” it really doesn’t matter. No-one can create a masterpiece in a minute. I reckon it is impossible to care that much about your drawing if you are attempting to draw all ten in a minute – as that is six seconds per scribble. Now you get the game’s name!
I will now employ an anecdote to further prove my point. My neighbour, Jennie, was an “I can’t draw” when we brought this to the table. “It doesn’t matter”, I said (just like in the paragraph above), “we’ll play a round and if you don’t like it, we’ll move on to something else” I continued. Three rounds later Jennie’s words were “I stand corrected, I really enjoyed that!”.
Like all good party games Six Second Scribbles is easy to learn and fast to play. We debrief while marking because at some point, someone’s guess or drawing will cause amusement around the table. Ultimately that is what this game is set up for.
Number of players is fairly irrelevant, as down time is minimal thanks to the all-play mechanic. That said the box suggest 2-8 players but I would say 4-6 is still probably best.
With the variety of cards the game can accommodate a range of players, certainly my youngest can hold his own with the easy cards. However, ramping up to Tricky and the aptly named Almost Impossible is a steep difficulty trajectory for anyone at the table!
Some of the cards are a little unbalanced in terms of difficulty, I’ve seen friends try and draw okra and kale, while someone else has been drawing a cloud and a bone. I know which I would rather attempt! When playing with children, I tend to allow them to read the card before the timer and make sure they can attempt to draw half of them, or swap the card to make things easier.
While the rules say three rounds, game length can easily be adapted to two or four depending on your mood!
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Table Presence
You’ve got a lot in this little box. Enough pencils to go round and a small pad of paper that will last plenty long enough. The pad is purposefully small, as the rules say, drawing small makes you draw fast!
To give this more longevity at family weight I would’ve liked a selection more Easy cards to offer more variety when playing with children. The Tricky cards are more plentiful and what most people will use regularly so it’s not a big problem. The cards are a good, standard quality too.
There is no timer included in the box, but readers of my FReNeTiC review will know how I feel about egg timers. With most people having a mobile phone or an oven timer it’s not a problem. However, I know lots of people that don’t want their phones at the table, especially when playing board games. On reflection, using your phone means there is no plastic sand timer being produced so it’s the better environmental option of the two!
While talking about things not in the box, there isn’t a pencil sharpener either. If you are a household without these, you might have to reach for a pen instead, it’s not an unsurmountable issue and I’m not even sure why I’ve made you read this paragraph. Sorry.
There isn’t much to the rules but you’ll get playing in no time. That’s all the components really, I guess I can add the box is very… boxy! Joking aside I like the artwork on the cover.
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What the kids thought
Max (7): It’s good! The pictures that you do quickly are funny!
George (11): I really like the drawing part of the game and its fun seeing what people come up with!
Harrison (13): I like it, it’s an enjoyable little party game. I can’t decide whether I like this or Scrawl more, as they are both really fun!
Final thoughts on Six Second Scribbles
Six Second Scribbles is quick, far too quick in fact, but that is the point of the game! The speed leads to laughter and amusement. It’s portability as a small box game is part of its charm and success. You’ll take this round to friends’ houses and have plenty of after dinner fun. What’s more, everyone will like it!
When I look at the RRP of £14.99 my first thought is that perhaps you don’t get much for your money. Then I remember I’m getting old and out of touch! I paid £7 for a pint of beer in a pub the other day and Six Second Scribbles will provide a lot more entertainment than two pints at my local!
I’m also going to add that the Gamely company gives 10% of its profits to charity and give away 1000s of games every year to good causes. They also plant ten trees for every one that they use. I don’t mind giving my money to a company with those values, in fact it’s the sort of company I’d like to work for!
Key Facts
Number of players: 2 to 8
Board Game Review Recommended Age: 7+
Publisher’s Recommended Age: 8+
Playing Time: 20 minutes
Setting Up and Take Down Time: 1 minute
Designers: Hazel Reynolds
Publisher: Gamely Games
RRP: £14.99
Summary
Six Seconds Scribbles is a good little party game and will be surprisingly fun for many. The small box includes everything you need for a quick, fun time with your friends! My kids really like it too and will quite often get it off the shelf when we have people round.
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Artwork and Components
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Complexity
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Instructions
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Interaction
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Value for Money
Overall
Pros
- Easy to learn
- Fast to play
- Transportable
Cons
- The unbalanced trickiness of some cards
- Could have more easy cards for younger players
Need more games?
If you already own Six Second Scribbles and enjoy it, or are looking for other inspiration, you might also like these similar games:
- Scrawl
- Telestrations
- Randomise
- A Game About Wee Whimsical Creatures…
Buy Six Second Scribbles
If you want to buy Six Second Scribbles after reading our review click on one of our affiliate links below (note: there has been no affiliate links until this point)
Reviewer’s Note
For clarity: we don’t get paid for our reviews However, we were kindly gifted this game by Gamely Games. We have tried not to let this affect our review in any way.
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